Juvenile Offenders And Child Welfare Agencies Across The United States

There have been many studies conducted that examine ways in which the juvenile justice system responds to female offenders. Historically juvenile female offenders have been treated under status offense jurisdiction (Zahn et al., 2010, p. 10). United States Courts would exercise the principle of “parens patriae” to place the female in detention as a form of punishment for misbehavior (Sherman, 2012, pp. 1589-1590). This principle also remains prevalent as it pertains to how the juvenile justice system currently responds to juvenile female offenders.

In America on any give day, approximately ten thousand juveniles are housed in adult prisons and jails. Approximately two hundred thousand juveniles enter the adult criminal justice system each year and most have non-violent crimes. Juveniles in the adult jails lose out on the educational and psychological benefits offered by juvenile detention facilities and

Approximately two million adolescents a year are arrested and out of that two million, 60,000 of them are incarcerated according to the American Journal of Public Health. The 60,000 incarcerated adolescents each year are being tried as adults in court because of the serious crimes they have committed. The crimes they have committed are anything from armed robbery to murder. Some juveniles might be first time offenders and others might be repeat offenders. Crimes have always been a major issue in the United States and can cause controversy in the criminal justice system. Charging a minor as an adult in criminal court varies from state to state based on each state’s jurisdiction. Some states consider anyone up to the age of 18 still a juvenile and would not be charged as an adult in criminal court, but other states may charge a juvenile as an adult at the age of 16 or 17. Jordan (2014) states, “Although states already had methods for transferring youth to the adult system, as a result of the growing fear of juvenile violence, most states implemented new laws to increase the number of youth entering the adult criminal system’ (Bernard & Kurlychek, 2010; Torbet et al., 1996)” (p. 315). While it sounds beneficial to incarcerate more adolescents in the adult criminal justice system to avoid juveniles from committing crimes in the future, that is not always the case. Incarcerating these juveniles can be life changing in a negative

In America we sometimes house juveniles and adults in the same prison system. In the state of Wisconsin in 2014, we have incarcerated 121 minors into the adult system. While incarcerating these juveniles in the prison system some may wonder how does it affect a juvenile, Also what problems do they face while in prison and lastly, how has their life change for better or worse after they are released back into society.

Youth who come to the attention of the juvenile justice system are often a challenging and underserved population. While not all youth who experience trauma engage in delinquent activity, and vise versa, studies have shown that youth who are involved in the juvenile justice system have found to have higher rates of traumatic experiences. The National Center for Mental Health and Juvenile Justice (NCMHJJ) reported that 2% of all children are victims of maltreatment, 13% are victims of neglect, and 11% are victims of physical, sexual, or emotional abuse (Ford et al., 2007). NCMHJJ also reports that over 90% of youth involved with the juvenile justice system report having experienced at least one traumatic incident (Ford et al., 2007). In addition,

The juvenile justice system can be dated back to the late 18th and early 19th century. Youths were confined to jails with mentally ill and hardened criminals because there were no other alternatives for them. Many of these youths were in these institutions for non-violent offenses. During this same time, many American cities had to find a solution to the overwhelming rate of child neglect. Today, there is still much debate about the well-being of youths in the criminal justice system. The juvenile justice system plays an important role in society because it allows youths the opportunity to change their behavior. The current system is effective in providing programs for juveniles in an effort to

Juvenile delinquency has become a controversial issue within the Criminal Justice system. In the United States, juvenile delinquency refers to disruptive and criminal behavior committed by an individual under the age of 18. In many states, a minor at the age of 16 to 17 ½ can be tried as an adult. Once the individual reaches adulthood, the disruptive and criminal behavior is recognized as a crime. However, the criminal justice system has divided juvenile delinquency into two general types of categories that has brought upon controversial issues of inequality and corruption. Yet, putting young individuals in juvenile detentions facilities seems to open the door for them to commit more crimes in the future. Therefore, under certain circumstances juveniles should be tried as an adult.

Many young children are now being influenced by individuals that can physically and mentally harm their well-being. There are too many young children being seen through the incarceration systems solely because of the environment that they are raised in. In a study done by Elizbeth Barnert, “With 2 million youth arrested annually in the United States and 60,000 detained, justice-involved youth represent a large, high-risk, vulnerable population largely hidden from public view” (Barnet). This goes to show that the youth is not being taken care of responsibly or are not being placed into the right environment. Juvenile incarceration is detrimental to their physical and mental health, these children have been influenced in the past as well as incarceration

It is often stated that the future lies in the hands of our offspring’s. Meaning, that the youth are our future adults. The world revolves on the status of the children and what they will do to contribute to life. Accordingly to The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquent Prevention 1.8 million juveniles were arrested in 2009 (OJJDP). The Juvenile Justice system holds the keys to unlock many doors of broken children that are on the wrong path in there adolescent life. The difference between children and adults is that children have a greater capacity for change when an adult can be more resistant to it (JLC.org). This is one reason why The Justice System should give additional help to the Juvenile Corrections System.

The United States has been incarcerating child offenders for a couple hundred years without any indication that it benefits children or society. Currently, there are approximately 54,000 juvenile offenders in youth-detention facilities across the nation. Of those kids, in an average year, 17,800 have not even been sentenced. According to the Campaign for Youth Justice, they are just awaiting their turn in court. What’s more, another 200,000 youth is tried, sentenced, or incarcerated as adults every year.

The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention established that in 2009 there were a total of 1,812,900 juvenile arrest. These arrest consisted of those who were arrested and never tried as adults, for the purpose of this paper the same definition of a juvenile will be used. It can be easily argued that the juvenile population is Americas most vulnerable, and this is the population that we are arresting at such high numbers. To understand why these juveniles are being arrested at such high numbers we must take a closer look at our criminal justice system. We as a nation are currently in the business of warehousing humans under the guise of “justice” in order to turn a

There is a moderate portion of juvenile law violations that are minor; however some young offenders are extremely dangerous and violent. (Caldwell, 2002) Studies have shown that most delinquent behavior stems from some sort of underlining issue or issues in a youth’s present or past history. State and county authorities must deal with these offenders while also responding to their personal social problems. This could range from child abuse and neglect, family issues and drug abuse, exposure to pornography and exposure to aggressive role models.

Many risk factors tie into juveniles committing crimes and these crimes contribute to the national statistics in the United

“Being abuses or neglected as a child increased the likelihood of arrest as a juvenile by 53 percent, as adult by 38 percent, and for a violent criminal by 48 percent” (Widom, 1992).

It may seem shocking that America has one of the highest crime rates per capita compared to other similar industrialized nations. Over the years, there have been many discussions and efforts in order to reduce this problem. Perhaps one of the more sensitive issues when discussing crime in America is the problem of juvenile crime. Recently, juveniles make up 3% of all felonies committed each year and 6% of all violent crimes (criminamerica.net). These statistics have troubled politicians for decades as they have worked to find a solution. Starting in 1994 the Clinton administration started putting stricter punishment on juvenile offenders, but it was quickly realized that this harsh punishment may not be the best solution. Various studies and programs put into action have shown that early prevention in a child’s life is much more effective and more cost efficient in reducing crime. Because of these efforts, juvenile crime has reduced 68% since the violent boom of the 1990s. In light of these discoveries, it is important for states to focus on these results in order to reduce crime.