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Week 6 Assignment: Corrections and Treatment John Cho University of Phoenix Corrections and treatment within the Juvenile Justice System have a variety of helpful rehabilitative and crime deterrent programs. These programs can help young juvenile offenders correct behavioral patterns, therapeutically rehabilitate their mental state, and prevent long term criminal activity. The treatment options are separated into two smaller categories: community-based treatment and institutionalization. The two types of treatment options are designed specifically for juvenile offenders.
These treatment programs will help steer juvenile offenders back in the right direction. There are numerous types of community-based treatment options available to delinquent youths. These options include probation, intense supervision, and house arrest and electronic monitoring. Juvenile probation consists of standard supervision of a juvenile offender by a probation officer. The juvenile offender must adhere to all rules and regulations of probation, report to their officer frequently, and stray from engaging in illegal activity.
This type of community-based treatment is important for the juvenile’s process of behavioral and lifestyle changes. Juvenile probation is reserved for minor juvenile offenders and those who are not a risk to the surrounding society. Intensive supervision is more focused on high risk juvenile offenders. The purpose of this treatment is to keep the juvenile offenders from being incarcerated. By keeping the juvenile offenders under close surveillance and control, they can be left in the community. This allows for the juvenile offender to keep their community relations and continue their education.
It is important for the juvenile offender to remain in the community. If the juvenile offender is put in a secure facility, it can be detrimental to their mental well-being. House arrest and electronic monitoring are community treatment programs that are similar in nature and go hand in hand with each other. The purpose of house arrest is to keep the juvenile offender confined to their own home during specific time frames. The juvenile offender’s activities can be tracked by periodic phone checks, in-home visits, or an electronic monitoring device.
The monitoring device is a radio transmitter worn around the ankle. Recent indications are that electronic monitoring can be effective. Evaluations show that recidivism rates are no higher than in traditional programs, costs are lower, and institutional overcrowding is reduced (Siegel&Welsh,2005). House arrest and electronic monitoring are important methods of treatment because of the restrictions they impose. The juvenile offender is allowed to go to work or school, while staying home during weekends, after school, and after work.
This makes juvenile offenders less likely to engage in illegal activities. Also, house arrest and electronic monitoring are cost effective and allow for less supervision by a probation officer. Treatment options are not only available for juvenile offenders through their communities, but through secure institutions funded by federal and state governments. These institutions are both public and privately operated. A few issues that affect the institutionalized juvenile offender are poor social skills and low self-esteem.
Other issues include physical or sexual abuse and neglect. These issues are of great concern to the Juvenile Justice System because of the ramifications they pose for the juvenile offender during the present and future time. If a juvenile offender is unable to cope and move on from these issues, it can affect them for the rest of their adolescent years, as well as early adulthood. The secure facility treatment options help address these issues, while offering therapeutic rehabilitation methods to help with coping and deterrence from illegal activity.
Another option of treatment associated with institutionalization is known as intensive aftercare programs or IAP. Aftercare is a vital part of the treatment process because the programs help reintegrate the juvenile offenders back into society by providing transitional assistance. Colorado’s IAP model provides weekly services such as multifamily counseling and life-skills services that extend through the aftercare program. Once released to parole, day services are administered for several months to help build structure and stability. Affirmative progress will decrease the amount f supervision needed for the juvenile. Nevada’s IAP model provides 30 day prerelease services that include structured studies on life skills, drug abuse, and finance management. Once the 30 days are up, the juvenile is released on institutional furlough. During release, they are subjected to day treatments and frequent drug testing. If infractions occur, the juvenile is remanded back to the institution. Successful completion of furlough results in phased levels of supervision, decreasing in frequency if good behavior is met (Siegel&Welsh,2005).
Treatment options for troubled youths in America are beneficial factors in the Juvenile Justice System. They provide a sparkle of hope and help reshape the criminal mentality into a more positive and productive outlook on life. They can turn a hardened juvenile offender into a successful student of life and prepare them for the challenges that lie ahead. These programs are not only meant to divert a juvenile back on the path of success, but save the lives of many less fortunate adolescents. Reference Siegel, L. J. & Welsh, B. C. (2005). Juvenile delinquency: The core. (2nd ed. ). Belmont, CA:Thomson Wadsworth.