o   Which early view of delinquents was central to the development of the juvenile justice system? 

§  Wanted to make juveniles productive members of the community

§  Delinquents viewed as potential paupers

§  Pauperism. People who were poor because of their “wicked and dissolute ways”.

·         Problems with this response - many refused to sentence properly due to age of defendant (made people feel like the system ignored crime by juveniles)

·         America following the Industrial Revolution saw a renewed interest in explaining poverty and pauperism.

o   Pauperism -Considered “Undeserving Poor”

·         Delinquents as potential paupers

o   Children learn to be paupers from “weak and criminal environment”

o   Children are potential adults  

§  Adult behavior is a consequence of environment.

o   What is parens patriae and how does it relate to JJS? 

§  The state has the duty to protect and care for children as a parent.

§  Allows for government intervention on child’s behalf

o   What was the child-saving movement? 

§  Removing children from moral plight, delinquents = threat to moral justice.

§  At-risk children needed to be saved from moral plights.

§  Delinquents were threat to the “moral fabric” of society and required governmental intervention.

§  Middle-class civic leaders –developed organizations/groups to help alleviate the burdens of the poor  and immigrants by sponsoring shelter care for youths, educational and social activities, and the development of settlement houses.

§  Their main focus seems to have been on extending governmental control over a range of youthful activities that had previously been left to private/family control, including illness, drinking, vagancy, and delinquency

o   What were Houses of Refuge? 

§  First was built in New York and was in the same location as MSG today.

§  Reformatory for juveniles

§  Houses of Refuge began as places where children could grow outside of the criminogenic “street” environment as well as learn work ethic and vocational skills to prevent pauperism. It began as a reform school focused on poor children and quickly devolved into rigid, punitive, custody-focused warehouses of poor children that did little more than provide child labor for capitalists

o   Which philosophies about the treatment of juvenile offenders were linked to the creation of the juvenile justice system? 

§  Children should not be treated like adults

§  goals: treat and rehabilitate instead of punish

§  each sentencing should be specific to child

o   What was the Illinois Juvenile Court Act and how did it contribute to the creation of the juvenile justice system?

§  A separate court for delinquent and neglected children.

§  Took jurisdiction for juvenile offenders away from adult courts.

§  Special procedures for Juvenile trials.

·         Paternalistic, not adversarial

·         Preponderance of evidence standard

o   What is the OJJDP?

§  Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.

o    What are is the OJJDP responsible for?

§  Developing effective delinquency prevention techniques

§  promoting alternatives for incarceration for juveniles especially status offenders

§  Oversight of OJJDP = Office of Justice Programs -> US Department of Justice

§  [Indictment] - Formal accusation of crime

§  [Arraignment] - Decide whether or not to continue with trial.

§  [Sentence] - After being found responsible, the course of action to be carried out by the offender.

§  Changing the jurisdiction of a juvenile offense from the Juvenile Justice System to the Adult Criminal Justice System.

o   Be able to explain the case flow through the juvenile justice system

o   Know the point at which diversion and plea bargaining are no longer available

§  Plea bargain – all the way up to the point where a judge is making a decision

§  Diversion?

§  Law Enforcement: detection, apprehension, prevention of illegal behavior; collection of evidence that can be used in the prosecution of cases in court.

§  Service: Assist motorists with stalled vehicles, giving directions to motorists, providing information to citizens, providing first aid, escorting emergency vehicles, responding to mental health needs, etc.

§  Order maintenance: Intervention with situations that threaten to disturb the peace or involve face-to-face conflicts between two or more individuals.

·         Account for 80% of all activity

·         Public order can erupt into violence

·         Discretion in handling public order situations

·         Situations involve juveniles and their families

§  Juvenile officers

§  Role Conflict

o   What does it mean that police may act in loco parentis? 

§  In place of parent.

§  protective rather than punitive detention

o   Know the police strategies and additional roles discussed in class. 

§  Aggressive law enforcement

·         Focus patrols on areas with higher rates of criminal activity (saturation patrol).

§  community policing

·         Community involvement in policing is important in preventing and responding to delinquency.

·         This strategy involves police departments working with communities to address community problems.

§  problem-oriented policing

·         Focusing on specific problems within an area can make a significant impact on crime.

·         Four step model is typical:

o   Scanning - what are important problems in the area

o   Analysis - analyze the problem and determine causes

o   Response - attack the problem (typically via multi-agency task forces)

o   Assessment - did the response work?

§  Protect public safety

§  ensure safe and smooth operation to the JJS

§  serve in best interest of child

o   What is the “best interests of the child” philosophy?

§  A philosophy placing the rehabilitation of a juvenile offender as a top priority.

§  In many jurisdictions, this philosophy comes with a mandate to "keep families together." 

o   Know the key players of the juvenile court. 

§  Juvenile defense attorneys

§  Judge

§  Prosecutors

§  parole officer 

o   Who are Guardian ad Litems and what do they do? 

