Child Co Workers : An Overview

Incidents like abuse from family members, bullying, neglect, and sexual abuse are the most common. Repeated abuse can lead to psychological damage and emotional scarring. Not only are traumatic psychological experiences causing these juveniles to commit violent crimes. Situations, where children have poor education, a household without discipline, peer pressure, inadequate role models, low income, and substance abuse coupled with the wrong environment, can lead to a life of crime. These negative influences guide these juveniles on the wrong path towards crime. However, it does not mean these juveniles cannot succeed; it is however up to the juvenile to make the correct choices in their

When a juvenile commits a crime, it is not considered a crime, however it is considered juvenile delinquency. A massive problem throughout the US is juvenile delinquent acts. Juveniles acting out in a delinquent manner can be caused by many things. However, there is not just one reason why a juvenile may commit these acts. Instead there are many reasons that could lead up to delinquency. In this essay, I will be discussing a few theories as well as ways juveniles may receive treatment.

The Florida Department of Juvenile Justice Office of Prevention and Victim Services provides voluntary youth crime prevention programs through the state of Florida. The Florida Department of Juvenile Justice mission is to increase public safety by reducing juvenile delinquency through operative prevention, intervention and treatment services that builds up families for a turn around of a brighter future of a troubled youth. The main functions of these programs as will be indicated in this paper are designed to reduce juvenile crime and protect public safety. These programs that will be stated main focused is to help those high-risk juveniles and those who display problem behaviors such as ungovernability, truancy, running away from home and other pre-delinquent behaviors. The state of Florida addresses these problems by contracting this delinquency programs prevention services and awarding grants to this local providers throughout the state of Florida.

There are a few common reasons for young people to be involved in crime. These include poor parental supervision, drug and alcohol abuse, neglect and abuse, homelessness, negative peer associations and difficulties in school and employment. The criminal justice system effectively deals with young offenders through unique techniques to address the challenges of dealing with juvenile offending. Even though young offenders commit a large percentage of crime, they also have the highest likelihood to be rehabilitated and change their lifestyles as they mature. There are several factors influencing crime by young offenders including psychological and

In the United States, over 90,000 juveniles are incarcerated in juvenile justice facilities. To house 90,000 juveniles, majority non-violent offenders, it costs the states roughly 5.7 billion dollars annually. “With states facing serious budgetary constraints, it is an opportune time or policymakers to consider ways to reduce juvenile justice spending that won’t compromise public safety.” In the effort to reduce juvenile justice costs, community-based programs known as pretrial diversion programs were implemented. Pretrial diversion programs did not only reduce funding costs, but benefited the juvenile as well. Pretrial diversion programs main objective is to rehabilitate juvenile offenders, which ultimately led to lower recidivism rates and safer communities. As a result of the benefits to all parties involved, today’s juvenile judicial system offers more juveniles the opportunity to attend these diversion programs; rather than proceed through traditional criminal justice processes. (Justice Policy Institution)

Juvenile institutions and programs have changed over time. There are also juvenile programs that necessarily do not punish juvenile’s delinquents but instead help modify their behavior to avoid recidivism. Certain treatments and methods regarding how to deal with these dangerous young offenders were fixed and improved to make these institutions and programs more effective in changing the lives of these young

North Carolina is the only state that prosecute 16 and 17 year olds that is charged with criminal offenses in the criminal justice system. These criminal records can have severe collateral consequences especially for minorities. While having a grave fiscal impact on individuals, families and communities. Due to this, Durham County introduced a Misdemeanor Diversion program (MDP) which is a 90 day program that tries to avoid a first arrest for low-risk youth in Durham- County. The purpose of this program is to keep the youth out of the adult criminal system.

