Breaking the cycle of crime.

A lot has been written in the last several decades about delivering youth and family services to those generally considered to be outside the legal purview of the juvenile justice system - those at risk of becoming the next generation of offenders. Yet, despite the research, despite our experience, it is difficult to fully describe the bleak reality faced every day by those who are at risk.

Generally speaking, the term "at risk" has been used to describe those who live in disorganized families and communities and who are more likely to be abused by family members or others close to them. The concern is that in this environment those at risk will begin displaying behavior that, unless checked and corrected, will lead them to commit a crime that will brand them as criminals. Thus, criminal behavior is passed from generation to generation, creating a cycle that is increasingly difficult to break.

The agencies who serve families at risk have learned much about at-risk behavior. They know that in the decades since World War II, the United States has undergone rapid sociological and technological changes. Because of this great flux, families appear to get trapped more easily in the cycle of being at risk and find it harder to escape what might be called the "underclass."

Leon Dash, in his Pulitzer Prizewinning series that ran last year in The Washington Post, told readers the heartbreaking story of a mother, her children and her grandchildren who are involved in drugs and crime in the nation's capital. But their story is no different from the stories most of us can recite about our cities, towns or communities.

Those of us who have interviewed inmates in adult correctional facilities can recall having heard the same story time after time - how a sister or parent or cousin has or is being cycled through the criminal justice system. Oftentimes, it appears as though entire families and neighborhoods occupy cellblocks. Sometimes we wonder if parents of babies born into these families and neighborhoods ever dream of better futures for their children.

The intergenerational involvement of families in the criminal justice system is a cycle that requires intervention at each level. The focus of such intervention should not only be on prevention but also on provision of services to interrupt the cycle. To accomplish this, human services, juvenile justice and adult corrections must work together to implement effective interventions.

The programs and activities described in this issue of Corrections Today illustrate one approach: family-focused interventions that seek to integrate the whole family into the process of breaking the intergenerational cycle of crime.

A theme underlies all the articles in this issue: We need to reclaim our young people - and soon. We are running out of time. We are quickly running out of opportunities to develop the types of coordinated services that will save our future.

Pat Balasco-Barr is the director of the New Jersey Department of Human Services' Division of Youth and Family Services and chair of ACA's Task Force on At-risk Children. Youth and Families.