Juvenile Delinquency Prevention

Juvenile delinquency prevention programs started to adopt new tactics over the course of the
past 20 years. Rather than focusing only on those young people who already have
demonstrated a capacity for delinquent, anti-social or illegal conduct, newer programs are
designed to intervene in the lives of all young people in appropriate manners and at early ages.
By developing a safety net that encompasses the entire youthful population as best as possible,
a higher percentage of children can be dissuaded and prevented from involving themselves in
inappropriate conduct and delinquent behavior.

History
 The manner in which juvenile delinquency prevention is undertaken is evolving.
Historically, strictly regimented standards and discipline were the strategies employed in an
attempt to place youth on the proverbial straight and narrow. In time this gave way to a more
compassionate approach in which intervention was utilized to attempt to redirect the lives of
young people who were off course. What both of these techniques share in common is a reactive
response to a situation in which a young person has started to demonstrate a capacity for
delinquency. Today, experts in the field of juvenile delinquency are advocating a more universal
and proactive approach to assisting youth in developing and then maintaining healthy lives.

Early Action
 The current model aimed at juvenile delinquency prevention strives for a course of pro-
activity in the lives of young people in which positive influences, activities and support are
available from different sources when a minor is very young. Understanding the reality that one
support network for any given child can be less than ideal (challenging family life, substandard
educational opportunities and so forth), the young person presented with different, resources is
more likely to have access to positive support. Because of this type of affirmative connection and
experience, the theory is that a juvenile is less likely to involve his or her self in delinquent
actions.

Family Support
 The primary influence (or lack thereof) for a juvenile stems from the family or home
environment. Unfortunately, there are innumerable examples of family units (no matter how they
might be defined in today's world) that do not effectively function. Physical or emotional abuse,
neglect, substance abuse and lack of interest by the parents in the children's lives all contribute to
 a lack of proper formation for a child. This brings a child one step closer to exhibiting delinquent
behavior. Research continues to demonstrate that by making support services available to
families (in a non-threatening. non-judgmental and proactive manner), a minor will have an
enhanced chance for a more stable home environment. These resources assist in creating a
foundation that provides a child a better stepping off point from which he or she can interact in a
positive and appropriate manner in the community at large.

Psychological Support
 Of course, even if support and constructive assistance can be interjected into the family
or home setting, other pressures push upon the life of a minor child. In the past, only those young
people with pronounced mental health issues (normally those youngsters who already engaged in
delinquent behavior) gained any hope of access to mental health services. Presently a more
coordinated and, again, proactive effort is being made to provide basic and yet very essential
psychological support services to young people across the spectrum. A part of his effort is
removing the stigma attached to mental health issues amongst young people through education.

Drug Prevention
 The vast majority of juvenile offenders--those juveniles who are brought into the judicial
system because of their delinquent conduct--are determined to be involved in drug use or sales.
Therefore, another course of action that widely is advocated today in the multiple front effort to
combat juvenile delinquency is drug education and prevention. Drug education and prevention is
recommended to begin in the earliest grades of primary school. Interdiction in this regard needs
to commence at this young age because drug use amongst elementary school aged children is
increasing.

Effects
 The ultimate effects of a more wide ranging, broadly encompassing and proactive course
of juvenile delinquency prevention is a reduction in the rate of young people who end up in
trouble, including with drugs and the judicial system. Rather than try to repair damage after a
juvenile starts to exhibit delinquent behavior--the course utilized for generations--by assuming
that all children potentially are at risk, by providing them with access to appropriate services,
many potentially troubled youngsters never cross over into delinquent behavior or illegal
conduct.
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 Help prevent delinquency in your child by keeping him or her in school. Minor offenses,
such as truancy, can lead to more serious offenses. Meet with school officials, if
necessary, and make clear to your child your expectations about his or her school
attendance.
 Exercise adequate supervision. Juveniles rarely commit serious offenses while under the
supervision of an adult. Seek the assistance of a local social services agency if you feel
you cannot control your child. Attend parenting classes, or join a local support group if
you are having trouble understanding how to exercise discipline.
 Educate your child about the dangers of drugs. Drug offenses and addiction can have
serious consequences for your child. Let your child know you will not tolerate drug use.
Stay informed about drug use trends in children.
 Get your child involved in after-school recreational activities, sports, community service
or other positive activities. Young people with positive outlets for their energy are more
likely to do well in school and avoid the problems of delinquency.
 Know who your child's friends are. Show an interest in your child's social life and peer
groups. Peer pressure is notorious for its effect on teenagers and young people. Do not
allow your child to associate with juvenile delinquents.
 Reinforce your efforts by contacting an advocacy group like the Center for Delinquency
Prevention and Youth Development (see Resources below). This organization can
provide you with a wealth of ideas on ways to legally prevent juvenile delinquency and
get involved in your community.

