Wayne County Intensive Probation Program

The Wayne County Intensive Probation Program (IPP) in Detroit, Mich., is administered by the juvenile court and operated by the court probation department and two private, nonprofit agencies under contract with the court. The IPP target population is adjudicated delinquents ages 12 to 17 who have been committed to the State Department of Social Services. Youth referred to IPP are placed in one of three programs for services and supervision: 1) the Intensive Probation Unit (IPU), the In-Home Care Program (IHC), or the State Ward Diversion (SWD). The last two programs are operated by private agencies.

The IPU program uses the traditional intensive supervision model. It is characterized by low caseloads (a maximum of 10 youths per probation officer) and frequent probation officer contacts and surveillance activities. It operates through a system of four phases, with diminishing levels of supervision as the juvenile demonstrates more appropriate behavior.

The two private programs have different approaches. The IHC employs a family-oriented services and treatment approach based on the philosophy that comprehensive family treatment using community resources is needed to alleviate the causes of delinquent behavior. It provides comprehensive services, including supervision; individual, family, and group counseling; educational planning; recreational activities; and comprehensive employment training and placement activities.

The SWD is a day treatment program actively involved in several key areas of a youth's life: home, family, school, employment, and community. An onsite alternative education program offers classes every weekday for 5 hours, 12 months per year. In addition, the program provides ongoing individual and group counseling, youth information groups, group parenting sessions, psychological evaluations, preemployment preparation for older youth, family outings, and structured group activities.

The goal of this program is to prevent further criminal activity and incarceration among juvenile delinquents.

The evaluation found that the overall performances of the experimental and control groups were comparable. Institutionalized youths were slightly less likely to reappear in court than were intensive probation youths. However, this difference disappeared when time at risk in the community was taken into account. In addition, IPP youth committed fewer serious crimes than the institutional youths, performed better on self-report tests, and were less likely to commit violent crimes measured both by court records and self-reported data. Finally, it was concluded that IPP was as effective as incarceration at less than one third the cost. The program saved an estimated $8.8 million over 3 years.