Resolving the paradox of juvenile drug courts: How matching substance abuse needs with juvenile court services reduces recidivism

Abstract

Research on juvenile drug court (JDC) effectiveness has been largely underwhelming, generally showing mixed results. These findings, however, could be blamed on a deeper court problem: the inaccurate matching of services to needs. Data from a large juvenile court (N = 1,198) show that juveniles with substance abuse needs recidivate less when receiving JDC services than conventional ones. Likewise, juveniles without drug/alcohol needs receiving conventional services recidivate less than similar youth receiving JDC services. The present study contends that JDCs are an effective complement to conventional juvenile court intervention and demonstrates the importance of matching in delivering effective court services.