Author Description

This Juvenile Firesetter Intervention Handbook is designed to teach communities how to develop an effective juvenile firesetter intervention program. The chapters of this Handbook can be viewed as the six building blocks essential to construct a successful program. The cornerstone of the blueprint is understanding the personality profiles of juvenile firesetters and their families. The next step is identifying at-risk youth and assessing the likelihood that they will become involved in future firesetting incidents. The identification of the three levels of firesetting risk-little, definite, and extreme-leads to specific types of intervention, including evaluation, education, referral, and follow up. These are the critical components of a juvenile firesetter program To provide a complete complement of services to juvenile firesetters and their families, the juvenile firesetter program must be part of a community network. This network consists of a continuum of care designed to provide a range of intervention services, including prevention, immediate treatment, and graduated sanctions to juvenile firesetters and their families. Finally, there is a specific set of programmatic tasks that will ensure the delivery of swift and effective intervention to at-risk youth and their families. A planned an coordinated effort on the part of the fire service and human service organizations is the best way to reduce juvenile involvement in firesetting and arson and to protect and preserve lives and property in our communities.