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The use of conversation-related skills by youthful offenders can influence social interactions with adults. These behaviors are also likely to be useful to adolescents after their release from a treatment program (journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 1972, 5, 343-372). Four girls, aged 13 to 15 yr, residing at Achievement Place for Girls in Lawrence, Kansas, received training on conversation-related behaviors. A multiplebaseline design across youths and across behaviors was used. Youth answer-volunteering in response to questions and three youth nonverbal components ("hand on face", "hand at rest", and "facial orientation") were measured during daily 10-min sessions with a simulated guest in the group home's living room. Answer-volunteering was scored each session as the per cent of 13 "secondary" questions that the simulated guest did not have to ask following 10 "primary" questions. The three nonverbal components were scored according to their occurrence during 10-sec intervals and the resultant scores were averaged per session for an overall appropriate nonverbal score. The girls individually earned points within the home's token economy for participating in each session and additional points were awarded after training if preselected behavioral criteria were achieved for each of the two behavior categories per girl. Some of the training sessions were led by a "teaching-parent" (specially trained houseparent) while others were led by individual girls. Point consequences were administered by both the teaching-parent and by the "peer-trainers". The average observed rate of answer-volunteering by the girls during pretraining sessions was 30% for SI, 30% for S2, 23% for S3, and 68% for S4. The average rate of answer-volunteering during posttraining sessions was: SI = 92%, S2 = 89%, S3 = 90%, and S4 = 98%. The average nonverbal score during pretraining sessions was 82% for SI, 53% for S2, 60% for S3, and 82% for S4. The average nonverbal score during posttraining sessions was: SI = 98%, S2 = 98%, S3 = 98%, and S4 = 100%. Videotapes of the sessions were shown in a random sequence to four adults (probation officer, social worker, etc.) who represented "significant others" for the youths' future success in the community. The adults judged posttraining tapes on the average as more appropriate 100% of the time for SI, 100% of the time for S2, 90% of the time for S3, and 70% of the time for S4. The study demonstrated that training of conversation-related skills is feasible with predelinquent girls, that the girls can help train each other, and that social validation of the training results is possible.

Although it is a relatively new development, community justice has many permutations and manifestations. Deschutes County, Oregon, applies a particular set of community justice principles and philosophies that have produced tangible, useful, and successful programs that build community, reduce risk, and repair harm. This article describes some of Deschutes County's community justice history and programs, including revamped victim assistance programs, victim-offender mediation, and a community youth investment program that treats youth locally instead of sending them to state institutions, earning state resources that otherwise would be destined for corrections costs and reinvesting them in juvenile crime prevention efforts.

The proliferation of group homes and halfway houses for delinquents has increased the need for trained houseparents. The study investigated the effects of instructions, feedback, and modeling as training methods upon selected interpersonal parenting behaviors of six "teaching-parents" in three group homes. The homes were based on the "Teaching-Family" or "Achievement Place" model. The use of a multiple-baseline research design indicated that while instructions plus feedback were sufficient to teach some behaviors to some teaching-parents, the addition of model-imitation was generally more successfuL The importance of modeling in training correctional staff was discussed.