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Christena Isaac 1/29/12 CJS 240 Week 6 Assignment When a juvenile offender is committed of a crime there are different courses of action that the court may proceed with to help them become rehabilitated in the community. A juvenile offender can be offered a community based treatment or be institutionalized. A community based treatment can consist of probation, restitution, vocational programs, or counseling. Depending on the type of crime that is committed helps determine what is necessary for the juvenile.
Probation is a commonly used community based treatment program that is ordered by the courts to a juvenile that is not considered a threat to society and did not commit a violent crime. Probation can consist of any amount of time ordered by the courts. While on probation the juvenile offender must make regular contact with a probation officer who makes sure the juvenile is continuing meeting the rules set upon him/her ordered by the court such as attending school, keeping regular hours, and holding down a job.
When necessary a juvenile offender is placed on a second community type based program such as counseling. When the juvenile successfully fulfills the requirements of the terms of probation and/or counseling, they can be terminated from probation. Probation is for the most part very successful in helping juveniles with their behavior issues as well as making them a part of the community for the better. Probation works as long as the root of the issues the juvenile has is solved through counseling or other efforts.
Probation helps cut down on the costs of institutionalized juveniles, and helps those who do not need to be institutionalized learn how to be a better part of society. Counseling is a second community based program that is used to help rehabilitate juveniles. Counseling can be used in conjunction with probation to help the juvenile work out the issues he/she may be having that is causing them to act out in criminal ways. If a child has a family that his/her parents abuse drugs, has suffered abuse or neglect, this may cause them to act delinquent and believe that their behavior is normal.
Through counseling the juvenile can work through their issues and learn other ways that are acceptable to society to voice their aggression or other emotions to provide them with tools to have a better life. When juvenile offenders are considered a threat to society or themselves that are institutionalized this is often in a juvenile detention center. A detention center houses and feeds the juvenile while monitoring their every move. A huge issue with juveniles who are institutionalized is that there is a serious lack of funding for these programs.
In many cases the male detention centers receive more of the funding, and better care than female detention centers. Detention centers are over crowded, have high numbers of minority, and do not actually help the juvenile realized what they have done is wrong and why it is wrong. The juvenile justice needs to be concerned with these issues because once the juvenile has served his/her time they may end up back in a detention center or turn into an adult criminal. This will not help reduce the amount of crime.
Juveniles need a huge support system, and many times this is not the case with their family or members of the community once being released from detention centers. Once being released the juveniles are than placed on parole where they must adhere to rules and guidelines very similar to juveniles placed on probation. Intensive aftercare programs or IAP are programs that help institutionalized juveniles get used to being a part of society again. An IAP can consist of sending the juvenile to a group home once they are released for an amount of time such as thirty or sixty days.
Within this time period they are set up with services that help the juvenile readjust to society and help them know what it will be like on parole. A second type of IAP is juveniles who are on the verge of being released begin weekly services that are community based services such as life skill services, and multi family counseling. In most cases the juvenile will begin a series of step down measures before they are released such as supervised trips to the community, as well as weekend and day passes home as their release date becomes closer.
Once released the juvenile attends day treatment programs with a high level of monitoring. On the weekends and during the nighttime trackers are used to monitor the juveniles’ activities. As the juvenile progresses their monitoring is reduced to eventually where they must make contact with their parole officer to once a month. IAP programs are important to a juvenile because it helps them become rehabilitated with the community. Juveniles who are institutionalized can have a hard time adjusting back to the community such as making independent decisions on their own.
Also, IAP programs help juveniles with their issues they may have that are causing the juvenile to act out in delinquent ways. Juvenile offenders need more support to helping them correct their delinquent behavior. Through different things such as probation, counseling, or being in a detention center, they can achieve this. Community based programs, institutionalizing juveniles, and IAP are all ways to help improve the lifestyle of a juvenile offender. Reference Siegel, L. J. & Welsh, B. C. (2005). Juvenile delinquency: The core. (2nd ed. ). Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth.