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Turner, Susan and Petersilia, Joan and Lane, Jodi and Schroeder, Amber and Fain, Terry (2001). Evaluation of the South Oxnard Challenge Project, 1997-2001 Prepared for the Ventura County Probation Agency. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation.

Amid concerns about rates of juvenile crime, the California Legislature in 1996 enacted legislation establishing challenge grants to foster development of collaborative, integrated approaches to addressing youth crime. Ventura County initiated such an approach based upon Todd Clear’s “Corrections of Placeâ€? theory, a restorative justice approach incorporating victims, offenders, and community members in the administration of juvenile justice and the healing of the community. This document consists of the final report on the program and its evaluation by the RAND Corporation and Dr. Joan Petersilia. After an introduction to concern about youth violence and the interest in Ventura County in a new approach to dealing with it, the authors of the report cover a number of topics: the program need and program design, including a description of Clear’s “Corrections of Placeâ€? theory and the South Oxnard (Ventura County) Challenge Project (SOCP) to implement this theory; explanations of the research hypothesis, methods, and results; specific aspects of the program that were evaluated (e.g., restitution, community service, probation); and conclusions and recommendations based on the research. Statistical data throughout support the report, and an appendix presents the South Oxnard Challenge Project Risk Assessment tool.

Link: www.rand.org/publications/MR/MR1520/

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