The 8% Solution - Video Narration

The 8% Solution - Video Narration
June 1999

Visual of crime, arrests, and doors slamming at Juvenile Hall.

Escalating juvenile crime. Burglaries. Weapons. Vandalism. Drugs and alcohol. Recidivism. Gangs. Runaways. How effective are we with juvenile offenders?

Then-Orange County Chief Probation Officer Michael Schumacher, Ph.D. appears on the screen. In 2002, he is County Executive Officer. His comments:

"Every year, 13,000 juvenile arrests are brought to us by the police. A small portion of these will become serious, repeat offenders. In the past, we have only been able to identify this group after they have been through the system four or five times. Now, through years of research, we have learned how to identify these kids the very first time they are arrested. This video will show you these characteristics and what we call 'The 8% Solution.'"

Visuals depict copies of research studies done by the Orange County, (California) Probation Department.

Narration:

Years of research and multiple studies of repeat juvenile offenders conducted by the Orange County Probation Department revealed several interesting findings. 6,400 first-time offenders were studied. The good news is 70% of the offenders did not commit a second offense within three years. Twenty-two percent committed two or three offenses, and a small proportion, 8%, committed four or more offenses. These 8% were responsible for more than half of the repeat offenses committed by juveniles in Orange County.

The Orange County Probation Department committed themselves to focusing on the 8% problem and thus the 8% Solution was born.

The 8% research identified four key characteristics associated with minors age 15 years or younger at the point of their first referral to the justice system. These minors, who are "at-risk" of becoming repeat offenders, will display at least three of the four characteristics. These characteristics are:

1. They have serious problems at home in the family which, among other things, could include child abuse or neglect or a criminal family member.

2. At school, the minors have behavior problems, truancy, poor grades.

3. Drug or alcohol abuse is evident.

4. Delinquency indicators such as gang involvement, runaways or habitual stealing are apparent.

Increasingly, research on intervention and treatment programs for high-risk children and adolescents has concluded that if these efforts are to have a significant and enduring impact, the focus must be on the family, not just the child.

Visuals of Youth and Family Resource Centers serving 8% youth and their families. Scenes depict probation officers talking with minors and parents, drug abuse counselors, a nurse checking on a teenager, and youths in classroom settings and working at computers. Collaborative staff members are shown in meetings discussing cases. Youths are also shown planting trees and assisting senior citizens as samples of community service projects they perform.

Narration:

Deputy probation officers assigned to the 8% minors are partners with other public and private agencies and community volunteers. They draw on the professional knowledge, skill and experience of many treatment disciplines. Representatives from many disciplines work together to develop strategies that will strengthen family function and link potential 8% minors and their families with needed community-based resources. These links within the community are essential so that services and service providers remain constant even after "graduation" from the program.

The program staff meet weekly to coordinate services and share case planning on each 8% minor. The service delivery is at a centralized site within the community. Transportation is provided to ensure participation. These centralized sites are known as Youth and Family Resource Centers. Right now in Orange County (referring to June 1999), four resource centers are on line with two more centers to open soon.

At the Youth and Family Resource Center, many key elements are available on-site:

1. The Probation staff

2. Schooling and tutoring

3. Transportation is provided daily to school and to off-site activities.

4. Day treatment staff coordinate age-appropriate recreation, community services and life skill classes.

5. A substance abuse counselor provides services to both the youth and family.

6. Mental health and physical health care services are on-site, as well as intensive in-home family counseling.

The Youth and Family Resource Center wants to give the at-risk youth every opportunity to succeed and every reason not to re-offend by providing adequate levels of supervision, structure and support for pro-social behaviors. By providing probation officers with more options for dealing with less serious criminal or technical violations, more serious offenses may be prevented.

As 8% youth mature and are ready for vocational guidance, training and work experience, the program focus shifts to place greater emphasis on academic improvement, life skills, parenting skills, and employment.

Throughout the process, the family and minor are actively involved in helping identify and prioritize issues. The probation staff will guide this process and ensure that offender accountability and community safety are not compromised.

So, when is a minor ready to leave? The collaborative partners establish goals and expectations during the case-planning stages. These partners are crucial to the success of the 8% Solution.

Readiness to leave the program will be evaluated as academic achievement, social skills, and life skills are learned. At the same time, competencies of the parents and family members are assessed. If necessary, ways are identified to compensate for weaknesses that may still exist. This may involve seeking the support of other relatives or community mentors so those minors can move out into the community with some hope of maintaining their success.

Then-Chief Probation Officer Michael Schumacher re-appears on camera to share concluding thoughts on the 8% Solution.

The preliminary results of our program are very encouraging. We found that kids in the 8% program committed fewer and less serious crimes than their counterparts outside of the program. This was the result of research that we did comparing the 8% kids with those who are just like them, but who were supervised by probation officers in the traditional way.

Impacting crime by this group of teenagers is very important. History has shown us that these are the kids that become the serious repeat chronic offenders. Please join us in implementing the 8% Solution. Together, we can make a difference!

The logo of a support group to the Orange County Probation Department called the Probation Community Action Association is displayed and that organization is credited for underwriting the cost of producing this video.