Prevention Programs for Juvenile Delinquency

Through the decades there have been many trends in juvenile delinquency prevention, and
there continue to be many more new and innovative ways to help halt or reverse the growing
problems among youth. Punishment, once used almost exclusively by authorities, was
determined to cause greater issues; rehabilitation, instead, became the new catchphrase.
Programs aimed at the prevention of delinquency began as early as the start of the 20th
century, and now proliferate in almost all communities.

Federal Youth Court Program

 By far the most ambitious agenda for prevention of delinquency, this program is youth-
led: those accused of crimes or status offenses are set before a judge, jury and prosecutor of their
peers. The Federal Youth Court Center was established in 1997 and now, in 2010, the program is
 available in 49 states plus the District of Columbia. Sentencing options range from community
service to restitution and more.

Community Prevention Grant Program

 The Community Prevention Grant Program is a Title V program which was also created
in 1997. This allows funding to communities to implement and carry out strategies to help stop
delinquency on a local level. Three-year plans are designed to combat delinquency risk factors
such as truancy, vocational training and remedial education, as well as recreational opportunities
and counseling.

National Youth Gang Center

 The National Youth Gang Center is an offshoot of the National Gang Center, an
organization founded in 2003. This program targets gang involvement and demographics, and
helps communities assess and respond to gang issues on a local level. The Center provides
assistance with creating after-school and school-based programs, violence-free zones and
rehabilitation, among many other initiatives.

Safe Start
 Safe Start is designed to prevent and pre-empt the exposure of children to violence. It
includes such components as community involvement, collaboration among agencies and
services such as foster care, social work, education and counseling. Safe Start was first created in
just 11 communities in 2000; the second phase, which began in 2005 and runs through 2010, has
been expanded to 15 communities.

Shared Youth Vision

 Shared Youth Vision is also a federal program, but designed to help transition at-risk
youth to self-sufficiency in adulthood. It involves social service agency partnerships to assist
with education, training and life skills for youths whose parents are incarcerated, who are
homeless or who are involved with court systems, i.e., the most needy youth.

Types of Juvenile Rehabilitation Programs

Crimes committed by juvenile offenders are prevalent. Due to maturity and age, juvenile
offenders are often treated differently than adult offenders. There is more of a focus on
rehabilitation rather than just punishment. Juvenile offenders comprised 26 percent of all
 property crime arrests and 16 percent of all violent crime arrests in 2008, according to the FBI’s
Uniform Crime Reporting program. The type of juvenile rehabilitation programs used depends
on the resources in the area, and the crime committed by the individual.

Drug Treatment Programs

 One common type of juvenile rehabilitation program is drug treatment. Juvenile
offenders that are involved in drug crimes may be processed by a different court, a drug court.
Completing drug treatment, as well as complying with random drug tests, passing the drug tests,
and attending alcoholics anonymous meetings are sentenced by the court. After completing
inpatient treatment, ongoing outpatient treatment generally continues for a year or so.

Educational Programs
 Educational programs provide youth offenders with a feeling of hope, as well as a path to
success. They can see that there are other options out there rather than a life of crime. Education
is a fundamental tenant of any juvenile rehabilitation program. This includes the opportunity for
the juvenile offender to obtain a GED or a high school diploma. In addition, many facilities
allow them to take classes to earn community college credits.

Vocational Training Programs

 Vocational training is also often part of rehabilitation, as an additional component to
formal education. Part of that training includes an apprenticeship in addition to training. One
popular training program teaches building and carpentry skills. Learning a trade can provide a
youth with a lot of opportunities outside of a life of crime.

Counseling Programs
 Individual and family counseling is an integral part of just about any rehabilitation
program. Individual counseling is used as a way to address the concerns and needs of a youth
offender. Teens have different hormonal and physiological issues than do adults. Also, they
might have lingering issues from childhood they may need to sort out. Family counseling adds
another helpful dimension. Family members, as well as the juvenile, are shown ways they can
motivate the youth in a positive way. Also, conflict resolution is explored.

Hate Crime Programs

 A fairly new advent in the criminal justice field is the creation of programs that focus on
hate crimes. The city of Los Angeles has created a program that is aimed towards those that have
committed hate crimes. It’s called Juvenile Offenders Learning Tolerance. The goal is to re-
educate those youths who have recently committed a hate crime.