The problem presented to the city of Centervale is an increase in juvenile delinquency and status offenses; as a result of community complaints it is understood that there is a general sentiment that has been adopted of which would suggest that children in this area are out of control. It is recognized that Centervale has already employed various types of juvenile delinquency remedy approaches through a juvenile court, a diversion program, community corrections, and probation for some time. It is suggested that while these programs will prove advantageous in their own ways, it is necessary to also apply a juvenile prevention program/initiative. It is a concern that juvenile prevention programs without rehabilitative programs will result in being less useful than if they are combined; the same is true for the presence of rehabilitative programs without having also established a prevention program. While the three primary concerns as they are annotated by the Mayor are larceny or theft, truancy, and underage drinking, each of these issues should employ their own individualized program initiatives. The purpose of this initiative however will be to address the issue of truancy in the town of Centervale. Truancy, while it might appear on the surface to be the least important issue listed in the concerns of the Mayor, is in fact one of the primary issues that should be addressed. It can be argued that students that are not in school when they are supposed to be are out in the community breaking laws and participating in behaviors that are otherwise unacceptable; in this case, being truant from school would open up opportunities to participate in underage drinking, theft, larceny, and other delinquent types of behaviors. The target po... ... middle of paper ... ...d Advantage Press (No Date). The problem of truancy. Retrieved from http://www.advantagepress.com/newsletters/nov04news.asp Mitchell, V. (No Date). Upper Marlboro, MD Prince George’s County Truancy Reduction Court. Retrieved from http://www.doe.gov/support/prevention/dropout_truancy/improving_school_attendance.pdf Office of Justice Programs (OJJDP) (2013). Toolkit for creating your own truancy reduction program. Retrieved from http://www.ojjdp.gov/Publications/PubAbstract.asp?pubi=238899 Smink, J. (May 2005). National dropout prevention center/network. 15 effective strategies for improving student attendance and truancy prevention. Retrieved from https://www.dpi.state.nd.us/title1/progress/present/15ways.pdf Truancy Reduction and Attendance Coalition of Kern (TRACK) (2011). Truancy Prevention Campaign Overview. Retrieved from http://www.kernstayinschool.org/
The reason for this program is to use innovative approaches in developing programs, which will teach youth alternatives to violence, substance abuse, anger issues, low self-esteem, and the consequences as a result of making bad choices. During, the program non-violence, team building, leadership development and communication skills is promoted. A neutral and positive setting is provided for young people, so they are able to come together from different gangs throughout the city to work on their issues and programs together. When a youth is referred to the program they have an Intake-Assessment with the family. “Together, a Program Contract/Service Plan will be developed based on the individual needs of the youth/family. If the youth is on probation/parole all requirements of the courts will be incorporated into their contract. Services offered are case management, mediation, innovative focus groups, presentations, collaboration with other youth service organizations, and attendance at court hearings” (Stop ABQ Gangs,
Juvenile Justice Reforms in the United States. (n.d.). Retrieved September 20, 2011, from Juvenile Transfer to Criminal Courts: http://www.ojjdp.gov
The school to prison pipeline is a phenomenon that refers to the practices and policies that have pushed school children, especially the most at-risk children, out of classrooms and into the juvenile justice system. This disturbing occurrence indicates the prioritization of incarceration over the education of children. Most alarmingly, many of the children being targeted have learning disabilities or histories of poverty, abuse or neglect. Instead of being targeted, these children would much rather benefit from additional counseling and educational services. Moreover, the knowledge acquired in this course will be incorporated in this paper and used to explain the points made. In this term paper, what will be discussed is the expansion of the zero tolerance policy, the different views on the policy, who is mostly targeted, the effects on the juveniles and any alternative solutions that could diminish this dismaying occurrence for becoming a larger problem.
Cox, S. M., Allen, J. M., Hanser, R. D., & Conrad, J. J. (2014). Juvenile Justice A Guide to Theory, Policy and Practice (8th ed.). Sage publications Inc.
In 1899, the juvenile justice court system began in the United States in the state of Illinois. The focus was intended to improve the welfare and rehabilitation of youth incarcerated in juvenile justice system. The court mainly was focused on the rehabilitation of the youths rather than punishing them being that they still have immature ways and still growing. Specialized detention centers, youth centers, and training schools were created to treat delinquent youth apart from adult offenders in adult facilities. “Of these, approximately 14,500 are housed in adult facilities. The largest proportion, approximately 9,100 youth, are housed in local jails, and some 5,400 youth are housed in adult prisons” (Austin, 2000).
