Juvenile Justice System - Effectiveness to Rehabilitate Youth Offenders - Essay Example

 Juvenile Justice System: Effectiveness to Rehabilitate Youth Offenders The Juvenile Justice System and Welfare Act covers the different stages involving children at risk and children in conflict with the law from the prevention to rehabilitation and reintegration.1 Pursuant to Article 40 of the United States Convention on the Rights of the Child, the State recognizes the right of every child alleged as, accused of, adjudged, or recognized as having infringed the penal law to be treated in a manner consistent with the promotion of the child’s sense of dignity and worth, taking into account the child’s sense of dignity and worth, taking into account the child’s age and desirability of promoting his/her reintegration.2 Whenever appropriate and desirable, the State shall adopt measures for dealing with such children without resorting to judicial proceeding, providing human rights and legal safeguards are fully respected. It shall ensure that children are dealt with in a manner appropriate to their well-being by providing for, among others, a variety of disposition measures such as care, guidance and supervision orders, counseling, probation, foster care, education and vocational training programs and other alternatives to institutional care.3 The most important facet of all this is the “best interest of the child” theory that guided the courts lingers in the purpose clauses of juvenile codes throughout the world.4 However, it seems to have failed to address the concerns raised by victims or communities about the juvenile justice system. The therapeutic intervention and punishment models of justice also ________________________ 1 Republic Act No. 9344 2 Freivalds, P., Balanced and Restorative Justice Project, OJJDP 2002 3 Zehr, H., Changing Lenses (Scottsdale, Pennsylvania: Herald Press, 1990) 4 Maloney, D., Romig, D., Armstrong, T., “Juvenile Probation: The “Balanced Approach,” Juvenile and Family Court Journal 39 (3) (1988). Juvenile Justice System appear to be incomplete. If these two models coexist in a jurisdiction, they are in constant conflict. However, if either one of these exists by itself, it fails to serve all stakeholders in the system. There are further studies according to the framers of the code that is the balanced consideration of community protection, offender accountability and competency development. This could bring clarity and reason to juvenile system issues. Through this comprehensive philosophy it will deal with every aspect of delinquency, punishment, treatment and prevention. With the concept of these three principles, if fully implemented, it could create a juvenile system that truly operates in the best interest of the child and the community.5 In all the instances when a dual or multi-diagnosis of several problems result, experts recommend that sources of treatment if not available at the moment, should be developed and reflect the developmental needs of juveniles in conflict with the law and are not merely replications of service delivery systems originally designed for adults. According to the recommendations of specialists, useful interventions for juveniles must ensure a close match between risk of re-offending, nature, level, duration of intervention. They must employ practitioners whose teaching approaches correspond to the learning capacities of children and use material tailored for a certain juvenile. It must be community-based and closely connected to the youth’s home environment than like an institution. A drawn range of methods must be developed to cover anger management, social skills training and problem solving.6 Furthermore, many practitioners suggest that a continuum of care and a set of protocols must be established to determine who will provide services to the youth. There must be a case manager whose selection will be based on the agency with greatest responsibility for the child. ____________________________ 5Ashford, J.B. & LeCroy, C.W. (1988, June), Predicting Recidivism: An Evaluation of the Wisconsin Juvenile Probation and Aftercare Risk Instrument. Criminal Justice Behavior, 2, 141-151 6 Hoge, P., (1999, April 19), Children at Risk, The Sacramento Bee Juvenile Justice System 4 A comprehensive and individualized assessment addressing the appropriate levels of restrictiveness of placement and supervision should likewise be made. Individualized service plans are based on determined needs of the child and the family and not driven by availability of the service.7 Many studies made, proved that rehabilitation of juveniles may occur in a center that provides twenty-four (24) hour group care, treatment and rehabilitation services under the guidance of trained staff where the residents are cared for. This is ideally under a structured therapeutic environment with the end view of reintegrating them to their families and communities as socially functioning individuals. Thereby, a quarterly report is submitted by the center to the family court on the progress of the juvenile. Based on the improvements made by the youth in the center, a final report is subsequently forwarded to the court for the final disposition of the case. A conditional release from an institution may be given to the extent that it be given the soonest possible time favorable to the child.8 With regard to the various cases of children in conflict with the law who remain confined in a rehabilitation center they must be provided adequate academic, vocational training or alternative learning modules. This is extended to assure that they do not leave the center with an educational disadvantage. Parents and guardians of these juveniles confined in a center are assured of access to the children.9 It is noted that these reintegration programs for juveniles are drawn from arrangements ____________________ 7 Bilchick, Shay (1998, January). A Juvenile Justice System for the 21st Century. Crime and Delinquency, 55, 89-102. 