§  Attorney appointed by court to represent best interest of child

§  makes recommendations on behalf of child

§  Common in child welfare system/family court.

·         Divorce/custody cases

·         Child abuse/neglect cases

§  Juvenile defense attorneys usually take this role during disposition

o   In which ways do juvenile prosecutors have discretion in the juvenile courts? 

• Which cases go to court
• specific charges applied
• consideration to waive to adult court
•  recommends disposition 

o   What are the duties of the Juvenile Judge? 

§  Rule on pretrial motions

§  decide on pretrial detention

§  decide on plea bargaining agreements

§  preside over trial

§  disposition

§  handle waiver hearings

§  consider appeals

o   What are the three types of juvenile waiver and explain them? 

§  Judicial Waiver

·         A hearing is held before a juvenile court judge, who then decides whether jurisdiction should be waived and the case transferred to criminal court.

§  Legislative Waiver

·         (Statutory exclusion policies) certain offenses are, by State law, automatically excluded from juvenile court (age and type of offense)

§  Prosecutorial Wavier

·         (Concurrent jurisdiction) discretion of filing charges for certain offenses in either juvenile or criminal court, If the case meets certain criteria (i.e., age and offense type)

o   What is the path through the juvenile courts? 

§  Petition

§  Intake

§  prejudication hearings

·         Allow juvenile to give a plea or to decide appropriate placement of juveniles prior to adjudication

·         detention hearings

o   Hearing to decide whether probable cause exists to hold the juvenile and whether juvenile’s rights are violated by detaining her/him.

§  Adjudication hearing

§  Disposition hearing

§  Trial

·         Decisions to be made:

o   Finding of fact

o   Need for supervision

o   What is petition? 

§  Request for formal processing

§  Charges brought against minor or juvenile

§  A formal complaint that initiates judicial action against a juvenile charged with delinquency or a status offense.

o   What is focused on during intake? 

§  Screening of cases by the juvenile court system; intake officers may send the youth home with no further action, divert the youth to a social agency, petition the youth to the juvenile court, or file a petition and hold the youth in detention; intake reduces demands on court resources

·         legal sufficiency

o   Does the case meet the requirements to go to trial?

·         case conferences

o   intake officer may meets with juvenile and her/his parents; allows intake officer to collect more information to aid in making a screening decision (release, diversion, formal processing).

§  Medical assessments, booking, signing over custody?

o   What are the two types of adjudication hearings? What decisions are made during adjudication? 

§  Is juvenile under jurisdiction of the court?

·         (is s/he considered an adult and responsible for the offense)

§  May be a plea-taking hearing (where judge must ensure that the juvenile understands her/his rights prior to taking the plea) or a trial

§  Adjudicated responsible and adjudicated not responsible

§  Determining if they are responsible for their actions/behaviors or not

o   What is considered during the disposition hearing and how does this hearing differ from its adult criminal justice system counterpart (i.e., sentencing)? 

§  Background and sentence. Different because juveniles are not found guilty, just responsible for their actions whereas adults can be found guilty

§  judge, prosecutor, and defense attorney sit down and plan a course of action that balances best interests of the child with community safety (least restrictive available alternative)

·         Predisposition Report

·         Balanced approach

·         Least Restrictive Available Alternative

o   Choosing a program that will best foster a child’s growth and development.

o   What are blended sentences? 

§  Blending juvenile and adult sentences for serious offenders

·         Inclusive model = sentenced to certain times in both adult and juvenile system, yet adult sentence may be suspended if good behavior in juvenile system

o   What are the possible consequences of juvenile detention? 

§  Physical/sexual victimization by older inmates, poor conditions in prison is unlikely to lead to rehabilitation, stigmatization

o   What are the benefits and negative consequences of diversion discussed in class?

§  Benefits:

·         removes non-serious offenders from justice system

·         focuses on treatment

o   provide them with non-punitive treatment services

·         avoids stigma of the delinquent label

·         There is some evidence that diversion with a treatment component for juveniles suffering from mental health problems can delay or prevent further delinquent activity.

§  Negative

·         Widening the net - police and court personnel are likely to use diversion programs for youths who ordinarily would have been turned loose at the intake or arrest stage

o   What are the three correctional philosophies that are applied to juvenile corrections discussed in class? 

§  Prevention of future delinquency

§  care/protection of needy youths

§  and retribution

§  Community corrections

§  institutional corrections 

o   Which disposition is the most common for adjudicated cases? 

§  PROBATION - 60%

o   When is community corrections appropriate? 

§  When offenders are considered able to return to community because of minimum risk of recidivism

§  Benefits

·          incarceration is expensive

·         Permits individually-tailored treatment

·         Promotes rehabilitation while exerting formal control

·         Helps avoid stigma/consequences of incarceration

§  Risks

·         Risk of recidivism

·         Potentially returning juvenile to criminogenic conditions 

o   What is probation? 

§  Offenders are permitted back into the community within set conditions.