With this message directed towards juveniles, as well as the likely chance that juveniles whom are transferred to the adult criminal court system will result in some type of incarceration, this may lead to a deterrence of violent or misbehaved actions committed by juveniles in an attempt to avoid these prosecutions. These statements conducted by Urbina and White (2009), are statements to consider on the issue of a juveniles transfer to adult criminal court. Although there are strong facts to support this type of transfer for juveniles, Urbina and White (2009) also found that this might not be the best option in some cases. There have been studies that showed juveniles whom were transferred to the adult criminal court system and sent to adult jails were more likely to re-offend and with more serious crimes than did their juvenile counterparts (Urbina & White, 2009). With this study that was conducted, it adds doubt to the fact that juveniles should be transferred to the adult criminal court system. Although, at times, this may be the best option for serious and violent repeated offenders, it is not likely that this process will have a positive affect on the juvenile or the community. Urbina and White (2009) continue to lack strong argumentative evidence to show the exact times that transferring a juvenile to the adult criminal court system is the

I am doing my field placement at the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit Court in the Juvenile Diversion Program (JDP). The JDP works with first time misdemeanor juvenile offenders between the ages of 8 and 17. In fact, the Florida Statute 985.12 gives law enforcement the authority to issue a Civil Citation instead of arresting the youth. The premise of the diversion program is to direct the juvenile’s path away from jail. When first entering the JDP the child will receive an assessment and may be referred to mental health counseling. In the first place, the case workers interviews the youth and their parent/guardian and form a contract. Next, the case worker will assign the defendant sanctions for the defendant to complete. The perpetrator will

Many children today are growing up without parents or some kind of legal guardian. When children do not have some type of support system to keep them motivated, more than half of them turn to the streets. Growing up as a teenager alone is very hard. They have no one to turn to, no one to talk to, help them when they need it, someone to just call a friend. Teens need some kind of motivation to keep them going each day. More and more teens today are committing crimes and being tried as adults. Even at the young age of 13. This review considers whether or not adolescents in the criminal justice system have a chance of success by acknowledging the following

All programs have limitations to them and they are not all perfect. Downs, Robertson and Harrison did a study on the diversion program and the effectiveness it had in helping drug abusers. They observed 127 clients total, ages 13-17. They found that the diversion program they used with these adolescents was not effective and led to negative self-labels and more deviant behavior. They found that some adolescents that were sent to this program were not heavy drug users and had family issues, but due to the program being drug based it led to the negative self-label of drug abuser. This program didn’t have many restorative aspects to it. Diversion programs for juveniles should be separate from juveniles who need support to fix a drug addiction

The book talks about the diversion and transitional programs that can be helpful to juvenile’s, so they can stay out of trouble. Diversion program allows the teen speak with social worker and probation officer. While the transitional program help them earn jobs in community and earn high school diploma or some trade while in detention center. These programs are just not offered to juveniles they are many programs for people while in prison or federal prison that they can attend.

Juvenile delinquency has been a problem in the United States ever since it has been able to be documented. From 100 years ago to now, the process of juvenile delinquency has changed dramatically; from the way juveniles are tried, to the way that they are released back into society, so that they do not return back to the justice system (Scott and Steinberg, 2008). Saying this, juveniles tend to

It is a common believe that adolescents require a special system thru which be processed because they are “youth who are in a transitional stage of development…young offenders that are neither innocent children nor mature adults…” (Nelson, 2012). Because juveniles are in a process of constant development sociologically, psychologically and physiologically, the juvenile court system focuses on alternative sentences and the creation of programs that will offer them rehabilitation instead of incarceration. However, in cases of extraordinary circumstances, the juvenile system shifts from looking at rehabilitation as a first choice to accountability and punishment (Read, n.d). All levels of society are collectively involved in delinquency

The Juvenile System has been around for a long time. The primary reason behind separating Juvenile from adult criminals is quite simple; the judicial system believes that the children are less culpable for their irresponsive behavior and they could easily be reformed as compared to adult offenders. The crucial role of the judicial system is to critically investigate, diagnose, and recommend treatments for the Juveniles rather than accrediting them. However, because of the increasing number of juvenile arrest for crimes committed by persons considered as a child, the attention that the given to a crime involving juveniles, the decreasing trust to the juvenile system itself and the lauder roar of the society for a safer place to live in,