Community Resource Analysis for Juvenile Offenders
I. Scope of the issue
The selected community
The community of focus is spans across the United States. The population of focus within the community is juvenile offenders. This constitutes of youths below the age of 18 handled by the juvenile justice system. Within communities, behaviors of the youths are shaped by the social interactions and cultural norms presented therein. Senior members of the society play an important role of displaying desirable behaviors for the youth to emulate in addition to monitoring activities within the community. Most delinquencies within the population of focus, juvenile offenders, are accounted for by young males.
Population and Existing resources
Target population for the project is the juvenile offenders. The juvenile justice system defines a juvenile as “a youth below the age of 18.” This definition applies to most states, but some states have different age brackets to represent juveniles. In 2008 it is estimated that white juvenile offenders accounted for 65.5% of the cases handled, with minorities accounting for 36.5% and blacks for 33.6%. The types of offenses committed among this population are personal, property, drug and public order offenses.
Handling the issue of juvenile delinquency requires resources from the society, community, and families. The main resources within the community therefore include: child protection services, mentor groups, support groups, parent resources, and school programs. The office of the juvenile justice and delinquency prevention (OJJDP) is also a major resource used in handling the issue. This office is controlled and managed by the US department of justice. It is generally in charge of the issue of juvenile offenders in United States through policy development and goals development that provide a way forward for the issue of juvenile delinquency prevention in communities. The office runs a nationwide program for juvenile delinquency prevention that provides secure facilities based within the communities. However, it does not work alone in ensuring that the youth population in the country does not engage in any violent or anti social behavior. This office works with various federal agencies including the National Gang Center, the Bureau of Justice Assistance, and the Office of Justice Program. Within the local communities, the office also partners with families in ensuring that juvenile justice is maintained. Families within the community are primary focus for the several agencies working to ensure prevention of juvenile delinquencies because both the youths and their parents need support in one way or another.
The Child Protection Services (CPS) is also an important resource within the community used to handle the issue of juvenile offenders. It is a government agency with branches in almost every state within the US. CPS normally responds to reports of neglect and child abuse. It is noted that children who go through abuses and neglect would end up demonstrating delinquent behaviors within the society. CPS therefore plays an important role in handling the issue of juvenile offenders from a preventive perspective. It supports parents to walk with their children in a manner that helps to shape their behaviors appropriately.
Mentor groups for juvenile offenders are primarily controlled by the office of the Juvenile justice and delinquency prevention. The office runs mentoring programs across the nations with the primary focus of preventing at-risk from engaging in delinquencies. The mentor programs are also effective in helping delinquent youths to change their behaviors for the better of the society. These mentoring programs assist youths to build their self esteem and also perform well in their academic work and other social activities. The mentoring programs are similar to support groups. They serve the same purpose of assisting already delinquent youths to change their behaviors for the better of the society. Both mentor groups and support groups are funded by the Office of the Juvenile justice and delinquency prevention. The mentors are available to support young people in almost every aspect of their lives. They spend time with the children, helping them with their academics, helping them in sports, and listening to them. Such moments usually have lasting effects on the lives of children.
With regards to parent resources, the juvenile justice system works together with parents to help them build positive behaviors in their children. Providing secure shelters may not be the most effective solution to issues that children face. Sometimes the secure shelters may be too crowded creating the need for the juvenile justice system to work closely with parents in order to help their children. What parents are recommended to do is to work closely with officers and ask for help wherever they need it.
Already delinquent youths are empowered through school programs. The school programs help them build careers and have technical supports to assist them in the job market. In addition the school programs also support the juvenile beneficiaries with the development of important life skills they can use to survive in their social interactions within the community.
Sources of funding
Funding for juvenile justice in the community is both done within the state level and private level. The primary source of funding within the state level is the office of the Juvenile justice and delinquency prevention. Every state department is allocated funds within the federal budget. The funds received by the OJJDP are used to run the numerous juvenile justice programs all across the country. In addition to state funding, there are also other private organizations (both for profit and nonprofit organizations) whose operations are aligned to juvenile justice in some way. Other common organizations operating on a nationwide scale include: American Bar Association Juvenile Justice Center, Building Blocks for Youth, Center for Juvenile and Criminal Justice, and the National Center on Education, Disability, and Juvenile Justice among others.
Application of forensic psychology
Forensic psychology is an important part of criminal psychology since it seeks to examine the behavioral and mental process of juvenile offenders. The primary concern forensic psychology in juvenile justice is modifying, maintaining, evoking, and acquiring of behaviors by the youths. Research studies conducted in the forensic psychology tend to focus on the values, beliefs, and thoughts of the criminals and develop ways in which these values can be changed. Therefore in juvenile offenders, the focus for forensic psychology is to establish the way these young people view the world around them. If they have a deceived perception of the society and the world around them, forensic psychologist would attempt to change this wrong perception and instill a “normal” perception in the minds of the offenders.
