Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2014 Feb;46(2):134-43.
doi: 10.1016/j.jsat.2013.06.012. Epub 2013 Aug 16.

RCT of a promising vocational/employment program for high-risk juvenile offenders

Cindy M Schaeffer  1 , Scott W Henggeler, Julian D Ford, Marc Mann, Rocio Chang, Jason E Chapman
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

RCT of a promising vocational/employment program for high-risk juvenile offenders

Cindy M Schaeffer et al. J Subst Abuse Treat. 2014 Feb.

Abstract

Juvenile offenders with substance use problems are at high risk for deleterious long-term outcomes. This study evaluated the capacity of a promising vocational and employment training program in the building sector (i.e., Community Restitution Apprenticeship-Focused Training, CRAFT) to mitigate such outcomes through enhanced employment and education. Participants were 97 high-risk juvenile offenders (mean age=15.8 years) randomized to CRAFT versus education as usual (EAU) intervention conditions. Multi-method procedures measured employment, education, substance use, mental health, and criminal outcomes through a 30-month post-baseline follow-up. CRAFT was significantly more effective than EAU at increasing rates of youth employment and GED attendance. Intervention effects were not observed, however, for months employed, hours worked, or hourly wage. Measures of youth substance use, mental health symptoms, and criminal activity showed no favorable or iatrogenic effects. The potential of CRAFT was modestly supported, and suggestions were made for future research.

Keywords: Employment; Juvenile offenders; Substance abuse; Vocational training.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Achenbach TM. Manual for the Child Behavior Checklist and 1991 profile. Burlington: University of Vermont, Department of Psychiatry; 1991.
    1. Aiken LS, West SG. Multiple regression: Testing and interpreting interactions. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications; 1991.
    1. Apel R, Bushway SD, Paternoster R, Brame R, Sweeten G. Using state child labor laws to identify the causal effect of youth employment on deviant behavior and academic achievement. Journal of Quantitative Criminology. 2008;24:337–362. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Bond GR, Drake RE, Becker DR. An update on randomized controlled trials of evidence-based supported employment. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal. 2008;31(4):280–290. - PubMed
    1. Brown SA, Myers MG, Mott MA, Vik PW. Correlates of success following treatment for adolescent substance abuse. Applied & Preventive Psychology. 1994;3:61–73.

Publication types