Last Chance Ranch Program Analysis

The Last Chance Ranch is a program for serious juvenile offenders in Florida, which provides a final opportunity for adolescents to turn around their lives before they are officially transferred to the adult system, which often involves prison sentences. The Last Chance Ranch has a number of strengths and areas for improvement, while it also adheres to both the risk and need principles, as well as the general and specific responsivity principles. The Last Chance Ranch displays various strengths in its effort to transform the lives of the juvenile offenders that enter the program. First, the program supplies excellent role models, as well as a family-like mentality in which everyone works together. The role models include the staff, such as …show more content…
The risk principle states that highly intensive programs will have the most success if they are made up of medium and high-risk offenders for recidivism, while low-risk offenders should be subject to lesser services (Andrews et al., 1990). The Last Chance Ranch only takes in adolescent offenders who have already been waived and found guilty in adult court because of the seriousness and severity of their crimes. These juvenile offenders, essentially the worst of the worst, are much more likely to re-offend including committing violent crimes, and are clearly considered to be high-risk. Similarly, any offender who is considered to be a lower risk would likely find the Last Chance Ranch to be extremely counter-productive, for it would introduce them to new risk …show more content…
Criminogenic needs include problem-solving skills, as well as antisocial associates, attitudes, and beliefs (Van Voorhis and Salisbury, 2013). The Last Chance Ranch program targets a number of criminogenic needs, first by eliminating all antisocial associates from the juveniles’ lives at it essentially removes them from their home environment for a lengthy period, and immediately inserts them into the familial like setting among the staff and fellow offenders at the ranch who can provide prosocial monitoring and camaraderie. The program also attempts to eliminate all antisocial attitudes and beliefs, replacing them with prosocial values like a strong work ethic and self-control. Lastly, it also teaches prosocial behavior and problem-solving skills with aspects like a classroom education and job training, instructing the offenders how to be productive individuals who show no antisocial skills like lying or aggressive behavior. While not as beneficial, the program also addresses some non-criminogenic needs, two examples include appearance as they make the offenders pull their pants up and wear belts, as well as improving the self-esteem by telling the offenders they are