Reports & Studies

Evaluation of Evidence-Based Associates

Redirection Services in Florida:
One-Year Outcomes

December 2007

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Executive Summary

In 2004, the Florida Legislature funded a pilot program to address the growing number of juvenile offenders committed to residential programs for non-law violations of probation. A non-law violation of probation results when a youth fails to adhere to court-ordered probation requirements, such as breaking curfew, skipping school, or engaging in other non-criminal acts prohibited by the terms of probation. The pilot initiative was designed to divert, or redirect, these non-law violators from residential placement to community-based treatments.

Under this Redirection Initiative, the following two commitment alternatives are available for youth meeting specified eligibility criteria: Multisystemic Therapy (MST) and Functional Family Therapy (FFT). Prior research suggests that both of these programs are successful in preventing youth violence and delinquency. The purpose of the current evaluation is to assess the effectiveness of Redirection services in reducing recidivism. Recidivism is defined here as a subsequent juvenile adjudication or adult conviction within one year of program release. Additionally adult and juvenile outcomes include felony adjudication or conviction, arrest and felony arrest within one year of service completion. All youth released from and completing MST or FFT services or low, moderate or high-restrictiveness commitment programming between February 2005 and August 31, 2006 are examined in this evaluation. The effectiveness of Redirection was determined by comparing those completing Redirection programs to those in residential facilities. Finally, a cost analysis was prepared to demonstrate the potential financial savings of Redirection as an alternative to residential placement.

The results demonstrate that:

• Youth who complete Redirection programming have better recidivism outcomes when compared to youth released from residential programming.
  • Redirection youth are less likely to have a subsequent conviction or adjudication, and
  • The odds of felony adjudication or conviction are substantially lower for Redirection completers than residential placements.
• Redirection services save the state approximately $27,059 per completion when compared to those completing low, moderate and high-risk residential placements.
  • Diverting just 75 youth from residential to Redirection services has the potential to save the state over two million dollars.

Redirection services are consistently linked to lower recidivism and significantly lower felony adjudication or conviction when contrasted with commitment placements. Furthermore, Redirection programming achieves these positive outcomes at considerably lower cost than more restrictive residential services. These outcomes collectively demonstrate that Redirection is a valuable and cost-effective alternative to committing youth to residential facilities.