Quest: The California Youth Authority's Golden Years - Paperback

by Robert L. Smith (Author)

In Praise of Quest
QUEST is a must read for everyone concerned with youth corrections programs. It chronicles the rise and fall of the California Youth Authority, and tells of those who strove to make better a vital social system in a fatally politicized government structure. The author combines historical details about evolving corrections' theory, research, strategic events and most important the people, delivered with the spot-on wit of an accomplished storyteller. Set during several of the most turbulent decades in our nation's history, he describes how the youth corrections system works, or not, from the bottom up, and concludes his exposition with a series of insightful propositions for citizens, correctional administrators, and politicians wanting to avoid repeating past mistakes. Dale R. Brown, PhD, Colonel (ret), U.S. Army

QUEST is the history of the California Youth Authority and the career of the author from 1941 -1976, from trainee to deputy director. The story he shares is about the strong and interesting people he met along the way, individuals, and leaders, who took an abstract idea about administering a program for troubled youth and its subsequent development into a premier youth correctional agency recognized and admired nationally and internationally. Having worked with him during the "Golden Years," I can assure the reader that his unique writing style lets you share the Quest in triumph and failure. It is an important book for anyone interested in improving the administration of criminal and juvenile justice. Ronald W. Hayes, Deputy Director (ret), California Youth Authority

QUEST is graphic review by an insider of the "rise and fall" of the California Youth Authority. From its beginning, the Youth Authority was recognized, nationally and internationally, for the extensive innovative, progressive programs for youthful offenders. Smith's recollections of this period offer valuable personal insights into its growth and equally valuable observations as to why the agency would later experience a downward spiral to extinction. It is well written and documented, and a major contribution to corrections, criminology, and an informed public. Robert E Keldgord, Chief Probation Officer, Sacramento (ret), Criminologist