Running head: THE ROLE OF COMMUNITY-BASED PROGRAMS IN THE TREATMENT

AND PREVENTION OF JUVENILE DELINQUENCY

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The Role of Community-Based Programs in the

Treatment and Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency
Macro Paper | Human Behavior in the Social Environment
Cynthia S. Johnson
Texas State University College of Social Work

Author Note
For the purpose of clarity and appropriateness of grammatical constructions, the use of
the masculine forms of pronouns will be the standard convention throughout this document. This
choice is in no way indicative of a prejudice toward one gender over another indeed the author
of this document is a female. Please do not infer or construe any meaning apart from that which
is explicitly stated in the text.

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Abstract
This paper explores the effectiveness of community-based programs in the treatment (to prevent
recidivism) and the prevention of juvenile delinquency to discover the elements most helpful in
those programs. The impact of control theory and the perspectives of rational choice and social
behavioral are used to evaluate the purpose of the social institutions of family, faith and
education as well as the factors of self-esteem and mentors. Through the lens of these concepts,
an evaluation of a successful community-based program, Homeboys Industries, is provided.
Keywords: juvenile, delinquency, community-based programs, social institutions, mentor, control
theory, rational choice perspective, social behavioral change perspective, cognitive learning
theory, cognitive behavioral theory, Homeboy Industries

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The Role of Community-Based Programs

in the Treatment and Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency
According to the Juvenile Justice Department of the State of Texas (TJJD), the main
objective of all juvenile justice programs is to reduce recidivism (Gonzales, 2012, p. 12).
Statistics show that there is a serious problem with crime, criminal behavior and imprisonment in
the United States, on both the adult level as well as the juvenile level. The United States
incarcerates 500 people for every 100,000 population, compared to the worlds average of 100
prisoners (Tsai & Scommegna, 2012). The United States prison population accounts for 25% of
the worlds total prison population but only 5% of the world population (Criminal Justice Fact
Sheet, 2014). What is most chilling, however, is the alarming numbers of children becoming
criminals.
In 2010, there were 1.4 million delinquency cases involving crime that were processed
through the courts (Puzzanchera & Robson, 2014). A reasonable question is how many children,
of that number, are first-time or repeat offenders. It is fruitless and somewhat frustrating to
search for a national recidivism rate because there is none to be found (Snyder & Sickmund,
2006, p. 243). Due to disparities in individual state reporting on juvenile delinquency, accurate
numbers concerning a national recidivism rate among juvenile offenders and percentages of
juvenile offenders who go on to commit crime as adults are difficult to determine. However,
there are data to indicate that juvenile offenders are greater than three times more likely to offend
as adults (Aizer & Doyle, 2011). This connection between juvenile delinquency and adult
criminality would suggest that early breaking of that cycle would benefit society as well as the
individuals involved in crime.

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In spite of this disturbing state of criminality in the United States, there is good news in
terms of juvenile justice and treatment programs and interventions. The data show that juveniles
respond well to treatment and intervention across all risk levels of juvenile offense, although the
TJJD reports that medium and high risk juvenile offenders respond better to programs than the
low risk offenders. High risk offenders who entered a program had a 34.4% re-offense rate as
compared to 41.8% for those who did not enter a program. Medium risk offenders who did not
enter a program re-offended at a rate of 30.2% while those who participated in a program reoffended on a 25.8% rate (Gonzales, 2012).
The fact that juvenile offenders respond to treatment and programs addresses the heart of
the exploration of the roles of community-based programs and social institutions in the
prevention, and treatment, of juvenile delinquency. It stands to reason that the same principles
and skills that help juvenile offenders to refrain from re-offending are those connections that help
prevent the offense in the first place.
Because the juvenile justice system in the United States is controlled on a state level and
thus varies widely across state jurisdictions, there is no master plan in the treatment and
prevention of juvenile delinquency and tracking intervention effectiveness on a national basis.
The decentralization of the juvenile justice system presents a great challenge to grasping the full
scope and potential of the system. In this respect, the field of juvenile delinquency would seem to
be very open to a thoughtful and comprehensive social work study and intervention on the macro
level.
Some of the treatment and intervention programs utilized and evaluated in the State of
Texas focused on self-control and self-confidence, as well as education and family relations.
Based on re-arrest figures over a three year period starting from 2007, statistics from the Texas

