Evidence-Based Practices For Youth Offenders

For starters, children in the juvenile correction system are not rehabilitated for drug addictions or treated for mental health conditions. Being incarcerated does nothing positive for them. These children become stuck in the cycle of arrests and reoffending, in which every time they are brought back to a facility it is now exponentially harder for them to return to be a functioning member of society. In fact, there are kids who have been trapped “in this system for decades” (Mayeux). Obviously juvenile detention policies do not work, or these children would have been reformed and not have been in the same situation for so long. Young adults stuck in this cycle get released and then are immediately back where they started when they break another law, harming the teenager’s future, and endangering public safety (Mayeux). Society, in fact, would benefit from a rehabilitory stance on juvenile crime instead of a punishing one. Juvenile detention intervenes in these at-risk children’s lives in a way that actually turns them into criminals, by imposing stereotypes on them, and treating them like they are dangerous, and not worth fixing. The American perspective on juvenile crime needs to change, because the current program is not benefitting at-risk children, or

One of the main interventions of Functional Family Therapy that resonates with me is that one of the prime goals of this model is to identify the primary focus of intervention (the family) and reflect an understanding that positive and negative behaviors both influence and are influenced by the relationships each family member has with one another. Therefore, making functional therapy a multi systemic program, meaning that it focuses on the multiple domains and systems within which families live and interact with one another. Within this context, FFT works first to develop family members’ inner strengths and sense of being

The criminal justice system approaches young offenders through unique policies to address the challenges of dealing with juvenile offending. They take special care when dealing with juveniles in order to stop them from repeat offending and stop any potential bad behaviour which could result in future. Juveniles have the highest tendency to rehabilitate and most adopt law-abiding lifestyles as they mature. There are several factors influencing juvenile crime including psychological and social pressures unique to juveniles, which may lead to an increase in juvenile’s risks of contact with the criminal justice system.

There are a few common reasons for young people to be involved in crime. These include poor parental supervision, drug and alcohol abuse, neglect and abuse, homelessness, negative peer associations and difficulties in school and employment. The criminal justice system effectively deals with young offenders through unique techniques to address the challenges of dealing with juvenile offending. Even though young offenders commit a large percentage of crime, they also have the highest likelihood to be rehabilitated and change their lifestyles as they mature. There are several factors influencing crime by young offenders including psychological and

The reservation of the Convention on the Rights of a Child (CROC) had played invaluable role in charging the way in which young offenders are dealt with within the Australia Criminal Process. Including the introduction of the theory known as Doli Incapax meaning the age of criminal reasonability, the Young Offender Act 1997 NSW as well new law regarding the rights of a child once they have been arrested. It is evident that these while some of charges are still ineffective in dealing with Young Offenders within the Criminal Justice System the majority of them are in place for the greater good and are assisting young offenders when it relates to the Criminal Justice System.

While legislative attempts to properly address and correct boot camp abuses and inadequacies, there are several promising alternatives to these private military style facilities. Multi-systemic therapy, which aims to keep offenders and their families together and works on problems in a practical home setting, avoids the problems that come with returning juveniles from restricted settings to the real world. A report done by the Wisconsin Council on (Children and Families) revealed that programs that promote a supportive family environment in the community are most effective at reducing recidivism and encouraging positive adolescent brain maturation. The courts have other sentencing options for juvenile offenders, juvenile offenders can receive incarceration, treatment, and probation.( Allison Pinto, Ph.D., Monica Epstein, Ph.D., Paul Lewis, B.B.A., Kathryn Whitehead,

