The Jackson Project: A Therapeutic Approach to the Education

and Treatment of Incarcerated Juvenile Offenders

Jean Steinberg, Ph.D.

Jackson Project Director

Abstract

Established in October 2005, the Jackson Project was designed to give the Department of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention the opportunity to perfect design, staffing, and programming innovations that are to be introduced in the state-of-the art facilities being constructed to replace the state’s aging youth development centers. Programming is based on the research literature establishing what works best with incarcerated juvenile offenders, and includes cognitive-behaviorally-based training in pro-social skills, thinking, and values, via repeated structured role plays and rehearsals throughout the day. Education is offered in small classes, with teachers assisted in behavior management and individualized instruction by youth counselors. The gradual introduction of community-based activities, including vocational training, jobs, and educational pursuits, is highlighted, with family and community involvement in all treatment and educational activities featured as well. To evaluate the effectiveness of this approach, serious and chronic juvenile offenders from Mecklenburg, Cabarrus, and Rowan Counties have been randomly assigned at the time of their commitment to a youth development center to either the Jackson Project, or to a “Standard Care” control group in the general population at Stonewall Jackson Youth Development Center. Analyses of process measures underlining key differences between the two approaches will be presented. A comparison of the 60 youth assigned to the two conditions in the first two years of the program on a number of outcome measures, including educational achievement, attitudes toward school, and criminal thinking, will be presented as well.