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Department of Juvenile Justice show that anger management and life skills intervention
programs are most effective, followed by counseling, substance abuse prevention, educational
and family preservation interventions (Gonzales, 2012).
Therefore, it would seem reasonable to examine the perspectives and approaches used by
programs involving these social skills and their related social institutions in the examination of
an intervention such as a community-based treatment program.
According to Puzzanchera and Robson in their in their fact sheet for the U.S. Department
of Justice, the most common types of delinquency in 2010 were motivated by boredom or by
poverty (perceived need). The crimes of boredom fell into the categories of offenses against
persons (simple assault), offenses against property, such as vandalism and trespassing or selfcontrol issues such as drug violations, public order, disorderly conduct and obstruction of justice.
It makes sense that if the environmental influences could be changes that the juvenile would be
better able to avoid criminality. Additionally, if the juvenile could learn greater self-control, even
in the absence of improvement to the environment, they could find success in avoiding criminal
behavior. For crimes motivated by poverty or perceived need, such as larceny and theft, it seems
reasonable that the alleviation of poverty would reduce the levels of theft.
In order to facilitate the process of learning self-control, the criminal justice system has
promoted many treatment and intervention programs over the years. These programs are
designed to help the offender overcome addictions and destructive behaviors as well as to teach
job skills and to increase the offenders level of education. Many of these programs have been
designed and are presented by corrections professionals and professional counselors and
psychiatrists/psychologists. However success in the prevention and rehabilitation of juvenile

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delinquency has been found through the application of local community resources. This approach
to prevention and diversion is known as a community-based intervention or program.
According to Clemens Bartollas (2014), prevention of delinquency is defined as any
attempt to thwart youths illegal behavior before it occurs (2014, p. 187). Anne Newton has
categorized prevention into three different levels: primary prevention, which is modifying the
physical and social environment, secondary prevention as the early identification and
intervention of at-risk individuals, and tertiary prevention focusing on the prevention of
recidivism (Newton, 1978). It is not unusual for a program to function at one or more of these
levels, however having the distinctions does make it easier to analyze results when conducting
studies. Community-based interventions and programs will generally operate on the secondary
level of intervention.
Community-Based Programs
A community-based program is a program that draws from the resources of that
community, in terms of people with expertise, locations and facilities in the area, other
organizations, community volunteers, etc. Community-based also can refer to the setting, which
is in the community as opposed to an institution such as a prison or a hospital or other
professional practice. Two other categories into which community-based programs might fall are
described as community as target, where the community itself is the focus of the desired change,
such as an improvement to the environment, and community as agent, where the community
institutions such as families, schools, neighborhoods, businesses, political entities or volunteer
agencies, are involved in meeting the basic needs of that community (Bartollas, 2014; McLeroy,
et al, 2003). In this respect, community as agent is virtually identical to the concept of the social
institution. With these concepts in mind, the community-based programs that are generally used

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in the prevention or rehabilitation of juvenile delinquency are the categories of community as

setting, community as resource and community as agent.
According to Bartollas in his textbook, Juvenile Justice in America, there are three
philosophies at the foundation of community-based corrections, reintegration, a continuum of
sanctions and restorative justice and peacemaking. Reintegration functions on the premise that
both the offender and the community receiving the offender are in need of change. A continuum
of sanctions focuses on a range of punishment options, some of which may be served by a
community-based program. Restorative justice deals with the impact to the victim and seeks to
bring the offender and victim together for resolution and to heal the wounds of violation
(Bartollas, 2014, p. 185). Again, there are some community-based programs that might support
this philosophy. However, community-based programs are far more than just a service to the
corrections system.
Community-based programs can be used by the corrections system for the offender to
fulfill mandated requirements from the court, but these programs are geared toward all people in
need, whose needs may be met by that program. A community-based program might seek to end
adult illiteracy, provide parenting courses, offer team sports training or tutoring services. The
community-based program might seek to meet one need or it might try to address a system of
dysfunction, such as the problems related to gang activity, violence and drug use among inner
city youth (McLeroy, et al, 2003).
In the following description of control theory, one can see how the community-based
program would use existing social institutions in the juveniles world to leverage the change
desired. An example would be a drug awareness program such as Youth to Youth (Youth to Youth
International. 2014). Youth to Youth uses the social institution of the school combined with

