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Effectiveness of community based corrections
Effectiveness of community based corrections
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Community based programs are alternative options available to juveniles, instead of incarceration that safely serves juveniles and give juveniles a second chance to become productive members of society. Community based programs aim to efficiently rehabilitate and prevent juvenile delinquency and reduce deviant behavior in juveniles (Alarid & Del Carmen, 2012). There are numerous community based corrections programs available in the juvenile justice system such as: drug court or substance abuse treatment, mentoring, independent living transition services, community service, mediation or restitution, group home placement, functional family therapy, job training or work programs, Electronic Monitoring System or Global Positioning System, …show more content…
The Department of Education and the Department of Juvenile Justice Probation Department joined forces to help youths acquire knowledge and gain skills that will result in living a positive and productive lifestyle (National Criminal Justice Reference System, 2000). School-based probation service differs from that of other community based corrections programs because it allows more contact, provides direct observation, increases school success, improves communication, prevents or reduces deviant behavior at school, decreases recidivism, and is cost efficient (Office of Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention, n.d.). School-based probation allows the probation officer to “ intervene in crisis situations involving the juvenile probationers, assist schools in handling disruptive behavior by probationers and other youths, coordinate interventions with the schools and other agencies, coordinate reentry efforts for youth returning from a juvenile justice facility, and serve as an agent of early intervention for disruptive or truant youth who are not yet involved in the juvenile justice system (Office of Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention, n.d., p. …show more content…
Group homes serve as a form of intervention for juvenile offenders, usually court ordered and less restrictive than other residential placement facilities and foster care placements, in which the juvenile is under 24-hour supervision (Office of Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention, n.d.). The following agencies commonly partner with the Department of Juvenile Justice to provide services to juvenile offenders and at-risk youths in group homes: public welfare agencies, child welfare, and mental health (Office of Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention, n.d.). Group homes differ from other community-based correctional programs because it is less restrictive, the juveniles are usually between fifteen and seventeen years old and the staff assists with emotional and behavioral problems that the juveniles are experiencing (Office of Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention,
The juvenile community corrections population has experienced a tremendous growth over the past two decades. In cities like Miami, Florida in places like Liberty City, called “Pork and Beans,” the volume of adjudicated youths ordered to formal probation increased by 67% according to Adams (2011). Juvenile crime has been on a rise, in Miami, Florida since 2002. The police believe that young people are becoming targets, more than before because they are young and are sending them to juvenile court. This growth has had serious inferences for juvenile probation officers that make frequent choices about the case management of juvenile offenders on a daily basis. Juvenile probation officers have to type dispositions and assignment references,
Community corrections have more advantages over incarceration and fewer disadvantages. Incarcerating people isn’t working that well and the biggest reason is the overcrowding of prisons. According to a chart in Schmalleger’s book, “prisoners compared vs. capacity” there has been overcrowding of prisons since 1980. We are putting more people in prisons than how much capacity they can actually hold. Not only has the prison population skyrocketed but it also costs a lot of money to house all of those people. Why should we send people to jail if they are convicted of a nonviolent crime when we could put them on probation so we don’t overfill prisons? 49% of convicted inmates committed a nonviolent crime. (Class 12/7/09) If we were to put nonviolent offenders on probation then that would make a lot of room for violent offenders.
...proper guidance and support from such social groups as school and family, juvenile delinquency can come down, and problem youth could lead successful and meaningful lives.
Using pertinent theories of juvenile delinquency, this policy proposal will first highlight areas in the Illinois Juvenile Justice system that are in need of updates and modifications and secondly identify specific changes to be made in the current system. Through the application of rational choice, social control and strain theories along with an analysis of current research in the field, the submitted proposal will present one key policy change that may further reduce the number of juvenile delinquents both now and in the future. The suggested change will include the creation of the Department of Juvenile Outreach, an extension of the city's ongoing efforts at rehabilitation of juvenile offenders. This policy proposal will take into consideration social disorganization and subculture theories to explain juvenile delinquency further. The creation of the Department will coordinate and facilitate community programs and social services aimed at targeting juveniles at-risk of offending or even re-offending. For the purposes of implementation, this policy will also include budget and personnel requirements as well as different measures to evaluate the effectiveness of the suggested changes in reducing criminal activity among juveniles in Illinois and possibly even the United States.
