The study used the existing data of all of the arrests made for retail fraud in 1990 and 1991 that were referred to ABC by the Kent County juvenile court. There were a total of 653 cases. The primary hypothesis of the study was that adolescents who participate and successfully complete the ABC Program would have a lower recidivism rate than their counterparts who opt not to be involved in the program. The findings of this study show that, overall, the ABC Program is twice as effective as traditional court setting in reducing adolescent recidivism. In addition to determining the overall rate of recidivism, the evaluators also looked at the gender, race, and age of the offenders.
Black adolescents have a higher recidivism rate than their peers.
This program consists of one intake session, six sessions, and one follow-up session. According to ABC Program Coordinator Shannon Campbell, the intake session is the element of the program that is most essential to the success of the program. The intake session allows the juvenile and parents to learn about the program and what is expected of them. On the other hand, it allows Ms. Campbell to learn important information about the juvenile, his or her background, and his or her family. This program is not designed for chronic or violent juvenile offenders.