Scientific Support for Early Prevention of Delinquency and Later Offending

There is a growing body of high-quality scientific evidence on the effectiveness of early intervention programs designed to tackle the most important early risk factors for crime. At the individual level, preschool intellectual enrichment and child skills training are effective in preventing delinquency and later offending. At the family level, parent education (in the context of home visiting and parent education with daycare services) and parent management training programs are effective. At the environmental level, a number of school-based interventions are effective in preventing delinquency among youths in middle school and high school, while after-school and community-based mentoring hold promise as efficacious programs. This research evidence needs to be translated into local and state efforts with the support of a comprehensive national strategy on early prevention.