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positive peer groups and older students as mentors to encourage elementary and middle school
students not to take drugs by teaching them about the dangers of drug use.
Further in this paper a comprehensive community-based program, Homeboy Industries in
East Los Angeles, California, will be examined in the context of Control Theory and the social
work perspectives of the Rational Choice Perspective and the Social Behavioral Perspective.
Also noted will be various social institutions and how they play a role in that community-based
program.
Control Theory
The control theory was developed in response to the observation that people have
compelling urges to deviate from the norms of their culture yet the culture continues to remain
intact and the majority of the people in that culture continue to function within acceptable ranges
around the norms. Interested in the crime problem in the United States in the 1950s, Walter
Reckless was fascinated by the fact that not more people were involved in crime. Reckless view
concerning crime in a developed country is that it is an interpersonal struggle for position in an
uneven social order (Dienstein, 1956, p.187).
Reckless observed that there are inner controls and outer controls at work in the choice to
commit crime or to behave in a lawful way. The inner controls are an internalized morality that
consists of concepts like a persons beliefs, religious tenets, and conscience as well as the fear or
punishment and the desire to be thought of as a good person, that exert a pressure from within to
maintain the norms that person holds. To commit a crime, the person must overcome those inner
controls. The outer controls consist of people existing in a variety of structures, such as parents,
family, community, church, teachers, mentors, and such. It is interesting to note that these

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categories of outer controls are the same as social institutions. Ones community and social
institutions make up the outer controls for that person (Henslin, 2012; Netting, 2012).
Sociologist Travis Hirschi observes that self-control is the summarization of the theory
that there is a positive correlation between the strength of our bonds to society and the
effectiveness of our inner controls on our behavior choices. These bonds are based on
attachments, commitments, involvements and beliefs. Attachments refer to our regard and
relationships with other people who fulfill the norms of their shared culture. Ones commitments
are the investment that person has in their society, or what is at stake if they lose their place in
society. Involvements are participating in activities approved of by their society and beliefs are
the persons own convictions about the morality of right and wrong behaviors (Gottfredson &
Hirschi, 1990).
To summarize, a juveniles choices are based on the control exerted by his own
conscience and concepts of right and wrong and also by how connected he is to the value system
of his surrounding culture. Additionally, more control is given to the juvenile through his
participation in social institutions that conform to the norms of that same culture, such as
parental influence, school attendance requirements, teacher influence, laws concerning truancy
and other behaviors, teachings of their church and the behavior of their peers.
Some Social Institutions in Community-Based Programs
In every group of people, there will be structures that help that group to succeed and to
thrive in their daily life and on a long-term projection. These structures help the population in
terms of order and function. These facilitating structures are called social institutions. They are
the standard or usual ways that a society meets its basic needs (Henslin, 2012, p.97). The basic
needs for a society are protection of children and regulation of procreation, education, answers

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about origins and afterlife, and as the society grows larger, there is an increased need for more
social institutions such an economy, politics, law, science, military and more.
For the purposes of strengthening children to prevent or rehabilitate juvenile delinquency,
this paper will look at the more essential social institutions that affect an individual more
directly. Those social institutions covered here are the family, faith (religion) and education as
well as the concepts of individual self-esteem and the role of the mentor.
Family
According to James Henslin (2012), the broad definition of family is a unit that considers
itself connected through a formal event such as marriage, adoption of by birth. The general
expectation is that family is defined by the nuclear family description of two parents and children
in a family. However the concept of family is functionally broader than this simple definition.
Underlying the technical definition and description of family is the emotional concept of family.
This author's view is that a child expects a parent to love them and to protect them and they expect a
similar kind of love, protection and acceptance from the rest of their biological family. When that
affirmation does not happen or when the environment of the family is actually toxic to personal safety and
mental health, the child can look for that sense of membership in another group of people. A gang is such
a group of people. While the child does not get a sense of love and personal affirmation from a gang, he
does get a sense of protection as long as he adheres to the values and fulfills the norms and expectations
of that gang.

Faith
Before there was sociology, there was philosophy. Emile Durkheim was a philosopher
and a social psychologist and is also known as a primary architect of sociology being accepted as
its own field of study. Durkheim was extremely interested in religion and set about to study all
the religions of his day, to discover the elements that are common to all (Henslin, 2012).

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Durkheim felt that there were three facets in common to all religions, beliefs, practices and a
moral community, defined as a group of people united by their religious practices (p. 502).
As a social institution, this third common element, religion, can have significant
influence in a childs life. As noted below in the development of self-esteem, the comparison and
reflection of beliefs and practices in the lives of others have a reinforcing and validating effect
for the individual members. Even if practices differ in the individual homes, the commonly
shared belief that everyone else in the moral community (church) is following those beliefs has a
reinforcing effect on an individual basis (Henslin, 2012). In this respect, religion serves to extend
a personal morality beyond that which is learned at home and at school.
Education and Job Skills Training
The intended purpose of formal education is to teach academic subjects, such as math,
reading, grammar, history, etc., to the children of that society. An unintended consequence is that
as a social institution, apart from teaching academics, the school socializes the children. Because
of the time spent in school and the importance placed on school and attendance by parents,
society and the legal system, school becomes a very influential part of a childs life. In the best of
worlds it also becomes a source of inspiration as well as education (Henslin, 2012).
Beyond the value of socialization and basic education, there is a serious need for
continued education and training. There is a direct link between poverty and poor education. One
out of every four people (25%) who drop out of high school is poor compared to a 3% poverty
rate (3 out of 100) for college graduates (Hutchison, 2013; Henslin, 2012)
As an adolescent approaches legal age, skills training can be very beneficial. The
National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Standard 2 has been interpreted to include
providing opportunities for adolescents to learn job-related skills (Social Work with Adolescents

