| The Choice Program in San Diego is designed as an alternative to standard juvenile probation. The program consists of continuous monitoring of these youth through daily facc-to-face contacts with Choice staff members. These encounters may occur at the juvenile's school, home, or in their neighborhood. Program goals include expedient completion of court orders and prevention of further criminal behavior, While Choice participants did finish probation sooner than a comparison group, as found in a recent study, Choice parents (guardians) had mixed reactions to the supervision model. While some held the program in high acclaim, others found it to be too intrusive. To confound this finding further, Choice participants fared no better than comparison subjects by most official measures. Focus groups are currently being conducted to explore Choice parents' perception of the intensive nature of this program Lind to I earn more about their experiences with the program overall. Targeted areas of inquiry include in parental responsibility, changes in parental role, and perceptions of the Choice program in general.
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Updated 05/20/2006