Unit 4 Seminar

Sara Trovatore

HN430 Advocacy for Families and Youth

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Please make it a priority to turn in assignments (discussions & projects) on time

Unit 4 Project – Billy Case Study

Advocacy issues = key areas that require intervention to help Billy. ◦ What is the issue? List at least three issues

and explain why they are key issues.◦ How would you address it? List at least three

solutions per issue identified. Support your response with at least two Internet sources.

Roadblocks = specific problems that could stand in the way; think ethical issues, resource unavailability, personal concerns, legal issues, etc. – specific to this case study/situation

Unit 4 Project – cont.Make sure you use support in your paper – not

just listed in a reference page. Show what information you use where via direct reference and/or in-text citations.

Use APA format. Lots of resources available through writing center, classroom site, websites.

Have an introduction and a conclusionFollow the directionsUse the grading rubric as a guideDue by midnight on Tuesday

Understanding Juvenile

Delinquency and the Juvenile Justice

System

Historical Development of Juvenile Justice

From a historical perspective, juvenile delinquency and a separate justice process for juveniles are recent concepts.

juvenile delinquencyA special category of offense created for youths—that is, in most U.S. jurisdictions, persons between the ages of 7 and 18.

The Development of Institutions for Youth

In the beginning of the 19th century, American cities were seeing tremendous growth, particularly because of immigration and, in later years, industrialization.

The Houses of RefugeHouses of refuge were designed to be institutions where children could be reformed and turned into hard-working members of the community.

A child could be committed to a house of refuge by law enforcement, by a parent, or on the order of a city alderman.

The Houses of RefugeChildren in houses of refuge engaged in a daily regimen of hard work, military drills, and enforced silence, as well as religious and academic training.After “reformation,” boys were frequently indentured to masters on farms or to tradesmen, and girls were placed in domestic service.

The Development of the Juvenile Court

By the late 1800s, legal mechanisms for treating children differently and separately from adults were being put in place: The juvenile court.The first juvenile court was established in 1899 in Cook County Illinois

The Legal Context of the Juvenile Court

• The doctrine of parens patriae served as the foundation for the juvenile court

parens patriaeThe legal philosophy justifying state intervention in the lives of children when their parents are unable or unwilling to protect them.

The Formal Juvenile Justice ProcessThe police represent the primary gatekeepers to the formal juvenile justice process.• 85 percent of delinquency cases

referred to the juvenile courts come from police agencies.

• Status offenses are often referred by others.

status offensesActs that are not crimes when committed by adults but are illegal for children (for example, truancy or running away from home).

The Police Response to JuvenilesTypical responses that police officers employ in handling juvenile cases are:• Warn and release• Refer to parents• Refer to a diversionary program

operated by the police or another community agency

• Refer to court

Trends in Police Processing of Juveniles

In recent years, there has been a trend toward more formal processing of juveniles taken into police custody, particularly:

• Referring more youths to juvenile court

• Handling fewer cases within police departments

• Referring more cases to criminal courts

DiversionThe goal of juvenile diversion programs is to respond to youths in ways that avoid formal juvenile justice processing.

Diversion programs are based on the understanding that formal responses to youths who violate the law do not always protect the best interests of children or the community.

DetentionSometimes a youth is held in secure detention facility during processing. There are three primary reasons for this practice:1. To protect the community from

the juveniles2. To ensure that the juvenile

appears at a subsequent stage of processing

3. To secure the juvenile’s own safety

DispositionDisposition is the juvenile court equivalent of sentencing in criminal court.

DispositionAn order of the court specifying what is to be done with a juvenile who has been adjudicated delinquent. A disposition hearing is similar to a sentencing hearing in criminal court.

DispositionSome of the options available are:

• Probation• Placement in a diversion program• Restitution• Community service• Detention• Placement in foster care• Placement in a long-term or short-term

residential treatment program• Placement with a relative• Placement with the state for commitment to

a state facility• Or a combination of the above

DispositionBecause of recent heightened concerns about violent juvenile offenders, many states have legislatively redefined the juvenile court’s mission by deemphasizing the goal of rehabilitation and stressing the need for public safety, punishment, and accountability.

DispositionThe philosophical focus has also changed from offender-based dispositions to offense-based dispositions, including:• Blended sentences—both juvenile and

adult sanctions• Mandatory minimum sentences for

specific types of offenders• Extension of juvenile court dispositions

beyond the offender’s age of majority

ProbationProbation is the most frequently used correctional response for youths who are adjudicated delinquent in juvenile courts.A recent trend in juvenile probation is the development of intensive-supervision (probation) programs, which in some jurisdictions involve home confinement.

