Juvenile Justice Policy - Coursework Example

Introduction It is a right of every individual to have an education regardless of what his or her status in life or from what social they belong. Every parent would want nothing but the best school or university for their children. It is apparent that education is something that everyone is aiming for because it would help an individual to be equipped with knowledge and skills that would be helpful for him or her in the future. Some take the risk of sending their kids to schools or universities that are very away from their homes, knowing all the hassles of being away from home - like being homesick, experiencing culture shock, and the like. But these parents are hoping that it will be best for their kids and it will be a way to make them successful in the future. They are not wary of what will happen next because it is their choice. They took that risk with the rationality of mind that it will be for the better. But the cases I have stated above are something that can not be applied to all societies and countries. For one apparent reason not every family can afford to send their children to school. Another reason is that there is an issue about removing children away from their family and sending them to a residential schools or boarding schools. This is a policy that many people are against with because there is the violation of the freedom to choose. Affected families have also stated different repercussions of the policy to the children and to the families of the children. Since it is a policy, no one can go against with it. But the question remains, is the policy really effective Do the policy makers uphold the objectives of the policy And have they really thought of welfare of the kids Or they are just serving their vested interests In the United States there is a policy wherein the Juvenile or the Family Court has given the authority to remove the children from their homes because of the following reasons: 1.) The child has been delinquent; 2.) The child has no parents making him or her dependent or abandoned and the child has no guardian; 3.) The needs of the child are not supplemented by his or her family - he is neglected; and lastly, 4.) The child is being abused in any forms or in any way. Aside from this policy, there is another existing policy that is similar to the one I have mentioned above but is very different in terms of the grounds why there is a need for removing kids from their home. The policy is very popular in North America where you can find most of the American-Indian. And the policy is removing Native American children from their homes and sending them into residential schools where according to the authorities it would help the children to learn civilizing lifestyle. Thus making them 'civilized' people. Historical Justification of the Policy and Its Implementation It all started when European Missionaries came to North America and lives with them. Through their observations they noticed that the people are 'uncivilized'. So they thought that it is best for the community of the Native Americans if they would separate the children away from their families. By doing so, the children will be taught on how to be a 'civilized' person (following of course the European lifestyle). The European Missionaries then build residential schools. They have stated two reasons, and these are: 1.) the very apparent reason is separating the children away from their family; and 2.) they believe that native culture is not worthy to preserve. That time they have in mind and they do believe that native culture is no use and soon it will eventually die. They also believe that all people would develop into someone like the civilized Europeans who consider themselves as advanced. The European Missionaries run this policy but in the long run the Canadian churches and the government helped the missionaries in implementing the policy. It is then that it became an official Canadian policy in support for educating American-Indian Children. The residential schools then were like religious missions where it was run by white men. At the young age of six, the children are drawn out of their homes and sent to a world that is not familiar with them. This usually happens during August and carried to residential schools through train, bus, and or plane. They are sorted according to age bracket, given clothes, and then they will be assigned with bed numbers. These children do not know how to speak English but their supervisors talk to them using the English language making things more difficult. And they are being punished when they speak their own native language. The difficulty of living in a residential school become more difficult because they can not voice out what they really need - needs other than material things, needs that are substantial for them as human being, needs that can not be bought nor given by the people who they not know but they mostly fear of. They have to go through the feeling of being lonely, home-sick, confuse, and being abused for so many years and their only resurrection is silence. Worst of all they suffer from the pain of not having to talk to someone, the pain of being separated from their families, and all the emotional abuse there could be. Aside from the emotional difficulty of the 'students' they endure the unbearable heat of the buildings, the taste of the almost-like-not-edible food, the numerous crowd, and the unjust discipline. Everything is different; everything is alienating for the children. Back home they were taught of things, like the sense of responsibility helping in household chores and being responsible for the sake of others. But the residential school or often coined as "white man's school" changed everything. The Effects of Residential Schools to Native American Children The children upon going home have changed, they no longer interested in helping their parents in the household chores instead they are more interested in hanging out with their friends whom they met in the residential school. They learned to talk back and they have lost the sense of respecting the elders. They can not speak their own language anymore and having the difficulty to learn it again. They use the language (English) that they have learned in residential school as a way of expressing their angst in the world thus associating the language with negative feelings. The worst effect to the children is that they have the mind set that their own culture is not worth preserving. They regard their own culture as useless and can not help them to become a better people and they pay more respect to the culture of others. The effects of residential schools to children, families, and community are very damaging - damages that can not be changed even by time. But residential schools do not entail negative change because the residential schools have brought something to the children, their families, and their community something that would help them in one way or another. The children have learned how to read and write. They have also learned about other culture and the 'other world aside from their own'. Residential Schools are not bad if you would come to think about it because its primary objective is to educate the children. What makes it bad is how it is implemented and how it is managed. The residential schools failed to address the real needs of the children, they failed to cater and tap the cultural differences of everyone which resulted to the negative effects to the children. Years had passed and the residential schools have continued but it comes to its end around the 1950s. The Canadian government has come to the realization that it won't work, gladly they have