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Standards Work Group, 1993). Certainly one reason for poverty is a lack of skills and/or the lack
of experience to get that first job As noted in an executive summary on global poverty, Donald
Hirsch (2007) notes that a primary cause of child poverty is a lack of opportunities among
parents with low skills and low qualifications (p. 3). When that child grows to adulthood
without education and without job skills, the cycle of poverty continues. Again, an effective
community-based program would do well to explore job skills training and networking to help
locate jobs for program graduates.
Self-esteem
A childs view of himself begins very early in childhood. The cognitive ability to
categorize allows the child to see himself as a separate entity from the world around him and by
school age a child is able to see other people as having different perspectives about the childs
world. Self-esteem is this growing ability to understand the self in relation to and as compared to
other people. This comparison prompts self-evaluation and the result is self-esteem. If the childs
evaluation leaves him feeling as if he is failing in the eyes of other people, then his self-esteem is
negative. A negative sense of self-esteem will prevent the child from attempting challenges they
believe are beyond them. Conversely if the child is surrounded by appropriate affirmation, then
he sees himself as competent in the eyes of those around him and develops a positive selfesteem, which encourages him to attempt greater challenges in his life (Parachin, 2005).
Mentor
A mentor, whether formal or informal, is an excellent way for an adolescent to connect
with his larger community (Hutchison, 2013). A formal mentor relationship is one where an
official relationship is established, such as with a counselor or other adult who is being paid for

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their time. An informal mentor relationship is one with a volunteer at an organization or other
community encounter that develops.
As previously noted in the development of self-esteem, a childs estimation of himself
grows in concert with his interactive relationships with the world around him. According to Jean
Piaget, as the child approaches adolescence, after the age of around 12, in the formal operational
stage of development, that child is capable of abstract thinking and is able to discuss concepts,
reach conclusions and will solve abstract problems through the use of rules (Henslin, 2012).
Their self-esteem reflections have grown beyond their family and their official school teachers.
At this point in their development, they will seek the input of other adults to check their progress
in life. A trusted mentor serves this purpose quite well.
While definitions of mentoring may vary, some standard conventions are emerging. The
mentor is the provider and the mentee is the recipient of the potential benefit (Tolan, et al,
2014, p. 180). A convenient system of components of the mentoring relationship are found in the
review Mentoring programs to affect delinquency and associated outcomes of youth at risk: A
comprehensive meta-analytic review:
1. Interaction between two individuals over an extended period of time
2. Inequality of experience, knowledge, or power between the mentor and mentee
(recipient), with the mentor possessing the greater share
3. The mentee is in a position to imitate and benefit from the knowledge, skill,
ability, or experience of the mentor
4: Absence of the role inequality between provider and recipient that typifies most
helping or intervention relationships where the adult is in authority over of
directing expertise toward the child in need of teaching or specific help (2014,
p. 180)

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The impact and value of a mentor in the life of a mentee has been demonstrated to be
significant. The greater benefits of the mentor-mentee relationship have been shown to be as a
result of a non-mandated situation, or an informal relationship. When the mentor is a volunteer
and has demonstrated an interest in the mentee as a person as opposed to a client, such as an
offender on probation or a client of a counseling practice, the impact of that relationship has a
much stronger positive affect on the adolescent (Tolan, et al, 2014).
In a mentor relationship, the mentor assumes a trusted role in the childs life. Their
opinions are important and they are trusted more than other relationships. Strong mentor
relationships have been found to have far-reaching benefits in a childs life, extending through
college and into their adulthoods. Foster kids who have had mentors in their lives have been
shown to have better health, smoother transitions to adulthood, fewer sexually transmitted
infections and lower aggression through early adulthood than foster youth have not experienced
a mentor relationship (Hutchison, 2013; Ahrens, et al, 2008). Mentor relationships may be found
in a variety of community social institutions, such as in the workplace, youth volunteer
programs, religious programs, community businesses and such (Hutchison, 2013). Thus, it may
be concluded that a successful community-based program will incorporate some form of mentor
relationship connections with the clients served by that program.
Multiple Perspectives
Social Behavioral perspective
The social behavioral perspective, also known as the social learning perspective, centers
on the concept that human beings develop their behavior from their interaction with the
environment around them, beginning from birth and continuing throughout the life arc. The
premise is that the principles by which humans develop behavior are globally the same,