ProbationProbation officers (advocates) usually perform four important roles in the juvenile justice process:• Performing the intake screening• Conducting presentence

investigations• Supervising offenders• Providing assistance to youths

placed on probation

RestitutionIn practice, there are three types of restitution:• Monetary restitution—The youth

pays cash to the victim for harm done.

• Victim-service restitution—The youth provides some service to the victim.

• Community-service restitution—The youth provides assistance to a community organization.

Wilderness Probation (Outdoor Adventure) Programs

Wilderness probation programs involve youths in a physically and sometimes emotionally challenging outdoor experience intended to help them:• Develop confidence in themselves

• Learn to accept responsibility for themselves and others

• Develop a relationship of trust with program staff

Day Treatment ProgramsDay treatment programs provide treatment or services during the day and allow youths to return home at night.It is believed that they are:• Cost-effective• Effective at protecting the

community• Can provide a range of services

Foster HomesFoster homes are out-of-home placements intended to resemble, as much as possible, a family setting. It is usually used by a court when a youth’s home life has been particularly chaotic or harmful.

Group HomesGroup homes are open, nonsecure community-based facilities used either as an alternative to incarceration or to help youths transition to home.Group homes are generally larger than foster homes, less impersonal than institutions, and less expensive than institutional placements.

Institutional programs are the most restrictive placements available to juvenile courts. However, juvenile institutions vary in the extent to which they focus on custody and control.

Juvenile Correctional Institutions

Juvenile Correctional InstitutionsSecure facilities: Open facilities:

• have no perimeter fencing

• Leave entrances and exits unlocked

• rely heavily on staff

•perimeter fencing•barbed wire•surveillance devices•monitoring of residents’ movements

•restricting residents’ access to the community

Juvenile Correctional InstitutionsJuvenile correctional institutions vary:• Some are public, some are private

• Many are small—40 residents—some house as many as 800 residents

• Some are co-ed• Detention centers and diagnostic

centers are designed for short-term stays

• Farms, ranches, forestry camps, and trainings schools are for long-term placements

• Types of programming and quality of care

Substance Abuse: AdolescentsSubstance use in adolescence is

particularly concerning because early age of first use of alcohol and drugs is a risk factor for the development of substance dependence and other psychological disorders later in life.Prevention is critical and efforts may include alcohol and drug education programs, as well as programs designed to increase coping and social resistance skills

The Need for Prevention Programs for Children and AdolescentsApproximately 9.1% age 12 or older

in U.S. are dependent on some type of psychoactive substance

Increasing varieties of drugs availableIncrease in prescription drug &

inhalant use by adolescentsPreventing drug use decreases risk of

HIV/AIDS, unplanned pregnancies

Adolescent Drug Abuse Risk FactorsIndividual Characteristics

Mental illness, school failure, antisocial behavior, and criminal activity

AttitudeDistrust, anger, and deviant behaviors

Psychosocial characteristicsLow self-esteem, poor social skills

Family characteristicsFamily history of drug use, and family

antisocial behaviorEnvironment characteristics

Poverty, lack of support services, and violence and criminal behavior

Prevention Program Categories

Nine Different Strategies1. School-based prevention programs (peer

pressure resistance training; drug education)2. In-school drug testing3. Mass media (scare tactics)4. Early diagnosis and treatment of emotional

problems 5. Harm reduction programs6. Restrictions of access to drugs7. Juvenile drug court diversionary programs8. Risk reduction and protective programs9. Multimodel programs (a little of everything)

School-Based PreventionEducate young people on the dangers

of drug useEncourage healthy alternativesPeer involvement programsAdolescent programs focus on

“gateway drugs”: tobacco, alcohol, marijuana.

Drug Abuse Awareness and Resistance (DARE)No positive long-term outcome

Substance Abuse Prevention OutcomesEffective programs

Social-skills trainingParental involvementPeers as educators and mediatorsPartnerships with community members

IneffectiveFocusing on single factorsTeaching a few specific skills

Five Essential Components of Effective ProgramsAdequate contact hours – exposure

lasting at least three (3) yearsInvolvement of peers Emphasis on refusal, social, and

decision-making skillsChange in students’ expectations and

definitions of “normal behavior”Involvement of parents, peers, and

community members

Useful Web SitesDrug Abuse Prevention Programs http://www.drugfree.org

Drug Prevention Media Campaign http://www.mediacampaign.org

SAMHSA Model Programs http://www.modelprograms.samhsa.gov

NIDA for Teens http://teens.drugabuse.gov