Success by the Plateful: Rates of Successful Vocational Training in Adjudicated Youth

The United States has one of the highest rates of juvenile incarceration in the world. Once sentenced to a detention center, it is increasingly likely that a person will spend the rest of their lives rotating in and out of the correctional system due to high recidivism rates. This cycle is not only a financial burden on the state and federal systems but it is also harmful to incarcerated individuals, families, and neighborhoods. Youth Village Resources of Dallas and Café Momentum attempt to break this cycle of recidivism through vocational training pre-and post adjudication. Positive changes in attitudes and beliefs of the youth through vocational training can provide the youth with the job skills and work readiness for a successful future. Surveys, observations, and interviews measure and establish the specific changes in viewpoint of the youth