Students that have been labeled “delinquent” need help in beating the odds to become successful adults. As C. Ogletree discusses article, Total Reform for a Broken System, a program needs to be created that includes family involvement and support to create concrete goals and means for students to achieve them, in the aim of becoming successful students throughout each school until graduation. It is a great goal for school institutions to strive in changing students’ behavior for the better, giving them a fair opportunity in education. Not to single out those of low-income homes, race, or learning disabilities. It should be the goal to get to the heart of misbehavior that is introducing so many students into the juvenile justice system. School institutions need to be place of supportive and structured learning from day one. Students enter school as young children, for the first time away from parents, relying on educators to guide them throughout their day. School Institutions should look for a positive approach that emphasizes on individual strengths to promote learning. The restorative circles program is having been introduced into school systems as an alternative to the zero tolerance policies. It creates an involvement of communication between all parties in any issue. Whether it be good or bad, it offers support for students to discuss issues and ideas, opening a line of communication between parents, teachers, and students, which will be key a student’s
The United States Criminal Justice System has several options available when it comes to sentencing. Probation is one that we hear of most when it comes to first time offenders as well as juvenile offenders. John Augustus first developed probation in Boston in 1841. The first probation law was enacted in Massachusetts in 1878. By the 1990’s the juvenile justice system was far more effective as it began taking greater measures. In 2010, probation was used in approximately 53 percent of juvenile delinquency cases. Typically, probation sentences are circumstantial, and are imposed under very specific terms and conditions. These must be followed by the defendant unless he or she would like to return
Community correction is a term that refers to everything ranging from diversion before the trial to the punishment that follows after the trial. This refers to any way ranging to non-inmates yet supervised ways used to deal with criminal offenders who are facing conviction or who have been convicted. Beck et al., 2001. Probation as well as parole are the two most common ways of dealing with the offenders, though there are many ways such as being confined at home, electronic surveillance, day fines, community service shock probation and residential community supervision to mention but a few. The following are some of the intermediate sanction actions in the criminal corrections.
Although putting juveniles into institutions, for many juvenile offenders occurred in the first decades of the 1900s, extensive use of probation for juveniles existed as well. As it does today, probation gave a middle ground nature for judges connecting release and placement in an institution. By 1927, trial programs for juvenile offenders existed in approximately every state. In the 1940s and 1950s, reformers attempted to improve the conditions found in most juvenile institutions. Alternatives to institutions emerged, such as forestry and probation camps. These camps provided a prearranged setting for male juvenile offenders, while emphasizing learning and occupational skills. Though, the efficiency of these options as alternatives to incarceration was dubious since they were not obtainable to the worst offenders. Yet, these changes marked the start of formal, community-based instruction that would turn out to be more extensive in following decades.
The juvenile justice system faces a significant challenge in identifying and responding to the psychiatric disorders of detained youth because research has shown that it is difficult to define the best means to use and enhance the scarce mental health resources (Kessler & Kraus, 2007). According to Cocozza and Skowyra (2000) “Children’s and adolescents’ mental health needs have historically been addressed inadequately in policy, practice, and research and have only the number of youth with mental illness and their level of unmet needs recognized” (p 4). Furthermore, that the juvenile justice system has gone from treatment and rehabilitation to retribution and punishment, that the prevalence is higher for youths who are involved with the system have mental health disorders when compared to the general population. In this paper I will be discussing pathways of juvenile detentions, types of mentally ill juvenile offenders, working alliance, treatment/intervention options available, challenges of untreated mental illness, and research findings.
All in all, the ideas surrounding the criminal justice system were affirmed by the field practice experience. Many open doors have resulted from the venture into the field of probation. As an advocate and future employee of the criminal justice system the skills and intellect gained from the college of criminal justice at SHSU along with the internship opportunity with the Dallas County Adult Probation Department will serve as a path to a successful career. The talented individuals and extraordinary situations encountered on the journey will not be forgotten.
...(2004). Applying the principles of effective intervention to juvenile correctional programs. Corrections Today, 66(7), 26-29. Retrieved from http://ehis.ebscohost.com.proxy-library.ashford.edu/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=4bd9d7f2-8ac5-42c6-a100-a2443eda9cbf@sessionmgr4002&vid=1&hid=4213
One of the fasting growing juvenile treatment and interventions programs are known as teen courts. Teen courts serve as an alternative juvenile justice, to young offenders. Non-violent, and mostly first time offenders are sentenced by their peers’ in teen courts. Teen courts also serve as juvenile justice diversion programs. Teen courts vary from state to state, and sometimes within the same state. With this program, all parties of the judicial setting are juveniles with the exception of the judge. Each teen court, is designed specifically to meet the needs of the community it serves. Teen courts were created to re-educate offenders throughout the judicial process, create a program with sanctions that will allow the youth not to have a juvenile record, and to also instil a sense of responsibility.
The basis came from Shelden (1999) which states that “youths’ exposure to the justice system may be more harmful than beneficial”. Moreover, It was believed that children who were diverted to community based intervention are less likely involved in future delinquency (Whitehead & Lab, 2001) In the book, Juvenile Delinquency: Prevention, Assessment, and Intervention; It highlighted that diversion is beneficial to the youth, community, and society. Furthermore, It also discussed that diversion fill the gaps of the formal juvenile justice system that diversion effectively reduced the labelling and stigmatization and the rate of recidivism. It also serves a deterrence, a net widening – where youth are given vast number of services rather than the prescribed number of service, and a balanced and restorative justice – where children are made accountable to their actions, to the community and the society as whole. One of the recommendations are to further improve the programs and services given to CICLs. It would also be better if they will be engaged in a community-based intervention. (Redding, et.al,
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.
The majority of youth can be served by these community-based services. Too often incarceration is used as a first step rather than a last resort. By using the money currently spent on incarceration and focusing it on community-based options for treatment and supervision that keep youth close to home should lead to more productive future adults.