The goals of juvenile corrections are too deter, rehabilitate and reintegrate, prevent, punish and reattribute, as well as isolate and control youth offenders and offenses. Each different goal comes with its own challenges. The goal of deterrence has its limits; because rules and former sanctions, as well anti-criminal modeling and reinforcement are met with young rebellious minds. Traditional counseling and diversion which are integral aspects of community corrections can sometimes be ineffective, and studies have shown that sometimes a natural self intervention can take place as the youth grows older; resulting in the youth outgrowing delinquency.
Thompson, W, & Bynum, J. (1991). Juvenile delinquency. Needham Heights, MA: Allyn and Bacon A Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
Introduction: Recidivism or, habitual relapses into crime, has time and time again proven to be an issue among delinquents, which thereby increases the overall juvenile prison population. This issue has become more prevalent than what we realize. Unless a unit for measuring a juvenile’s risk of recidivism is enacted and used to determine a system to promote effective prevention, than the juvenile prison population will continue to increase. Our court system should not only focus on punishing the said juvenile but also enforce a program or policy that will allow for prevention of recidivism. So the question remains, how can recidivism in the juvenile prison population be prevented so that it is no longer the central cause for increased juvenile delinquency? Simply put, we must create a means of measuring juvenile’s level of risk and in turn, form an effective rehabilitation program that will decrease their risk level for future recidivism.
Tashea argues, “By investing in recreation centers, we can provide alternatives to delinquency. By providing reception centers, Baltimore could create access to services for our most vulnerable youth” (1). Community centers are safe places for afterschool programs as Wilson and Philip, state, “For many youth, the recreation/drop-in center is a nonthreatening, relatively unstructured place to play sports and hang out in an otherwise high-risk urban area” (73). In Baltimore where the community leaders and stakeholders have brought the at-risk youth problem to the surface, they can start to see some positive outcomes. In positive data about a Baltimore Police Athletic League center Chung, et al., notes, “A study of the Goodnow Police Athletic League (PAL) center in northeast Baltimore, the first center to open in May 1995, also indicated that juvenile arrests dropped nearly 10 percent, the number of armed robberies dropped from 14 to 7, assaults with handguns were eliminated, and common assaults decreased from 32 to 20.3” (16). These statistics further prove that prevention options work effectively, and can greatly improve our American
Due to the increased recognized differences between adults and juveniles in terms of needs and developmental capabilities, offender’s treatment differ depending on whether they are treated in an adult or juvenile court. In the adult court jurisdiction, public safety and retribution are the most salient tenets while in the juvenile courts the best the intentions are intended towards the best interest of the child focusing on rehabilitation. The best goals and objectives of the juvenile court sanctions aim at ensuring that the youth in trial at the juvenile court desists from delinquent behavior and thus easy to be reintegrated in the society once more. This fact is mainly achieved through offering the youth individualized case management programs
In the last century, juvenile delinquency has been on the rise, because of poverty and the poor conditions youth are forced to live in. These conditions have contributed to a feeling of hopelessness for them. Many of the schools in poor neighborhoods,
Gasper, Joseph. “Drug Use and Delinquency: Causes of Dropping Out of High School” (Criminal Justice: Recent Scholarship) (Dec 15, 2011)
There is still ongoing research about the most effective program to reduce recidivisms and prevent delinquent behaviors. Prevention program helps children and family in many ways, including bullying, helping young mothers, life skill training programs, and school based programs like STATUS and STEP. Community based intervention helps those that are in probation or out of the juvenile justice system. community intervention programs provide family therapy and work with the family or caretaker of the offender. Also, Intensive Protective Supervision (IPS) is a program where juveniles that caused non-serious offense are supervised by a case manager. Even though these programs have shown to be effective and are available for everyone. The population that needs these kinds of services, most are the minority and those that are
...tes of recidivism, mandations undoubtedly need to be made. That legislative push should be discontinuing the regarding juvenile offenders as criminals and grouping them in the same mindset as their adult counter parts. Their efforts should provide programs, unified and universal in all facilities to increase education. The United States must not be driven by a remedial punitive approach with regards to the dealing with juvenile offenders. They are the future; the potential and the legislative bodies and governments need to implement a comprehensive policy to stimulate the positive cognitive development of all school-age offenders. The goal should be to encourage legislators to appropriate better resources and enable community members to develop and implement plans to meet the educational needs of the forgotten division of the offending population; the juveniles.
Bridges, K. M. Banham . "Factors Contributing to Juvenile Delinquency." Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology 17.4 (1927): 531-76. scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu. Web. 15 Mar. 2014.