Counseling, Prevention, Child Welfare, And Juvenile Justice

Children that are born into poverty and less than desirable conditions are more times than not, destined to become involved in the juvenile justice system. This may be due the child’s destructive behaviors or for placement out of concern for the child’s safety and well-being. Neglect and abuse is more prevalent in disadvantaged environments and causes sometimes-irreversible emotional problems. For whatever reason the child enters the system, we know that it is not a place for youth to grow, be nurtured and become productive members of society.

The number of people with mental illness in the criminal justice system is one of the most pressing problems facing law enforcement and corrections today (Cuellar, McReynolds, & Wasserman, 2006). The Surgeon General’s Report on Mental Health estimated that about 20% of children and adolescents in the general population have mental disorders with some degree of at least mild functional impairment (USPH, 1999). Subsequent research has found much higher rates of serious mental health problems among youth in the juvenile justice system. Among youth who have been arrested, one study found that 31% of youth had received services from the mental health system (Rosenblatt, Rosenblatt, & Biggs, 2000). Two studies of youth in juvenile detention found that between 60% and 68% met the diagnostic criteria for a mental health disorder (Teplin, Abram, McClelland, Dulcan, & Mericle, 2002; Wasserman, Ko, & McReynolds, 2004). Once youth with emotional disturbances enter the justice system, repeated arrests are common through the remainder of childhood and into adulthood. Recidivism rates for individuals with a serious mental illness are nearly double those in the general population (Baillargeon, Binswanger, Penn, Williams, & Murray, 2009; Constantine, Petrila, Andel, Givens, Becker et al., 2010). In an analysis of juvenile trajectories, youth with emotional disturbances in their late adolescent years were more likely to fall into the high arrest trajectory class and much

Today 's concept of the juvenile justice system is relatively new due to significant modifications in policy overtime. The justice system has been trying to figure out effective ways to treat juvenile criminal offenders successfully for years. The justice system did not always have a special category for juveniles and their crime. Juveniles was once treated as adults when they committed crimes and were subjected to harsh punishments. "The juvenile court was the culmination of efforts of the positivist criminologists and Progressive activists. It was designed to address the individual needs of delinquent children, provide care and rehabilitation, and ensure that they could go on to live lawful, productive lives. The Illinois legislature

Studies have conducted that those who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) are wrongly treated in juvenile justice systems. In this article, written by Kristi Holsinger and Jessica P. Hodge, these two authors go into great detail on the ways the LGBT community is wrongly treated within the juvenile justice system and analyze an interview that examines the challenges for the staff and for the women, as well as how to support those who are members of the LGBT community.

terrorism as one might expect to think. No today, we live in fear from our own

Juvenile justice has traditionally followed a punitive model when faced with young transgressors. Most juvenile justice departments have then also followed this model, creating a system that is in effect not only separate from the community, but also from the family unit. Many juvenile offenders are then physically removed both from their communities and their families to be incarcerated into punitive institutions. According to the Balanced and Restorative Justice model, however, accountability is best encouraged with the direct involvement of both the community and the family unit (U.S. Dept. of Justice). This is also the case with young John Black, whose offense was possession of a fire arm, although this did not lead to any actual harm to others. He is therefore an excellent candidate for family- and community-based programs, helping him to learn accountability and find his place in society in an effective and productive way.

In the criminal justice world, juvenile offenders are of particular concern. In 2014 alone it is estimated that over one million juveniles were arrested in America (Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention). According to the National Institute of Justice, juveniles who begin a life of delinquency early are more likely to continue that trend into adulthood, and that once they enter the adult criminal justice system; they are more likely to become worse in their criminal conduct. While most juveniles are likely to stop delinquency by their early twenties, those who continue are more likely to engage in increasingly violent offenses. Maltreatment of juveniles is also a concern in America. In 2014, an estimated 700,000 children were referred to child welfare agencies across the United States.

The history of the juvenile justice system takes a long trek back in time to England where the line was thinly drawn between troubled adults and adolescence. William Blackstone an English lawyer published his thoughts on the laws of England in the 1760's. English common law which is the back bone to the United States justice system showed no difference between an adult offenders and minor offenders. The youth was treated like anyone else who broke laws, they were held strictly accountable and would face harsh punishment. As time went on often minor offenders would be spending their punishment in prison, it was thought to be a better way to deal with offenders.

For over a hundred years, our country believed that the juvenile justice system would serve as a bridge to acquire the long lost appropriate justice intended to deal with the heinous crimes that people, under a specific range of ages, have committed in the sense of bringing along the possibility that the given have not endeavored these deeds. The system believes that these people are not entirely blamable for there are factors that are not in the realm of their control, which in the worst case scenario, have led them to their unbecoming. Thus, the system believes that, under several steps and procedures, rehabilitation and in due time, rooms for possible changes are at great odds.

The national trend towards getting tough on juvenile crime by altering the juvenile justice system to more closely mirror the adult system was examined in order to determine whether secure confinement of juvenile offenders is as effective as community-based rehabilitative and treatment programs for these youth. Politicians and public perceptions have allowed the juvenile justice system to evolve from one of reform based thinking to one of punishment based thinking, placing more young offenders in secure facilities than ever before. The social repercussions of

When looking at the inner city of Chicago it has been deemed a war zone. When you are looking from the outside in all you can think of is all the killings and crimes occurring. You can only think what can be a solution to this madness, but is there really any solution. Around the age of seven I can remember the city as being fun and lively. Walking to the park with no worries and setting up the basketball hoop on the curb

del Carmen, R. V., & Trulson, C. R. (2006). Juvenile Justice, The System, Process, And Law. Belmont: Thomson Wadsorth.

Hello, Marcee, Overall great and informative post. First, I agree with you point that helping people help themselves is important. There could be many resources and professionals available to a juvenile, but it’s their job to take full advantage of those opportunities. Before a minor can be ready to use resources and network with professionals, they need to receive counseling. Many juveniles that come from broken home or unfortunate circumstances don’t have the self-confidence that they need to be successful. I think that community centers should offer free counseling to juveniles that have obstacles in their life, need guidance, or just want someone to talk to. There are many successful people in the world. Some of those individuals end up

This information is very accurate. Even though the data information is from the 1990’s the information is still accurate until this day. Teenagers are still doing delinquent things. The only difference is there are more preventions/interventions in today’s society. The juvenile justice system has improved way more by having more resources for the kids and ways to help

As of July 2015, the United States population has been reported at 321,238,352- accounting for at least 25% of the human population. 5% out of the 25% of this population is the percentage of youths that are incarcerated or confined (Census, n.d). According to the U.S Department of Justice’s office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency prevention, it was reported in 2011 that 1 in 13 of juvenile arrests were for murder, and about 1 in 5 arrests were for robbery, burglary, or larceny-theft; totaling in an estimated amount of 1,470,000 arrests for 2011(Puzzanchera, 2013). The most popular crime committed between juveniles is Arson, which makes up for 44% of all crimes committed in youths. Robbery and burglary both account for 25% of crimes, up there at an astonishing 24% is property crimes. Aggravated assault and violent crimes account for less than 15% of juvenile crimes (King, 2003).