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Keywords: MST, juveniles, effective programs, recidivism, probation
Abstract
Previous research on Multisystemic Therapy® (MST), an intensive family and community-based treatment for juvenile offenders between 12 and 18 years of age, has been based on small samples that have included very few Hispanic youth. This paper examines juvenile justice outcomes and costs for 757 MST participants and 380 comparison group youth over an 8-year period in Los Angeles County. More than 90% of youth were either Hispanic or Black. Hispanic MST participants had significantly more positive outcomes on three of six juvenile justice measures, compared to Hispanic comparison youth. Black MST participants did not show more positive outcomes than Black comparison youth.
Introduction
In recent years, criminal justice agencies have increasingly focused on the delivery of evidence-based practices; i.e., programs and principles that have been rigorously evaluated and shown to be effective. One of the more prominent programs is Multisystemic Therapy (MST)®. Positive program outcomes have earned MST a place among recommended programs by many evaluators of youth violence reduction programs, including the U.S. Surgeon General (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 1999), the Blueprints for Violence Prevention, and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention's Guide for Implementing the Comprehensive Strategy for Serious, Violent, and Chronic Juvenile Offenders (Howell, 1995). MST continues to be implemented with increasing frequency in the United States, as well as internationally. As reported by MST's website, MST therapy is employed in 34 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and in 13 countries around the world (MST, Inc., 2010).
MST is an intensive family- and community-based treatment for serious, violent, and chronic juvenile offenders between 12 and 17 years of age (Henggeler, 1997). Grounded in the social ecological theory of antisocial behavior among youth (Bronfernbrenner, 1979), MST addresses the multiple determinants of serious antisocial behavior, viewing individuals as embedded within a complex network of interconnected systems, including individual, family, and extra-familial (peer, school, neighborhood) factors (Henggeler, 1997; Tighe, Pistrang, Casdagli, Baruch, & Butler, 2012). Intervention may occur in any one or a combination of these systems (Henggeler, Mihalic, Rone, Thomas, & Timmons-Mitchell, 2001 ).
The primary goal of MST is to empower parents with the skills and resources needed to independently address the difficulties that arise in...