The major crimes in which forensic psychology help to create an understanding include violent crimes such as domestic violence, sexual assault, aggravated assault, and murder. Juvenile cases are mostly associated with violent crimes and sometimes could even involve murder and sexual assault. Through the application of principles of psychology that relate to aggression and reinforcement, forensic psychology can be used to develop an understanding of the causes and prevention of these violent offences by children and teenagers.
The application of forensic psychology is also used in juvenile courts session where psychologists work closely with lawyers and judges to conduct assessments on such matters as child custody determination, criminal sentencing, criminal responsibility, and competency to stand trial. At the same time, most of the programs run by the OJJDP rely on the services of forensic psychologists especially in conducting correctional services within the mentor groups and support groups.
II. Challenges and opportunity
There are various issues affecting the effective application of forensic psychology in the community. The main issues and challenges relate to financial factors, demographic factors, geographical factors, human resource, and public awareness.
Financial challenges and opportunities
The programs run in support of the juvenile justice system are mainly supported by finances. There is need for funding in order for all the stakeholders involved to play their parts. Without funding, the juvenile justice system will fail to effectively execute its mandate within the community. Financial challenges have resulted in cutting some of the measures and programs which intervene in this situation. For instance, due to financial challenges, supportive staff members within the rescue centers and secure facilities fail to perform their duties well. In some cases, these facilities may hold more than their capacity leaving the ratio of staff to clients not proportional. The support groups and mentorship groups are very important in realization of the program outcomes. However, financial challenges may impede the effectiveness of the mentorship and support groups because the staff may feel overwhelmed with work. Therefore, it is important for involved agencies to ensure that the ratio of the staff to client is always balanced within manageable means. Passing of legislations and policies is a key area that requires financial support. This is however limited now that the OJJDP funding only focus on the programs it runs. Important policy changes need to be made which ensure that effective delivery of justice to juvenile offenders.
Demographic challenges and opportunities
Demographic challenges focus on factors such as race, age, and gender. Most of the cases of juvenile delinquencies tend to lean towards specific genders, races, and age group. This is a challenge to the application of forensic psychology, especially, due to the fact that little research has been done to explain the discrepancies. There is need to able to develop an understanding of the causes and prevention of delinquent behavior from a gender perspective or a race perspective. The existing approach only relies on an individual angle. The disparities have the potential to impact juvenile offences both positively and negatively. For instance, if one particular race feels targeted over the juvenile cases, it is most likely to witness more cases of offences committed by children and teenagers from that particular race. Similarly, since a significantly large percentage of delinquencies are accounted for by males, it is possible to find this working out for the benefit of females.
It is also a common consensus that most of the adult criminals cases witnessed are directly impacted by the juvenile criminal cases. This implies that the people who conduct crime in their adult age must have started as juveniles. Research has proven than most children who involve in delinquent behaviors tend to perpetuate the same in their adult life. Therefore, if the juvenile cases are not handled effectively, there will still be high levels of criminal activities in the future. The reverse case is seen as a solution to preventing and reducing crimes in the future.
Geographical challenges
Attempts to grapple with the issue of juvenile delinquency vary with societies. Geographically, juvenile justice system is not the same in all areas and state of the US. Some facilities and local policies are completely not identical with those of other areas. Some states tend to emphasize on punitive incarceration while other tend to focus on community rehabilitation centers. The nature of juvenile crime committed also tends to vary with geographical locations. This poses a challenge in applying the concepts of forensic psychology since it becomes difficult to know the exact programs that will reduce recidivism cases. The geographical challenge would mainly be eliminated if research studies decide to be more specific with regards to geographical locations. This would help in the implementation of programs that work in specific areas.
