Book Review: N. S. Bost State Wards, Long-Term Care, and Delinquent Acts: An Analysis of Social Bond Factors El Paso, TX: LFB Scholarly Publishing, 2010. xiv, 184 pp. $62.00. ISBN 978-1-59332-376-9

• Date: 01 June 2011
• DOI: 10.1177/0734016810385295
• Author: Joel L. Carr
• Published date: 01 June 2011
• Subject Matter: Articles

emphasized throughout the book, so it is surprising that the discussion about what works and

evidence-based practices is lacking.

Chapter 3 outlines the methodology and research questions and provides basic descriptions of the

subjects, instruments, interventions, and study locations. The study was a quasi-experimental design

using a historically matched control group. This was as strong of a research design as possible

because FFP already had been implemented statewide prior to the study inception. There are 13

research questions that can be broken down into two broad areas of examination: (a) Is FFP more

effective than other types of parole? (b) Does parole officers’ adherence to and experience with the

FFP model affect the effectiveness of the intervention?

Results are presented in Chapter 4. Overall, FFP is shown to be more effective than the traditional

form of parole for only those highest risk offenders whose parole officers adhered highly to the

model implementation. These results are cautionary, however, as there was a significant amount

of missing data (30%in some cases), and cases were dropped from analysis for a variety of reasons.

Furthermore, much of the analysis was conducted through the use of bivariate tables when more

rigorous multivariate models that used control variables could have been used.

The results chapter is cumbersome. There are 24 tables in the book and some do not use standard

statistical presentation. For example, the numbers and/or percentages of youth in each category in the

tables are not consistently presented nor are the results of significance testing. The reader is left to

thumb back and forth between tables and written description of findings to fully understand results.

Better family functioning is underscored as one of the positive outcomes of FFP, yet it is unclear that

this is the case. Several tables that display the results of a 5-point Likert-type scale on whether family

functioning improved as a result of FFP are described as showing an ‘‘improvement’’ when the

average rating for all items was around 3. The reader is left to wonder how this shows improvement

as the items were coded; a clear description of coding is not provided.

Adherence to the FFP model is analyzed in-depth from multiple perspectives in this chapter.

This is a fine examination of what parts of the program parole officers adhered to and how that

affected outcomes for youth. In addition, a creative examination of how parole officers’ experi-

ence with FFP over time affected youth outcomes was examined. These sets of analyses are the

highlights of the results section.

A good summary of the results is presented in the fifth and final chapter. Implications for public

policy are then discussed based on the argument that FFP is an effective means of intervention. The

policy implications include the expansion of the use and training in FFP, which may be a bit

overstated, given the limited positive findings and analytical problems described above. The process

evaluation portion of this study is important and welldone. This book is most appropriate for scholars,

practitioners, and policy makers interested in learning more about the extension of evidence-based

practices to other areas and evaluation of the implementation of those practices.

N. S. Bost

State Wards, Long-Term Care, and Delinquent Acts: An Analysis of Social

Bond Factors El Paso, TX: LFB Scholarly Publishing, 2010. xiv, 184 pp. $62.00. ISBN 978-1-59332-376-9

Reviewed by: Joel L. Carr, Angelo State University, San Angelo, TX, USA

DOI: 10.1177/0734016810385295

Noel S. Bost puts forth a sophisticated, dissertation style, work on the possible relationships

between out-of-home care for youth and delinquency. Bost presents a single study applying

Hirschi’s social bond theory in efforts to explain the relationships between adverse care experiences

Book Reviews 229