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regardless of the culture in which they grow up. The definitions of good and bad may differ
from one culture to the next, but the mechanisms by which a child learns the those definitions of
good and bad will be the same, regardless on which side of the world that child lives.
These global principles are association of environmental stimuli, reinforcement,
imitation, and personal expectations and meanings (Hutchison, 2013, p.62). Other basics of the
social behavioral perspective are that problems in life can be seen as undesirable behavior and
that all behavior can be defined and changed (p. 62). Contained in this last principle is the
basis for the popularity of the social behavioral perspective. An opinion could be that if all
behavior can be defined, then bad behavior can be analyzed, then all that needs to be done is to
craft an explanation that will explain to the juvenile how their behavior is not positive. And if all
behavior can be changed, then following the juveniles change of heart is the program that will
correct the behavior. These thoughts are nave and superficial, of course, since the actual process
is so much more challenging than that. But the fundamental approach to a treatment program is
that simple: analyze the bad behavior and then change it.
Within the social behavioral perspective are a variety of theories, such as the operant
conditioning theory that sees behavior as a result of reinforcement, whether positive or negative
and the classical conditioning theory that holds the concept that association teaches behavior
when the person encounters an unconditioned stimulus with a conditioned stimulus with the
popular example of Pavlovs dog as the traditional illustration (Hutchison, 2013).
A third theory of social behavioral perspective is the cognitive social learning theory.
This theory is also known as social cognitive theory or cognitive behavioral theory. While the
other theories present the person as a more passive participant in the learning process, cognitive

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learning theory recognizes the power inherent in the human mind and will and leverages those
strengths in the conditioning process.
In addition to conditioned experience and the resulting expectation based on those
experiences, cognitive learning theory recognizes and codifies the observed trait of the
developing child to observe and imitate the behavior patterned before them. Albert Bandura
observes that while people do develop expectations as a result of events in their lives, the
synthesis of the feedback from those events and the events themselves are developed over long
intervals of time. In spite of a deeply patterned event and outcome sequence, Bandura recognized
that if there was a belief that the schedule of reward was not dependable, that this belief exerted
more influence over the behavior than did the knowledge that reward was possible (Bandura,
1977). Therefore it can be concluded that in order to affect behavior through cognitive behavioral
theory, an effective treatment or intervention program would need to be consistent and
meticulous in its patterns of event-reward sequences and this structure would need to be
maintained scrupulously.
Bandura is noted for defining other aspects of belief and expectation that offer great tools
to the process of intervention or treatment. The concepts of self-efficacy defined as a sense of
personal accomplishment (Hutchison, 2013, p.63) and efficacy expectation as ones expectation
of personal accomplishment of a goal are two very critical tools in a cognitive behavioral
treatment program (Bandura, 1977; Hutchison, 2013).
The concept of agency is the capacity to intentionally make things happen (Hutchison,
2013, p.63) and exists in various roles which play a part in the cognitive behavioral treatment
program. Personal agency, where the individual has within his power to accomplish a goal, is the
most common form of agency that people will use. It is personal agency that will be at work

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when a former drug user says no to the offer to do a line of cocaine. Collective agency is the
team approach to accomplishing a goal. We see collective agency at work in a positive peer
environment where the group of peers in a treatment program works together to help the
individuals in that group to fulfill the expectations of the program. The third form of agency,
according to Bandura (2001) is proxy agency. This kind of influence is exerted when a person
has a goal for which they are not directly responsible to fulfill. An example would be a child
whose goal is a cookie but the cookie jar is out of their reach. So the child would use his proxy
agency to try to motivate his mother (or older sibling) to get a cookie out for him. Another
common form of proxy agency is in the workplace. The boss cannot do all the jobs himself, so he
hires staff. In order to succeed in the goal of being profitable, the boss must motivate his staff to
do a good job in his stead. A well-rounded treatment program will seek to strengthen all forms of
agency in a positive expression.
Rational Choice perspective
At the heart of the rational choice perspective is the observation that people start out as
rational creatures and that we are goal-directed. Even in an infant we see this tenet of the rational
choice perspective as the newborn works to hold up its head, roll over and begin the struggle to
achieve the goal of sitting upright, to crawl and then to walk. The babys efforts are goaldirected.
According to author Elizabeth Hutchison (2013), from the rational choice perspective,
human behavior [is] based on self-interest (p. 47) and human behavior is based on rational
choices about effective ways to accomplish goals (2013, p.47). The utilitarian nature of this
perspective can make some people feel uncomfortable, thinking that the evolved human should
be more concerned with the interests of the other person. This judgment, however, is a bit

