Accountability Enhancement Program Overview
Accountability Enhancement is an award-winning program operated jointly between the Cambria County Juvenile Court and ACRP. Accountability Enhancement supports the principles of Balanced and Restorative Justice. The mission of Accountability Enhancement is to develop character and create positive change in the behavior of juvenile offenders and to create positive change in our community. By working through this program, juvenile offenders learn about their community, its people and its problems. Juveniles are exposed to community problems such as poverty, urban blight, hunger, homelessness and the effects of crime on a community and its residents.
Building Character
Clients are expected to learn the definitions of, and conduct themselves in accordance with character, moral and ethical behavior.
- Character – moral excellence and firmness, relating to principles of right and wrong in behavior
- Morals – relating to principles of right and wrong behavior
- Ethical – conforming to accepted standards of conduct
Goals of Accountability Enhancement Include:
- Create cognitive, social and behavioral change in juvenile offenders through conditioning and learning
- Facilitate pro-social behavior modeling utilizing business leaders, firefighters, police officers, United States military personnel, clergy, community leaders and others as role models
- Provide a means for clients to repay crime victims
- Engage clients in meaningful work to benefit the community
- Create awareness of social problems such as poverty, homelessness, hunger and urban blight
- Develop an understanding for the impact of crime
- Develop an appreciation for giving back to the community
- Create a sense of belonging to the community
- Develop positive work ethics and leadership skills
- Create positive change in our community
Accountability Enhancement facilitates cognitive & social change through conditioning & learning
Behaviors can be strongly influenced by a system of reinforcement of positive behavior and enforcement of consequences for negative behavior.
The Accountability Enhancement behavior modification method is based on a nationally recognized treatment program that employs:
- Operant Conditioning (a type of learning in which behavior is strengthened if followed by reinforcement)
- Social Skills Training (integrated with a point system)
- Group Processes (social learning theory, learning from each other and assisting one another in achieving goals)
Through operant conditioning, clients learn to associate behaviors with their consequences. Therefore, clients become more likely to repeat rewarded behaviors and less likely to repeat punished behaviors.
Additional methods used to facilitate cognitive and social change include:
- Pro-social behavior modeling (the process of observing and imitating positive, constructive and helpful behavior)
- Observational learning (learning by observing others)