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These findings indicate support for an approach to juvenile justice that runs contrary to the increasingly punitive policies adopted across the country in the 1990s.

Separate research conducted by the MacArthur Foundation Research Network on Adolescent Development and Juvenile Justice (ADJJ) found that when given the choice, the public is more willing to pay for juvenile rehabilitation than incarceration.

"Momentum is gathering across the nation to replace the harsh, ineffective measures enacted over the past two decades with programs that address the welfare of young people while preserving safe communities," said MacArthur President Jonathan Fanton.

"The public understands that youth in trouble with the law are not lost, and that working with them to solve problems is a better approach than just locking them up."

- More than eight in 10 said that providing community-based programs and services -- including education, job skills, mentoring, mental health treatment, counseling, and community service -- is an effective way to rehabilitate youth (CCLP poll).

At the conference, MacArthur President Jonathan Fanton also announced the addition of eight new states for participation in Models for Change "action networks" to improve mental health services and reduce racial and ethnic disparities in the juvenile justice system.

Colorado, Connecticut, Ohio, and Texas join the original Models for Change states of Illinois, Louisiana, Pennsylvania and Washington to participate in the Mental Health Action Network, which will find new ways to identify and treat the 25 percent of youth involved in the juvenile justice system who have serious mental health needs.

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