Over the past two decades, the juvenile incarceration rate has increased steadily. On any given day, more than 368 of every 100,000 juveniles are serving time in correctional facilities, and nearly all of them will be released back into the communities from which they came (Snyder and Sickmund, 1999). A continuum of programming services is needed to aid the incarcerated juvenile population in preparing for release, leaving prison, and returning to the community so that the likelihood of successful community adjustment can be improved and the risk of recidivism reduced.
The Missouri Model of juvenile corrections has been heralded as a leader in the area of juvenile reform; however, little empirical research on the program has been conducted. The primary goal of this appendix is to provide a critical assessment of the Missouri model. It begins with a brief historical description of juvenile corrections in Missouri. Next, the program model is described and linkages are made to the relevant best practices literature in the juvenile justice field. Included is a discussion of the feasibility of this model for implementation in other states and suggestions for sustainability. Finally, proposals for future research are outlined and the need for additional data and analysis is described.
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