The referral process to a juvenile delinquency prevention program in a school setting

This research focuses on the referral process to a juvenile delinquency prevention program in San Diego County in California, the Community Assessment Team (CAT). In particular, this research examines the social processes and practices of school counselors and a School Resource Officer (SRO) in a school setting who refer youth to the CAT. I use Anthony Giddens' (1987) structuration theory in this study to frame its design, methodology, and results. In the setting, I looked for the meanings the school counselors and SRO give to the behaviors engaged in by youth. Additionally, I looked for the interactions in which the school counselors and the SRO give meaning to the behaviors of different youth and the youth themselves. This study adds to the literature on how juvenile delinquency prevention programs obtain referrals. This work shows that much of the referral process is outside the hands of the programs and that decision making is located at the school.