6 classes, cell phone can keep kids out of jail

PROVO — They may just look like more kids on cell phones, but for a group of at-risk Utah County teens, daily phone calls became a powerful roadblock between them and a trip back to juvenile detention. In fact, the constant calls asking about the teen's goals and choices were so powerful that after one year, 13 of the participating teens had zero re-arrests, compared to only three of their phone-less peers.

"I thought (the program) would help, but I wasn't expecting it to be as successful as it was," said BYU assistant professor of sociology Bert Burraston, lead author of the study published in the International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology.

When the research began more than five years ago, the study population was a mix of low- to moderate-risk probationers and gradually moved to more medium- to high-risk probationers.

"They were by no means kids that had simple criminal histories behind them," said Jerry Oler, chief probation officer for the 4th District Juvenile Court. "There was heavy drug addiction, heavy criminal behavior."

For six weeks, 90 minutes a week, the probationers attended a cognitive-behavior class run by Springville-based, nonprofit RealVictory, which focuses on the "Control Model."

The model aims to help juveniles see how their beliefs affect their behaviors, which then lead to consequences. If those consequences are unpleasant, and most teens readily acknowledge theirs have been, they are encouraged to think about re-evaluating their beliefs.

"We're very, very careful never to tell people what they should believe," said Bruce Bennett, executive director of RealVictory and program instructor. Instead, RealVictory's value-neutral program allows students begin an introspective discussion, he said.

"If they like the way their life is going, they don't need to change," Burraston said. "But it's fairly easy to get them to understand that their life is not on the right course — they're reporting to a probation officer."

With that understanding, which was strengthened through the classes, the 4th District Juvenile Court probationers constructed their own personal plan, which outlined goals and steps to reaching those goals.

The model is taken from the book "Gaining Control," written by former U.S. Sen. Bob Bennet before he ran for office. Now that he's no longer in Washington, he'll join the RealVictory board of directors, said Bruce Bennett, Bob Bennett's nephew.