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lopsided. When it is considered that it can be in another persons best interest to be concerned
about the feelings of another, the relationship between those two people is a rational choice and
would seem to be easier to maintain.
The rational choice perspective may be seen as transactional a people trade their social
resources within the structure of their relationships and that self-interest guides the exchange as
both people try to maximize the rewards and avoid costs. Social resources may be seen as
friendship, love, and approval as well as tangible resources like money (Hutchison, 2013). A
relationship is seen as most healthy when the exchange is roughly balanced and both people are
involved in the exchange. A power dimension enters the relationship when one partner is unequal
in the exchange, either from a lack in themselves or because the other person is always, or never,
giving (2013).
The rational choice perspective will generally expect a youth to make choices based on
what will bring them the greatest satisfaction and increases their relationships. As a result, it can
be disconcerting to see some of the ill-advised choices made by juvenile delinquents. The
confusion comes when the norms of the teenager are not the same as the norms of the onlooker.
Hutchison (2013) writes that values, norms and expectations, as well as alternatives, influence
the assessment of rewards and costs (p. 47).
When the juvenile delinquents choices are viewed from the same lens as is used by that
juvenile and his peers, the choices become more clear. If the choice is between shoplifting that
candy bar to fit in with the crowd or refusing to steal and be ostracized by his peer group and
ridiculed, the choice to steal is better understood. When viewed from the social exchange theory
with the desire to maximize benefits and minimize costs (Hutchison, 2013, p.48), his

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assessment of the risks of being caught or being prosecuted pale before the prospect of being
shunned by his peer group for breaking the norms and values of that group.
Program Spotlight: Homeboy Industries
Overview of the Program

Nothing stops a bullet like a job Greg Boyle

(Mock, 2013, Opening Credits, 0:0:12; Choi & Kiesner, 2007, p. 772).
No hopeful kid joins a gang." Greg Boyle (Lopez, n.d.)
Community will trump gang every time. Greg Boyle (Mock, 2013)
Jobs not Jails

Homeboy Industries had its beginnings in a job training program to help gang members
who want to leave the gang and recently released parolees and probationers to get jobs. This first
program, Jobs For a Future (JFF), was started in 1988 by a young Jesuit priest who was newly
assigned as pastor to the Dolores Mission of Boyle Heights in East Los Angeles after serving for
a time in Cochabamba, Bolivia. This courageous priest is named Father Gregory Boyle and is
affectionately known as Father G, G-face, G-dog or just G. Father Greg has worked
with his homies for more than 25 years and both he and the former gang members use this
term with pride, as will this author.
When the homies would graduate from the JFF training program, they would then look
for a job. It was at this point in the process that progress stopped cold. Finding offender-friendly
or former gang-member-friendly employers was almost impossible. Father Greg does not see
closed doors or impossible challenges. Faced with the reality that businesses would not hire the
homies, he started a bakery in an abandoned warehouse across from the parish church. JFF now
had its own business to hire the homies (Mock, 2013).
JFF grew and morphed into the entity known as Homeboy Industries and now has a 70%
success rate in turning gang members into productive law-abiding citizens who care for their

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families and neighbors. Homeboy Industries tries to serve as many homies as possible and at one
time were serving 1,000 homies. Economic hard times have forced Homeboy Industries to cut
back to about 700 employees (Mock, 2013).
Homeboy Businesses
Homeboy Bakery was an instant success. The bakers produced an excellent product at a
fair price and the community celebrated by buying from the bakery. Homeboy Bakery produces
tortillas and a variety of other shelf-stable products that began selling in outdoor markets and
other venues and are now sold in grocery store chains in Los Angeles and Southern California.
Their tortilla stand in Grand Central Market does a great business and they now have the lunch
concession at City Hall.
Following the success of Homeboy Bakery, Father Greg and his staff have started every
venture that seemed to have merit and would provide marketable skills for the homies. They
have, or have had, an automotive repair shop, a caf, a coffee shop, and even a plumber business
that did not succeed. In his humorous and whimsical manner, Father Boyle says, Apparently
people did not feel comfortable with former gang members in their homes. Who saw that
coming!?
Homeboy Social Enterprises:
Homeboy Bakery
Homeboy Silkscreen & Embroidery
Homegirl Caf & Catering
Homeboy/girl Merchandise
Homeboy Farmers Markets
Homeboy Diner at Los Angeles City Hall
Homeboy Grocery (Homeboy Industries What We Do, 2014)

