The public perception is that juvenile crime is out-of- hand and that no one can do anything about it. Research, however, shows that a mere 8% of juvenile offenders arrested and sent to juvenile court commit more than half of all repeat juvenile crimes, including violence. And, something is being done about it! The surprising fact is that this ‘8%’ can be picked out at the time of their first arrest. This book represents seven years of research on 6, 400 young people having their first brush with the law in Orange County, California. It provides an exemplary state-supported model now used in six other California counties to curb the rise in the arrest of kids.
A practical, commonsense guide, this book focuses on long-term solutions to the problem of serious repeat juvenile crime and offers a proven pathway for improvement. The 8% Solution informs students, policy makers, criminal justice professionals, juvenile courts, probation departments, and parents of how to mount a successful response. Written in narrative style with a liberal use of anecdotal incidents, this is an easy-to-read description of the characteristics of kids who repeatedly get in trouble with the law and more cost-effective ways to correct the problem.
Table of Content
IntroductionPART ONE:THE 8% PROBLEM
The 8% Problem
Serious, Chronic Juvenile Offenders
Crime at an Early Age
‘Lets Give `Em a Break’
Disrupted Families
The Continuing Family Crisis
School Failure
School′s Out for Good…and That′s Bad
Drug and Alcohol Abuse
Getting ‘High’ and Sinking Low
Gangs, Runaways and Thieves
Definately the Wrong Crowd
PART TWO: TOWARDS AN 8% SOLUTION
Laying the Groundwork
Devising an Intervention Strategy
From the Ivory Tower to the Street
Field Testing the Program Model
All′s Well That Ends Well
The Field Test Results
A Case Study
A Lesson From the Real World
8% Solution – Orange County Style
True Collaboration and a One-Stop Shop
Overcoming Barriers
8% Lessons Learned
The Future of the 8% Solution
Building on a Sound Base
About the author
Michel Schumacher Ph.D. was employed by the County of Orange for over 32 years in a variety of positions. He was the Chief Probation Officer for over 20 years and in that capacity supervised in excess of 20, 000 adult and juvenile offenders and operated two Juvenile Halls and three other custody facilities. He was elected president of two statewide correctional organizations; the California Probation, Parole and Correctional Association (CPPCA) and the Chief Probation Officers of California (CPOC) and served as Legislative Chairman for CPOC for 13 years. For about a year Dr. Schumacher was the Director of the Orange County Health Care Agency which consists of public health, mental health, and environmental health. He also served as County Executive Officer for approximately 3 years with responsibilities for the administration of a $4.4 billion County Budget and a workforce of approximately 17 thousand employees.Dr. Schumacher has taught part-time at various colleges and universities over the past 30 years. He taught classes in criminal justice, management and social sciences at the University of California, Irvine, California State University, Fullerton and Long Beach; the University of Southern California; the U.S. International University in San Diego; the International University of Mexico (Mexico City) and Saddleback Community Collage, Mission Viejo. He is the author of numerous criminal justice and management publications. He is co-author of the book ‘The 8% Solution; Preventing Repeat Serious Chronic Juvenile Crime’, published by Sage Publications in January 2000.
Dr. Schumacher. completed his undergraduate and Masters Degrees in psychology at California State University, Los Angeles. He went on to earn a second Masters Degree in Public Administration at the University of Southern California and a Ph.D. in Human Behavior at U.S. International University in San Diego.
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