8 Pakiz, Blidge, Reinherz, H.Z., & Giaconia, R.M. (1997, January). Early Risk Factors for Serious Antisocial Behavior at Age 2: A Longitudinal Community Study. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 67, 92-101. 9 Gordon, Bazemore, Guide for Implementing the Balanced and Restorative Justice Model, OJJDP December 1998 Juvenile Justice System 5 are specifically designed to help them in returning to society, family life, education or employment after release from custody. Special procedures, including early release from restraint and special courses are developed towards this end. Semi-instructional set-ups, such as half-way houses, educational homes, and daytime training centers are ideal places for youth to stay as plans for them to go back to society are now underway in programs of the judicial system in governments.10 As Former President Ronald Reagan said that “Children are our most precious resource.”11 In many jurisdictions, juvenile justice systems focus heavily on either punishment or treatment of juvenile offenders, and neither one by itself is effective. Punishment, without a restorative component, can make criminal conduct a risk management game for some offenders. In the absence of empathy and self-control, there is little to deter criminal behavior if the perceived risk of being caught is relatively low while the perceived reward is sufficiently high.12 It is critically important that the juvenile justice system, and prosecutors in particular, adopt a comprehensive approach to delinquency, one that protects communities, restores victims and communities, and teaches offenders empathy for others, self-control and marketable skills. It is interesting to note, that there are more known stories of how juvenile justice systems fail rather than how they succeed. An agency actor may continue lone-running processing patterns of juveniles with little or no accountability among institutions concerned ____________________ 10 Taken from the Juvenile Justice System Report Card to Stakeholders originally developed by Dennis Maloney, BAR J Project, Florida Atlantic University 11 Ronald Reagan, Proclamation 5194 – Missing Children Day, 1984 12 Leschied, Alan W. (1995) Investigation of Variables Associated with Probation and Custody Dispositions of a Sample of Juveniles. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 24, 279-286. Juvenile Justice System 6 Law enforcement can do away with extensive documentation on specific offenses for court dispensation. Prosecutors may utilize charging and jurisdictional discretion to maximize chances of juvenile conviction and punishment. Defense attorneys, for their part benefit from these practices by reducing charges and gaining lesser penalties for their youth client’s acts. For correction officials, it matters little why a youth was committed since it was court-ordered anyway. The court retains social control and is better off managing the calendar than caring about troubled children.13 However, this is always a choice to be made. Reorienting the unpleasantly cold juvenile justice structure to shift from the inclination to punish and impose “just desserts” on juveniles towards treatment, rehabilitation and the development of a protective environment for the youth better reflects the philosophy and end of every juvenile justice set up. The best interests of youths who are in conflict with the law are the priority as soon as their cases cross the threshold of the juvenile justice system so that courts, according to the view of authorities on the issue, do not become the last resort for help. It is therefore disastrous for a youth suffering from mental illness to be arrested first to receive treatment in the same way as it is tragic for juveniles living in poverty to be convicted and made to serve lengthy sentences in prison to continue receiving food.14 ___________________ 13 Palmer, Ted & Wedge, Robert (1989, April), California’s Juvenile Probation Camps: Findings and Implications. Crime and Delinquency, 2, 234-256. 14 Vilches, Nimfa C., Making Juvenile System Work, Supreme Court of the Philippines, Manila, ERCES Journal Juvenile Justice System 7 References Adams, Betty, Kennebec Journal, Thu. Oct. 23, 2003 Alameda, EE.O., Chukwuma, I.C., Center for Law Enforcement Education, Logos, Nigeria, Juvenile Justice Administration in Nigeria: Philosophy and Practice Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Series: OJJDP, March 1996, Combating Violence and Delinquency, The National Juvenile Justice Action Plan, Full Report. Hamilton, Carolyn, UNICEF Georgia, Tbsilsi 2007, Analysis of the Juvenile Justice Justice System of Georgia. Juvenile Justice Special Reports Publications, JJ in the News, Juvenile Justice Project of Louisiana. 2007 Maryland Justice Coalition, Feb. 2002, Principles of Model Juvenile Justice System Mississippi Coalition for the Prevention of Schoolhouse to Jailhouse, Mississippi Juvenile Justice Reform Briefing Book Montgomery, Lori, The Washinngton Post, Wed. Oct. 22, 2003. Juveniles Often Decline Counsel, Md. Study Finds National Conference State Legislature, The Forum of America’s Ideas, Feb. 2002, 2007 Summary of Juvenile Justice Legislation, Soler, Mark, President, Youth Law Center, Building Blcoks for Youth, Public Opinion of Youth, Crime and Race: A Guide for Advocates, Oct. 2002 Spunger, David W., Ph.D. Chair, Blue Ribbon Task Force Report, Sept. 2007, Transforming Juvenile Justice in Texas, A Framework For Action. UP Law Center, The New Philippine Law Report, From 2001-2006, Supreme Court Decisions Annotated, Rex publihing, SCRA, Relevant Supreme 2001-2005 Vitaro, Frank, Universite de Montreal, BrightonSurf.com, The Resource of Science Information, Nov. 19, 2008, Kids From Juvenile Justice System 7 Times More Likely To Commit Criminal Acts. Read More