Intensive Services
1985 -Intensive Probation was first established as a pilot project with an independent evaluation as part of the pilot. The recommendation of the study was that juveniles likely to be committed to training school, but not those whose commitment appeared to be inevitable, should receive the special services. Intensive probation services resources should be applied to those juveniles most needing and most likely to benefit from them.
1987 - Intensive Supervision Program established as a pilot to serve status offenders. The program was studied with an experimental design for three and a half years. Intensive supervision was shown to reduce runaway and truancy behavior, and intensive supervision was shown to have a longer lasting effect than regular supervision.
1993 - The two existing programs were merged into a single intensive services approach which could serve any adjudicated youth. The emphasis is on service delivery which is defined by the design and standards for the program. (See attached Minimum Standard for Intensive Services.)
1997 - Intensive services applied specifically to the aftercare population implemented in 3 pilot sites.
Excluding the intensive aftercare positions, there are 27 Intensive Services Counselors serving 25 counties.
Intensive Services involves:
- Administrative assignment for adjudicated juveniles
- Quick and thorough evaluation of needs
- Inter-agency team consultation regarding treatment planning and coordination of community services to meet needs
- Small caseload - maximum of 10
- High frequency of contacts, including after hour contacts
- Emphasis on involving the total family
- Structured phase-down period
- Availability of funds to purchase special services
Intensive Services is not:
- A substitute for the family
- A replacement for skilled therapeutic interventions such as sexual offender specific treatment
- Offense-specific - the juvenile’s needs and behaviors carry more weight in the selection process
- Properly used as a suspended commitment to training school
- A substitute for needed out-of-home placements (which are adjuncts to this program)
- For juveniles who are geographically distant from the court counselor
- A substitute for regular probation services (because not all juveniles need the intensive approach)