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Juvenile Justice System Essay

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The juvenile justice system in Delaware has many programs that help young criminal offenders succeed. I would like to make a few recommendations to you on how we could make the justice system for juveniles even better. While doing some research on other states I have found that many family and community based programs have the highest effect on young offenders, in allowing them to reenter society. I have also found that some programs we currently have here in Delaware have proven ineffective in other locations. The first recommendation I have is to eliminate the use of programs that have been found as ineffective in reducing recidivism and or improving the outcomes of youth. Commonly used ineffective programs include overcrowded juvenile …show more content…

We must invest in effective services for youth while they are on supervision to produce long-term gains in community safety and youth outcomes. Short-term supervision programs work for the early stages, but the juvenile tends to revert to his or hers previous delinquent activities if their attitudes, beliefs, skills, and support systems have not fundamentally changed. Some findings suggest that confining youth can increase their likelihood of being incarcerated as adults by more than 20 percent and can also significantly reduce their chances of completing high school. My third recommendation is to engage families in major system decisions. One good example of this is the Functional Family Therapy which is aimed at 11 to 18 year-olds who are having problems with delinquency and substance abuse. This program focuses on improving family structure and involvement. Specifically, individual therapists work with a family in the home to improve problem solving, increase emotional connections, and strengthen parents’ abilities to provide structure, guidance, and limits for their children. This also helps to build a stronger bond between parent and

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