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Homeboy Classes, Workshops and Services

Very early in his ministry, Father Boyle saw the need for a variety of classes for his
homies. In addition to traditional tutoring and G.E.D. preparation, there was a need for drug
rehab, anger management, life skills and parenting skills training. Connecting with other
agencies in the area, Father Boyle and the evolving Homeboy Industries provided for these
needs. Father Boyle started a charter school when confronted with the reality that gang members
kicked out of school would go to school if there were one that would have them, only to discover
that no other public school wanted them (COPS 2011 Conference, 2011).
In addition to a traditional academic curriculum, the classes include a therapeutic art class
that helps the homies express their darkest fears and emotions about experiences in their lives
through artistic outlets. The resulting art was so impressive that they had a gallery opening and
every piece of art was sold and the proceeds went to the artists and to the Homeboys Industries
organization. Some homies have found a career in art or graphic design, a field that they would
never have considered (Mock, 2013).
The classes are taught by credentialed teachers whenever possible and volunteers are
always being recruited. In addition to the mandatory GED preparation and testing, the homies are
offered classes in six major categories: academic, life skills, substance abuse, support groups,
enrichment and work readiness (Homeboy Industries | Educational Services, 2014).
One very important service that is offered by Homeboy Industries, free of charge, to
anyone who needs or wants it is tattoo removal. There are tattoos that mark the person as an
active member of a gang, regardless of that persons current status. This kind of mark can get the
person killed and can certainly keep them from getting a job (COPS 2011 Conference, 2011).

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The YaStuvo Tattoo Removal Program removes tattoos from former gang members who
request tattoo removal and this is often the first introduction to Homeboy Industries that some
gang members have. There is a male and a female counselor available during tattoo removal to
meet with anyone requesting counseling at that time. All these services are provided free of
charge. (Homeboy Industries | Why Hunger?, 2014)
Homeboy Standards
Homeboy Industries treats their employees with trust and dignity and demands the same
attitudes in return. As a result, there are no lists of rules and regulations to be found on the
internet. Certainly there are guidelines that all program participants must follow, but they are not
available for public view.
All who are accepted into the program are considered employees and must agree to a
standard of conduct, including drug testing (Mock, 2013). Their acceptance in the program gives
them a job with a salary and authorization to attend a selection of classes agreed upon between
the individual and their counselor and will include GED prep and test as well as a selection of
other classes.
Homeboy Culture
To sum up Father Gregs and Homeboy Industries philosophy, Father Greg says We
dont hire homies to bake bread. We bake bread to hire homies. (Roberto, 2012, para 1). This
quote exemplifies the desire and determination of Father Greg to make sure that every person in
their program has an outlet for their talents and abilities and that they are able to learn
marketable skills and that they will be able to put those skills to use.
Throughout the documentary by Frieda Mock, the deeply intense loyalty is visible
between all people. Men and women who were once bitter enemies and rivals in competing

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gangs are seen standing side by side, working together and supporting one another (COPS 2011
Conference, 2011).
There are still gangs in Los Angeles and gang violence still touches lives, but when
someone in the Homeboy family is hurt or is the victim of violence, they whole organism
embraces the sorrowful and shares the grief. Everyone in the program and on staff has an abiding
respect and love for Father Greg and no one wants to disappoint him or any other mentor on the
staff.
The former gang members and ex-cons learn a variety of environmentally controlled
behavior as they participate in the classes, go to work in Homeboys Industries businesses and
eventually the world. By the time those homies leave the enclave of Homeboys Industries, they
are experienced, in control and able to function in the variety of situations that are encountered in
the world. They are ready (Mock, 2013).
Social Institution Used
Family. From the definition and description of family, earlier in the paper, we know that
family does not always need to refer to biological connections. Rather, the bonding that takes
place within the walls of the Homeboys Industries is more on the line of brothers in arms, such
as soldiers in battle or police or firefighters. People who put their lives on the line, in a team with
others risking their lives together, will often form lifelong bonds that at times can seem stronger
than their bonds to their nuclear family (Nusbaumer, 2007). And so it is with those who, by
banding together, escape the war on the streets.
Says Christina Bakery, on Facebook:
This is home. I finally, truly feel a part of something. I used to join things
because I wanted to be part of something bigger than myself. These feelings led

