Fagan and Castalano (2012) identified 17 juvenile prevention/intervention strategies that focused on youth 0-18 years of age, and which showed meaningful reductions in delinquency (specifically violent acts). These strategies targeted several risk factors and using diverse mechanisms including early intervention, school-based, and school, and family-focused based interventions. Following are examples of three specific strategies.
Early Childhood Education Prevention/ Intervention
The Perry Preschool program was developed in 2005 by Schweinhart (Fagan and Castalano,
2012). When the program was initially tested, a sample of preschool aged (3-4) African- American children participated in a social and cognitive development program which encouraged
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The Multi-site Violence Prevention Program targeted a majority of African American middle school students from low-income families (2012). Developed in 2009 the program involves a social-cognitive cognitive curriculum which seeks to improve students’ problem-solving skills, motivation, and self-efficacy skills (2012). Schoolteachers increased their use of interactive teaching skills, cooperative learning strategies and proactive classroom management as part of the program (2012). Additionally, intensive parent training was provided in all interventions to enhance parent-child bonding and appropriate boundary setting in parenting (2012). The Multi-site Violence Prevention Program has proven to lend at least medium reductions in youth violence and has demonstrated a consistency in long-term positive effects. As earlier mentioned African American males have consistently been overrepresented in the juvenile justice system. As such, it could be argued that prevention programs where there is significant focus on this population in either explaining or understanding risk factors is relevant. Community based programs that bring together the individual (youth), the family, school, and community are likely the most critical in the development of effective strategies …show more content…
As was shown above, prevention/intervention modalities have been effectively initiated for children as young as three to four years of age in an effort to address the issues and possibilities for juvenile delinquency. Effective treatment of juveniles in the system comes with specific responsibilities to be considered meaningful and significant. Juvenile treatments should reduce recidivism, have well-described procedures in treatment, have well-defined training protocols for therapists, monitoring procedures for treatment and proven evidence of long-term outcomes (Heilbrun, 2005). Delinquency prevention programs are not designed with the intention of excluding juvenile justice personnel. Many types of delinquency prevention programs, especially those that focus on adolescents, involve juvenile justice personnel such as the police (Siegel & Welsh p. 401). Often, for the purposes of funding, effective programs should also have a documented cost/benefit analysis attached to its program characteristics (2005). Following are two examples of treatment modalities that have proven effective in working with juvenile
This paper will look at the importance of Preventing Juvenile Delinquency and what different ideas, concepts and methods are available to those adolescents that are either at-risk already or those that can be in the future. Early prevention is the best method of slowing down the statistics of crimes among adolescents, by keeping them off of the streets and out of the justice system by providing the means to teach them to be productive rather than destructive.
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.
Universal school-based violence prevention programs represent an important means of reducing violent and aggressive behavior as found by Hahn et al (2007) in their study about the United States. The findings by Durlak et al (2011) from a meta-analysis of school-based, universal social and emotional learning (SEL) programs involving pupils from kindergarten through high school, have also added to the growing empirical evidence regarding the positive impact of SEL programs on improved social and emotional skills, attitudes, and behavior.
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.
Living in low-income and impoverished neighborhoods with little upward mobility and the way African American teens are treated and seen as in society are also major factors in the growing violence in predominantly black schools. Preventing violence in black teens begins with changing the environmental factors that affect African American adolescent males. Also, by providing support from the home, classroom, and community, the effects of the socioeconomic and social disadvantages will begin to decrease.
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
Introduction: Recidivism or, habitual relapses into crime, has time and time again proven to be an issue among delinquents, which thereby increases the overall juvenile prison population. This issue has become more prevalent than what we realize. Unless a unit for measuring a juvenile’s risk of recidivism is enacted and used to determine a system to promote effective prevention, than the juvenile prison population will continue to increase. Our court system should not only focus on punishing the said juvenile but also enforce a program or policy that will allow for prevention of recidivism. So the question remains, how can recidivism in the juvenile prison population be prevented so that it is no longer the central cause for increased
The process of crafting and testing the model was less systematic than The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention indicates. The model received more criticism than support. It’s been described as poorly articulated. Spergel reveals the successes and failures of the intervention. It stated in the beginning of the article that police responses, characterized
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.
Juvenile delinquency is sometimes something that people do not know how to handle, as there are many treatment programs available to help get young offenders back on the right track. Some of these programs consist of things like mentoring, at home intervention counseling community service, wilderness or adventure camps, or even time served in a correctional facility. One thing to remember is that each individual is different and what may work for one may not for another, some may need a combination of things, while others may need just one form of treatment. One key does not open all doors.
Risk factors for juvenile delinquency have been identified from multiple studies. These risk factors are different for older and younger juveniles. When focusing on the individual juvenile between the ages of
Juvenile offenders are increasing day by day regardless of the efforts to control the youth crime. It is important to understand the fact that even though the offenders fall in the young age bracket, they are still a part of human species. Human nature responds to violent actions with violent reactions. Violent reactions cause an increase in the violent actions instead of controlling them. However violent reactions may cause a temporary stop in the violent actions which may lead the authorities to believe that they have contained the crime. However, that doesn't stand true as a temporary stop does not result in a permanent solution.
The utilization of evidence based programs have proven to have positive outcomes for youth such as; reduced anxieties, and depression, academic success, support systems and skills for employment. Characteristically, juvenile delinquency follows a route comparable to that of usual adolescent development. Delinquent behavior is a path followed and not just something that children randomly engage in and therefore, through the understanding of the developmental paths of at-risk youth, researchers believe that early interventions can help to increase positive outcomes (Youth.Gov, 2017).
Finally, literature on the juvenile justice system often focuses on program implementation and effectiveness at addressing rehabilitation, as well as diversion techniques within the system (Greenwood, 2008). This review audits these problems in detail and establishes them within the bigger struggle in the juvenile justice system to rehabilitate youth offenders.
The development of preventive strategies will necessarily follow from an understanding of delinquency's root causes. If social structure is a key factor in the development of juvenile delinquency, then prevention will entail addressing issues regarding place, identity, or socioeconomic status. For example, if poverty is considered a significant causative factor, then taking steps such as providing jobs, job training, and perhaps additional welfare benefits becomes an important social concern. By eliminating poverty, society will thus