I have synthesize my literature matrix from ten sources to three sources. It is important to have a clear direction or a road map to make sure I am going the right direction when selecting sources. The sources I have chosen will help in shaping my Action Research on the implementation of EBP in Multi-Systemic Therapy. See chart below for additional sources. I selected an article from Vermont Department of Mental Health Agency of Human Services website on Evidence Based Practices (EBP) if multi-systemic therapy (MST) because it focuses on what EBP is and how it used. “EBP refers to approaches and interventions that have been scientifically tested in controlled studies and proven effective. EBP implies that there is a definable outcome(s)” (Evidence-Based Practice, 2015). EBP brings into focus principles useful in multi-systemic therapy. The goals of multi-systemic therapy is to reduce youth criminal activity, anti-social behavior by decreasing rates of incarceration and out-of-home placement. Also, I selected “Program and Practice Elements for Placement Prevention: A Review of Interventions and Their Effectiveness in Promoting Home-Based Care” by Bethany R. Lee, Chad Ebesutani, Karen M. Kolivoski, Kimberly D. Becker, Michael A. Lindsey, Nicole Evangelista Brandt, Nicole Cammack, Frederick H. Strieder, Bruce F. Chorpita and Richard P. Barth. This article give the reader an insightful view into the roll out of EBP in home-based care. “Preventing unnecessary out-of-home placement for youth with behavioral and emotional needs is a goal of several public child-serving services, including child welfare, juvenile justice, and child mental health” (Lee, et al.,

Chapter 11 focuses on preventing delinquency for children who are at risk. Having antisocial behavior can lead to delinquent acts. This chapters gives an overview on how programs are designed to prevent delinquency. The YMCA and the Boys and Girls Club are great examples of delinquency prevention programs. In fact, the public health approach was one of the first efforts to classify the many different types of delinquency prevention activities. The activities for prevention are called primary, secondary, and tertiary. Primary focuses on helping troubled youths get access to health care services and general prevention education. Secondary interviews children who are more likely to be at risk for becoming offenders. Tertiary prevention interview

Prison can be difficult for young offenders. There are many issues they face in prison because some of them are sentenced to adult prison.

Additionally other approaches have been implemented to counteract delinquency issues such as best practices. Vigorous steps have been taken to design accountability programs to deal with delinquency. A Multifaceted approach for research on delinquency is required and specific guidelines for effective programming is based on that research. There is evidence that affirm that fundamentals that hold juvenile accountable, such as recreational to intensive supervision and aftercare, are essential elements to efficient programs. Best practices can be identified as a system that can be "proven through research to increase pro-social behavior and to reduce future recidivism. Progressive organizational use of direct, current scientific evidence to guide and inform efficient and effective correctional services. Programs that meet the Principles of Effective Intervention.

“Much is known about effective prevention programs from research and practice and the question of how to optimize such programs for cost-effective impact on juvenile behavior is worthy of careful consideration”("Improving The Effectiveness Of Juvenile Justice Programs”).

The number of juveniles placed in detention has increased over the past ten years. The system has become overpopulated and overcrowded and many times this leads to the issue of too many residents and not enough beds. It can also lead to creating extremely dangerous environments in juvenile detention centers for their residents. It can also lead to violence and unavailability of vital programs and services that the juveniles need, such as an education and mental health to all of the youth. As offenders are becoming younger, this cause the overcrowding of the jailhouse there is old and young people inside. Growing up with the mindset of being invincible. Teaching the kids moral and change their perspective about violence is not the only solution

A journal article, Effective correctional intervention programs for juveniles: review and synthesis of meta-analytic evidence, written by Kim, Merlo and Benekos claim there are relevant factors that determine the effectiveness of a juvenile corrections program. Such factors primarily include the knowledge that what works for adults does not necessarily mean it is going to work for a juvenile. “There is not a ‘one size fits all’ model that can be applied to youth and adult offenders (Kim, Merlo, & Benekos, 2013).” In response to recidivism, if a juvenile is treated similarly to an adult, there is no guarantee there will be a comparable success. Another factor for effective

I agree with you to a certain point that punishment is not always the answer when dealing with juvenile offenders. However, on a professional side I have been in law enforcement for several years and know that you cannot help people whether it’s a juvenile or adult, if that person does not want the help. I have seen several “violent” juveniles in my career and some tend to continue down that same broken path even after receiving help. The question we must ask ourselves would be to we continue to help juveniles that refuse to listen and follow rules like everybody else, or do we focus our attention on the juvenile that will listen and tend to led by

Characteristically, juvenile delinquency follows a similar path just like normal adolescent development and children tend to follow delinquent and criminal behavior rather than engaging in it randomly. Research has shown that there are two types of delinquents, those in whom the onset of severe antisocial behavior begins in early childhood, and those in whom this onset coincides with entry into adolescence. With either type, these developmental paths give families, communities, and systems the opportunity to intervene and prevent the onset of antisocial behaviors and justice system involvement (APA, 2017).