ers who were placed into an intensive supervision program instead of being committed to an institution. Wiebush notes that while intensive supervision programs have been very popular, there have been few empirical studies to examine their effectiveness as interventions. He finds the lack of data troubling for several reasons. First, he notes that the policy debate over the most appropriate response to serious juvenile offenders has not been resolved, and data on the effectiveness of various alternatives is needed. Second, he states that juvenile intensive supervision programs seem to carry a strong intuitive appeal to people on both sides of the debate over how to treat juveniles because they include a concern for control and for accountability while also emphasizing service delivery and treatment. These programs also offer the possibility of cost savings. Third, Wiebush cites the fact that this approach has been widely adopted and highly recommended and that it has been expanding as if its success had already been
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