admitted that residential school policy is a failure. In 1980s the last existing residential school was closed. After the closure of the residential schools, the native people had leaded their life in their own way; they have reared their children according to their own culture. But the fact remains that the residential schools have a big impact to their community. They asked the Anglican, United and Roman Catholic churches to give them official apologies and those churches have given it. Today, the historians consider the 'Indians' and 'the West' as major contributors in enriching the minds of every people through their meaningful contributions to the becoming of the nation. American-Indians are considered as the most well-known and powerful image of the United States of America. Issues of Serious Violent Juveniles Serious violent juveniles are an issue that is so alarming nowadays. It is something that should be addressed because many people are being affected by it. It is alarming in such a way that our youths today who we thought will fulfill the nation's dreams are the ones who are involved. When we talk about serious violent juveniles, there are a lot of things that come into our mind, many speculations about them and many words to describe who they are. But what does a serious violent really are Serious violent juveniles are those who we consider individual types because they are bearing same characteristics, they are youths with these characteristics: 1.) someone who commits rapes, robbery, murders, and other crimes and seems to be contented with what they are doing; and 2.) they are those who are blinded with their current situation and unresponsive with the good life world has to offer. Other characteristics of serious violent offenders are those who are not emphatic with others. They can not feel what others would feel. That is the very main reason why do crimes because they could not care less, not even his welfare. They do not have any perception of the future. They would not think of what they will become years from now. They do not have sense of having a dream. They are fixated with the present, with the 'now'. They also treat life like it is a matter of chances. They also have the mind set that everybody does the crime so why can not he do it himself The offenders also think of other way, they always resulted to negative things, their associate everything to the negative side of life. There could be a numerous reason for the behavior of the delinquents but it boils down into one - their not so good early experience during childhood. Most of them grew up in unhealthy environment. They were deprived of a lot of things. They experienced atrocities of life even before they enjoy the good things life could bring. It is thought that they are the product of both genes and culture combined. These juvenile offenders are feared because juvenile crime rate shows how harmful they can be. But according to the President of National Council on Crime and Delinquency, Dr. Barry Krisberg, "Juvenile crime statistics can be misleading and can be manipulated to feed public fear." He continued by saying that the national crime rate of adults and youth has only eight offenses. Although youths committed nineteen percent (19%) of the crimes, they are not liable for all violent or serious offenses. But is some studies claim that the crime rate of the juveniles is something that we should mind because they should not do it in the first place. The serious violent juveniles can be traced to their origin. Family is the number one factor in shaping them to become a better person. It is either the family will break or break a person. In the studies that were conducted before, it shows that delinquent juveniles often have a broken family. They have personal issues that they can not resolve moreover there is no one to fix it for them. They lack the guidance of their parents that would help them grounded on their feet. In this manner, we could say that the issues of removing Native-American Indians from their home can be attributed here. The children when they grow up will have the tendency to go against the norms of the society. He would go into the state where he is confused of what is right or wrong. He would just go with the flow; this clearly shows the lack of family bearing. Proposals about Serious Violent Juveniles The government has laid out solutions to aid this problem and to somehow solve it. They already intervene with the juvenile offenders through counseling and they focused on interpersonal skills, and tapping the child's issues such as but not limited to behavior, academic and employment of the parents. There is a method that has grown popularity - the Multi-Systematic Therapy or MST. It is known as a Blue Print Program which is build to generate a therapeutic environment wherein all factors and points in a juvenile offender's life are the key players. There is a guidebook that was developed for the implementation of a "Comprehensive Strategy". This is based on research of effective practice in the field and this was made to cater the issues regarding juvenile justice and delinquency. The project (guidebook) was made possible by the National Council on Crime or Delinquency or NCCD in collaboration with the Office of Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention under the United States' Department of Justice. Different government agencies are trying their best to aid the alarming rate of serious violent juveniles. Up to now they have tighten their programs on home visits and counseling. Hey also gave recreational materials so that the delinquents will have something to turn to and they will focus on a new things. There is a flaw in the policy because they did not for see what will happen next to the people involve. They misjudge the characteristics and lifestyle of the juvenile delinquents. Once again, we should all be reminded that every people are unique, we may come from same country or ethnic groups the fact remains that we are like many others but not quite the same. We should always take note of the cultural differences of everybody. References: Bensen, Robert. (2001). Native American Voices on Child Custody. Retrieved March 7, 2007, 2007, from http://www.uapress.arizona.edu/books/bid1363.htm Krisberg, Barry. (1997). A Comprehensive Strategy for Serious, Violent and Chronic Juvenile Offenders. Retrieved March 7, 2007, 2007, from http://www.aypf.org/forumbriefs/1997/fb110797.htm Smith, Andrea. (2007). Soul Wounds: The Legacy of Native American Schools . Retrieved March 7, 2007, 2007, from http://www.aypf.org/forumbriefs/1997/fb110797.htm Vachss, Andrew H. (2000). Who is the Serious, Violent, Habitual Offender Retrieved March 7, 2007, 2007, from http://www.vachss.com/av_dispatches/lifestyle.html Key Crimes and Justice Facts at a Glance. (2003). Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics Retrieved March 7, 2007, 2007, from http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/glance.htm Placement of American-Indian Children. (2004). American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Retrieved March 7, 2007, 2007, from http://www.aacap.org/ Prosecute Certain Serious, Violent, and Chronic Juvenile Offenders in Criminal Court. (2003). Office of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Retrieved March 7, 2007, 2007, from http://ojjdp.ncjrs.org/action/sec2.htm Residential Schools. (2002). Government of Canada Retrieved March 7, 2007, 2007, from http:// schoolnet.ca/aboriginal/issues/schools-e.html Serious, Violent, and/or Habitual Offenders. (2000). National Center for Juvenile Justice Retrieved March 7, 2007, 2007, from http://ncjj.servehttp.com/NCJJWebsite/main.htm Read More