The City of Philadelphia also commissioned a long-term, comprehensive study (Program Development and Evaluation System or ProDES) conducted by Temple University. The study reviewed juveniles entering the program during a four-year period, 1994 through 1997. Bethesda's Philadelphia day treatment program was one participant. Many significant facts were revealed during this study, as follows:

The overall recidivism rate for each year of the study declined significantly, while all other programs remained constant. The 1996 cohort of Bethesda clients had a recidivism rate of 28% (in-program and post-program), which is 6% lower than the average for all other day treatment programs involved in the research. Most notable is that only 19% of those youth who successfully completed the Bethesda program received new petitions in Family Court within six months following discharge. This represents an 81% success rate with some of the most aggressive delinquent offenders from the city of Philadelphia. According to the data, the Bethesda clients are assessed as being of greater risk of re-arrest when they enter the program. The profile of the offender referred to Bethesda is serious, often times violent, with multiple delinquency charges or adjudications.