In: Psychology
Answer in 125 words each:
1) What are the requirements of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974?
2) What are the essential components of adequate aftercare planning for a juvenile offender?
3) What is an example of a juvenile status offense? Should some of these status offenses be abolished or limited in regard to punishment? Why?
1) What are the requirements of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974?
The Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 has four primary requirements:
Deinstitutionalization of Status Offenders: A status offense is an offense which when committed by an adult, is not punishable by law. As such, if committed by a juvenile, he or she may be placed in a detention center. The Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 focusses on finding alternatives to putting juveniles in detention centers.
Adult Jail & Lock up removal: The Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 focusses on separating the juvenile offenders from adult jails, mainly in order to avoid abuse. This also focuses on identifying better alternatives to detention facilities for the juvenile offenders.
Sight & Sound separation: This requirement plays along the lines of the previous requirement. A clear demarcation between adults and juvenile individuals in both sight & sound - such that there is no chance for interaction between the two irrespective of whether or not the juveniles are offenders or not. Any contact with adult inmates is avoided.
Disproportionate minority contact or confinement: This is to ensure that no racist pattern is found in identifying juvenile offenders. Juveniles belonging to a minority should not be targetted when resolving conflicts where juveniles are involved.
2) What are the essential components of adequate aftercare planning for a juvenile offender?
Some of the essential components of aftercare planning for a juvenile offender includes:
Education: It is important to ensure that the juvenile offender has access to education in the aftermath of the offense. It is important that they complete high school and if successful, have adequate agencies that support them to go on to join college.
Employment: It is important that there are adequate opportunities to develop skills that make them employable. The fact that an individual was a juvenile offender should not be a roadblock for them to find jobs. There should be community support in order to open doors for finding jobs.
Healthcare: If the juvenile offender has any habits that require medical intervention such as substance abuse or any other health condition, the individual should be in a position to access health care benefits. Any medical aid provided should address the concerns that the juvenile offender might face.
Identity protection: Depending on the level of offense, it is important to protect the identity of the offender. Privacy & confidentiality are of utmost importance when it comes to aftercare of a juvenile offender.
3) What is an example of a juvenile status offense? Should some of these status offenses be abolished or limited in regard to punishment? Why?
Some of the common status offenses include - chronic or
persistent truancy, running away,
being ungovernable or incorrigible, violating curfew laws, or
possessing alcohol or tobacco.
No, it is important that the status offenses remain under the scanner. For example, one of the common status offenses is truancy - that is being absent from compulsory education for a long period of time. This shows that the youth is in some way 'occupied' whereby studies or education takes a backseat. There has been a clear indication that youths who miss out on studies go on to completely drop out of it at a later point in time and move into something that is illegal.
This goes on to show that it is important the status offenses are monitored and the youth's well being is prioritized. What can be addressed though, is the punishment. With regard to punishing juveniles for status offenses, more time should be spent on analyzing and customizing the corrective measure for the juvenile's offense rather than applying a standard template. This will ensure better recovery and in general a cleaner life for the juvenile offender.