The Ethics Of Adolescent Diversion Project Essay

Rehabilitation for at risk teens has been an ongoing issue that runs deep in certain communities. When kids at young ages are exposed to stress and have to cope early on with dysfunction they are denied the opportunity to mature and conditioned to commit thinking errors that perpetuate a young offender into an adult offender. To find ways to break this cycle John Hubner accounts his time on the Giddings State School Capital Offenders Program and how a group of counselors are able to combine many strategies in rehabilitating young offenders who have committed serious crimes. Young people convicted of serious crimes are often transferred to adult prisons that institutionalize young people to prison life only increasing the likely hood of

Finding a new way to deal with criminal issues for young adults is very rare, especialy in a predomenatly impoverished area. So to be a part of the Restorative Justice Research team was an honor, also very insightful. At first I knew only a brief description about restorative justice being used in a way of restoring small issues not applying it to a more serious incidents such as criminal justice. I looked at it as harm causing problems were as justice repairs a partial amount of the problem. For this project however, it was way more than just rebuilding but a way to bring justice in a creative way that can not only benefit people who have done crimes but help repair community thoughts and views in the process.

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.

To address the increasing recidivism rate among offenders in the juvenile and adult criminal justice system, comprehensive restorative justice programs should expand to a much wider faction of the United States criminal justice system. Programs should be implemented on federal, state, and local levels to effectively and efficiently achieve this goal. The goals that should be strived for must be kept in mind so that adequate progress can be made and so that benchmarks will be met when required. Administrators must not let their restorative justice system fall behind to the point of no return, as many would argue that the current system of criminal justice has. This paper will focus on the requirements for proper management and administration of the proposed solution. The requirements include the skills needed for effective management of the proposal, identifying poor managerial skills and the ways to improve those skills, the necessity of benchmarks and milestones, and reasons that may delay proper implementation.

Instead of going to court, and waiting weeks, even months for a court date, young offenders go to the program, which gives them the opportunity to make up for what they did and take responsibility for their actions. It also provides them with the chance to face the community and the people affected by their crime, and realize the impact their actions had on other people. Ariel, while in a fight with her Mother, shattered a window and was charged with vandalism. Police, instead of taking her into custody, recommended her to a program called Restoring Justice in Rural Communities. The community worker negotiated a restorative plan in which she and her Mother could actually talk to each other and work things out, giving both of them the chance the hear the other side of the story. They were scheduled time during the week to spend one-on-one time with each other,so they can strengthen their relationship and put an end to the fighting. Restoring Justice in Rural Communities leaves youth without a criminal record and gives teenagers the opportunity to see how their actions affected other people, something they would've never experienced in

Diversion programs have evolved over time. There are countless programs available with which they all aim to reduce recidivism within the correctional system. We’re going to discuss fome of the programs and their effectiveness.

I hypothesize that diversion programs will decrease recidivism rates, especially one that is created to have the individual as the focus. I will create my own diversion program that will have focus on individual approach while providing the same services to everyone. There will be medical/mental health advisor, an educational advisor, social skills advisor, someone from the law enforcement/court system, an advisor to focus on restorative justice and a program coordinator who will work on group programing and creative ways in which the juveniles can get involved to work on skills that are needed in everyday life. I believe that these are essential within a diversion program because the individual that enters the program may be lacking in one

My initial reaction to the concept and process of restorative justice was positive. I am in full agreement to the process and feel this is a program that should be implemented in schools, justice systems, at home, and in the community. Van Wormer describes this program goal is to work together as a community (community building) to restore what was once whole and holding the offender accountable for damages (Van Wormer & Besthorn, 2011). Restorative justice is a humane way of problem solving and giving the opportunity for the offender to understand the effects made on the community, it's a form of therapy to discuss the underlying causes and issues. This provides the opportunity for both victim and offender to heal and create solutions.

Restorative justice is based on the principle that criminal behavior injures not only the victim but also the community and the offender, and any effort to resolve these problems caused by criminal behavior should involve all of these parties. Common restorative justice initiatives are victim-offender mediation, circle sentencing, community holistic healing programs, and family group conferences. A key to all these responses to criminal behavior is to address not only the offender, but all parties involved including the victim and their families, offender's family, community citizens, and even the police officers themselves.

Once a month, year round, I am a panelist on the Ashland County Teen Court.Teen Court is a system of restorative justice set up for and run by youth in the community. The program is offered as an alternative to juvenile court, and gives them an opportunity to take responsibility for their own actions with community based sanctions given by their peers. I applied for and became a member of the panel roughly three years ago, and since then have witnessed the immense impact it can have on the youth who participate. Many of the kids who attend teen court are first time offenders that have made a poor choice and with hopes of a second chance; a chance to start over. This put me and the other panelists in a position of great responsibility as we

The need of diversion programs in juvenile correctional settings is on an increase. Two conflicting impulses dominate the desire to decrease the number of reoffending juveniles. The first is a compassionate approach that concentrates on treating the youth whereas the second approach uses punishment to protect their focus, which is community safety (Artello, Hayes, Muschert, & Spencer, 2015). It is important to note that not all individuals are impacted in the same way therefore many approaches aimed towards assisting the youth within the justice system exist. Due to the Progressive Era Reform, the state has the ability and responsibility to protect the welfare of children leading to treatment that hopefully divert them from continuously

I have a natural knack for the study of law. I enjoy inventing and improving systems and I love children. During my internship with the Juvenile Court Institute, I was able to take an in-depth look at the juvenile justice system. I was surprised at the overwhelming number of juveniles in the justice system. I was inspired by the volunteers that stood to make a difference in the children's life. I was also inspired by the judge's ability to choose a program that would rehabilitate the children, instead locking them up and throwing away the key. The question that I walked away with was, "What can we do to prevent the children from ending up in the system in the first place?" The court system has many programs to help the children and parents

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.

Most findings indicate that punishment, deterrence, incapacitation and restitution are ineffective ways to reduce crime. It is noted that if the same resource monies could be redirected rehabilitation, the cost to the tax- payer would be reduced over time (Gertz et al, 2005). Rehabilitative programs are the most effective in reaching our ultimate goal of reducing crime and reducing future criminal behavior which is the purpose of incarceration. The problem with rehabilitation is that it is the most difficult to proof effective and even more difficult to persuade policy makers and community members to fund (Pinard, 2010). There are at

There are already existing restorative practices that are place within the conventional criminal justice system at present namely probation, restitution and community service (Zehr, 1990). Admittedly they are not readily termed restorative justice programs however they are grounded in its theory.