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me to negative things and places in my life. Now I am a part of a community of

kinship and it just feels so good to come to work. I work in the bakery with
mostly guys and wow Ive learned so much love for them. Before I hated men so
much. Now I understand what they go through and we are so cool. They are my
brothers now and that helps me in my life, so Im just grateful to have a home
(Homeboy Industries, Facebook, Nov. 14, 2014, 3:30p.m.).
Self-image/esteem. One of the recurring themes in how Father Greg and the staff of
Homeboy Industries speaks to and treats the homies in their program is that everyone is created
in the image of God. The philosophy of the program is to focus on the good, lovely and creative
in everyone around you and reflect that back to each person. There is a healthy regard for areas
of improvement that need to be made, but evaluations and on-going treatment is positive.
The homies learn skills that they are able to use right away. In the jobs that they are
given, the homies learn a new way to evaluate their performance and then their worth, to the job
and then as a person. As ability and reflected treatment continue to improve and strengthen, so
does their self-esteem. The confidence and courage gained from the heightened self-esteem is
critical to the formation of their dreams and goals (Bonds of Compassion, 2014).
Faith. There is no apology in Homeboys Industry for the fact that they are a faith-based
organization. The homies gather daily for a type of worship program before their days begin.
Homies share prayer requests, challenges, sorrows and victories together as one organism. They
have a corporate prayer and then split off to fulfill their tasks for that day. Father Greg is often
asked to officiate for significant life events.
Many of the program participants have a Catholic background and fit right in with Father
Gregs own Catholic background. Being able to participate in the rites learned as a child goes a

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long way to helping the homies forgive themselves and begin to validate that child within their
hearts and then grow as adults. Faith plays a huge part in this program (Mock, 2013).
Mentor. Each new homie is introduced to various people within the organization who
will be their contacts in the program. The counseling groups are kept small so that members of
the support groups can connect with the individual members. As the homies go through the
program, they become mentors to the newer members who join (Homeboy Industries - Stories |
Erick, n.d.). Father Greg makes a point to see that support for the individual is maintained all the
way down the organizational chain. The mentor program is integral to the function of the overall
Homeboy Industries Program
Education. A school was one of the first institutions established by Father Greg and what
would become the Homeboy Industries. Education, training, support, awareness and life skills
are in and through all programs and preparations provided through Homeboy Industries. Father
Greg and the staff understand the link between poverty, failure and poor education. They want to
break the cycle of poverty as they break the hold of the gangs. One of the most compelling
aspects of gang membership is the income that can be made from gang-related activities and it
keeps members tied to the gang, in spite of the danger and violence. One of Father Gregs most
well-known aphorisms is Nothing stops a bullet like a job (Mock, 2013) and then he sets about
to prove that saying, again and again.
Evaluation from Social Work Perspectives
Social Behavioral Perspective. Social Behavioral perspective and the Social Behavioral
Learning Theory can be used to focus on correcting dysfunctional thought patterns. The
inappropriate thoughts and beliefs are replaced with concepts that facilitate good mental health
and a positive life outcome. The goal of every life skill class, substance abuse program, anger

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management class, parenting workshop and more has, at its core, the goal of helping that learner
change something in their behavior or in their thinking process that will change their behavior.
Constant reinforcement through the curriculum and in conversation with mentors, friends
and staff members continues to confirm the new thoughts that are being processed. The end
result is a homie who is a good father, a good provider and who has learned to think and evaluate
the circumstances in their lives in a reasonable and law-abiding way (COPS 2011 Conference,
2011).
Rational Choice Perspective. When homies come to Homeboys Industries, Father G and
his staff have learned to let them ask questions and tell the interviewer what it is that they want
and expect from Homeboys Industries. Often the person will hear that Homeboys Industries
cannot help them. Then the staff member goes on to tell that person that until they want to
change what they are doing, nothing will work for them.
Once the person is accepted into the program, they begin to learn the hidden costs of
decisions that they have been making in their lives and they comprehend why they were feeling
so miserable and so overwhelmed and burdened. When the people are able to truly see all the
costs in what they were told was the reward for their loyalty to the gang, they are able to make an
informed decision about what is the actual reward and possible/probable punishments. The
rational choice perspective tells the learner that the most cost-effective and most-rewarding
option in the best choice to make.

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Conclusion
Based on the historical and on-going success of the Homeboy Industries, it is clear that a
community-based organization can have a dramatic effect on a macro level problem. When such
a program connects to the social institutions essential to the basic needs of the client population
and when the services of that program offer the client population the tools and training needed to
make the necessary changes in their lives, the rational choice is to move away from delinquency
and move toward lawful behavior.
Certainly not all community-based programs will be as successful as Homeboy Industries
and surely there are institutionally-run programs that are seeing success. However, as
exemplified by the success of Homeboy Industries utilizing the resources available within a
community, the community-based program model emerges as very viable solution for the
prevention of juvenile delinquency.

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