Human resource
The challenge of human resource tends to be linked to financial challenges. Staff and personnel are needed to run the various programs for juvenile justice. At the same time, there is need for the staff not to feel overwhelmed with work load as this would prevent effective delivery of services. A balance should therefore be created between the children handled by individual staff. The primary focus of the programs is to ensure that cases of delinquencies are prevented or effectively handled. The human resource aspect should always be motivated or else the impact of the intervention measures will not be as effective as expected. However, the opportunity that arises due to human resource is the need for additional staff to handle the intervention programs. This is an employment opportunity for many who will have to be trained in the different areas of forensic psychology. There is need for more mentors to run the mentorship and support group programs. There is need for more workers to support parents whenever they need help with shaping the behaviors of their children. Volunteers are therefore one of the ways in which the human resource challenge can be addressed
Public awareness as a challenge
The public seem to be limited in the amount of information is knows with regards to juvenile justice and the various mechanisms for delinquency prevention. Because of this limitation, incidences of crime seem to be on the rise. It is argued that lack of knowledge is associated to increase in crime. A closer look into some of the cases of delinquencies by children is a result of ignorance. Educating both the children and parents on the due process of handling juvenile cases and the consequences of certain behaviors can greatly reduce the crime. The challenge of public awareness is exacerbated especially when the programs fail to meet their intended outcomes in the children. Basically, the public becomes less confident with the juvenile justice system when there is an increase of offenders. This makes it hard for the application of forensic psychology.
III. Action plan
Psychological evaluation and expertise
This process entails the evaluation of Juvenile offenders based on their on the factors that might have contributed in their engagement in criminal cases. Areas to be evaluated includes but not limited to drug dependence, history of domestic violence, mental disorders, and influence from peers (Goodier, 2006). The actions of juveniles and their manner of reactions will be examined from the above mentioned perspectives. For instance, a juvenile offender is evaluated to ascertain his/her level of mental sanity before being allowed to testify in court.
Psychological consultation and interviewing techniques
Juvenile offenders with high risks are assessed and examined in a manner that will enable them maintain their consciousness. This entails the examination of the juvenile offender, the system working with the offender such as prison systems or probation team, the legal system, and the victims of the crime. This program aims to:
Understanding the mental processes that lead juvenile offenders to engage in criminal activities or to behave in unusual ways. With expertise in forensic psychology, psychological experts will apply the right strategies to help in examining behavioral issues among offenders
Developing professional autonomy and accountability
Extending and enhancing the ability of forensic psychologists to identify and examine issues in forensic psychology as they apply to juvenile offenders. It also extends to the extensive application of forensic psychology to juvenile crimes
Develop a critical evaluation regarding the impact of actions regarding juvenile offenses
Application of therapy techniques and use of statistical data
The application of expert practice and the examination of crimes committed by juvenile offenders is certain to unravel the causative factors that lead individuals into committing offers. The next step entails the implementation of a treatment therapeutic plan to help in reforming affected juvenile delinquents. Counseling programs should be set up across the community to help in communicating the importance of avoiding criminal offenses among juvenile offenders. Those affected by mental disorders and drug dependence will be helped to overcome their issues. Analysis of statistical data and other reliable statistics relating to crimes committed by juveniles can be used to support the program. Information eligible for inclusion in this program must pass the requirements for scientific research. Data collected from surveying, experimenting, and observing as tools for gathering information often produce reliable results.
Public Education
Educating the public regarding the importance of preventing crimes committed by juveniles is fundamental in enabling the community to minimize cases of juvenile crimes. Other educational initiatives include:
Teaching the public on the basic ways of assessing and treating offenders
Providing information of the legal application of forensic psychology, and its application in legal and issues concerning juvenile responsibility
Provision of information to enable members in the community to understand the how the criminal justice system works
Involving several stakeholders within the community including non-governmental organizations and private organizations in efforts aimed at minimizing juvenile delinquency.
Partnering with agencies within the juvenile justice system
Funding
The challenges affecting the application of forensic psychology are hampered by lack of enough funding to programs that run in support of the juvenile justice system. Soliciting for funds to fund research initiatives and to enable institutions within the juvenile justice system to cater for expenses is a critical strategy to help in preventing juvenile delinquency.
Final Remarks
Forensic psychology is an area that is growing rapidly coupled with its huge scientific potential. Judging from the huge impact in the legal system of some countries, there is no doubt that new scientific developments will provide long lasting solutions to reduce prejudice, narrow-mindedness, bias, and other unethical practices within the juvenile justice system.
References
Bartole, A., & Bartole, C. (2008). Overview of forensic psychology. forensic psychology, 3-12.
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Goodier, J. (2006). Forensic Science: An Encyclopedia of History, Methods and Techniques. Reference Reviews, 20(6), 43 - 44
Maccoby, E. (1992). The role of parents in the socialization of children: An historical overview. Developmental Psychology, 28, 1006-1017.
Peterson, D. (2009). Charting a New Course: A Blueprint for Transforming Juvenile Justice in New York State. New York: Task Force on trasforming Juvenile Justice.
Tubbs, W. (1994). The roots of stress-death and juvenile delinquency in Japan: Disciplinary ambivalence and perceived locus of control. Journal of Business Ethics, 507.