·         Conditions

o   Curfew

o   Attending School and/or Therapy

o   Restitution

o   Avoiding certain people or areas

§  Violating any of these rules may result in revocation of probation.

§  Instead of jail time, your punishment is probation

o   What are the limitations and benefits of juvenile probation? 

§  Benefits: permits individually-tailored treatments, promotes rehabilitation while exerting formal control, helps avoid stigma/consequences of incarceration.

§  Limitations: risk of recidivism and potentially returning juvenile to criminogenic conditions

o   What roles might the juvenile probation officer serve? 

§  Social worker

·         manage cases, visitation, and collect social services data

§  Counselor

·         run group and individual therapy (kinda) sessions; focus on social skills and job training

§  law enforcement

·         Detect rule violations and enforce laws; decide on revocation when condition has been violated and termination when the juvenile is deemed rehabilitated.

§  legal aid

·         provide Predisposition report and case aid

o   What part do juvenile probation officers play in earlier stages of the juvenile justice system? 

§  Finding background information?

§  Intake - screen complaints (adjust matter, refer to agency, or refer to court)

§  Predisposition - release or detention decisions

§  Postadjudication - assist in reaching decision

§  Postdisposition - supervision of juveniles on probation

o   When is institutional corrections appropriate? 

§  When offenders are deemed too dangerous or unpredictable to return to society or community immediately 

§  Secure

·         restrict the movement of residents through staff monitoring, locked exits, and interior fence controls

§  Open

·         less restricted movement; greater freedom to access facility

o   What is the focus of female juvenile incarceration? 

§  Resocializing the female offender into established gender roles

o   What priority takes precedence over a juvenile’s right to treatment?

o   How might goals differ from implementation in juvenile corrections? 

§  While the goals of each treatment program may be rehabilitation, their implementation may be punitive.

Individual counseling 

§  Individual counseling - psychotherapy, reality therapy, cognitive therapy

·         Behavioral modification - alter behavior using a system of rewards and punishers.

·         Reality therapy - focus on present behavior by emphasizing responsibility for one’s actions (the past is the past).

§  Group Therapy 

·         Cons

o   provides little one-on-one attention

·         Pros

o   does offer group support (from peers)

o   elements of hope from others struggling with similar problems

o   problem solving ability

§  Wilderness Programs - outdoor activities and team-building

·         Exposure to wholesome environment

·         Education and work ethic are taught and embodied in adult role models

·         Regain self-worth

·         Teaches social skills, self-concept, and self-control.

§  Juvenile Boot Camps - militaristic training camps

·         Not very effective due to little treatment and reentry to community.

§  Educational, vocational, and recreational programs 

o   Know which treatment programs tend to be effective in preventing recidivism and which ones are ineffective. 

§  Effective

·         interpersonal skills

·         family-style group home

·         behavioral programs

·         individual counseling

·         group therapy (mostly)

§  Ineffective

·         Wilderness/Boot Camps

·         Drug Abstinence

·         Employment Programs

Milieu Therapy 

o   What is re-entry?

o   Why might supervision be necessary during re-entry? 

§  Institutionalization of behaviors, perceptions of isolation from community, community may be biased against juvenile

o   What is the Cycle of Juvenile Justice? 

§  Juvenile justice policy cycles between harsh and lenient treatment over time.

o   What ideas drive the cycle? 

§  Cycle driven by societal beliefs about delinquency and our current responses to it.

§  Juvenile crime is exceptionally high.

·         The Myth of the Good Ol’ Days

§  Current JJS contributes to delinquency problem.

§  Changing the current JJS will reduce juvenile crime.

§  Ideas/Conceptions of juvenile delinquency and juvenile justice

o   What is the Myth of the Good Ol’ Days? 

§  Juvenile crime is exceptionally high (now compared to how the used to be)

§  Delinquency in the past was much less serious than it is today.

·         More people probably believe this myth than believe the first and second ones combined. This myth is true some of the time and false at other times. The view that delinquency was better controlled at one time implies that simple solutions (quick fixes) should solve the problems associated with juvenile delinquency today.

o   What is the Unfair Comparison? 

§  When creating new policy, lawmakers tend to compare the good intentions of the proposed policy to the actual performance of the policy in practice.

§  The good intentions of a policy may not be evident in its actual performance.

o   Be able to fill in each box in the path model of this cycle.

§  1) Support law enforcement in providing a safe community

§  2) Helps victims and communities recover as quickly as possible from damage caused by criminal behavior

§  3) Teaches skills necessary for young people and families to work productively

o   Society’s wild inklings as to what makes sense when dealing with children, rather than result of analysis of empirical data

o   Placed the responsibility for the behavior on some sort of genetic or environmental factor and not on the child himself (herself).

o   The blame was seldom, if ever, assigned to the youth who committed the crime.

o   Kent v. US

§  Juvenile court could not waive jurisdiction over juvenile offender - and thereby not send the juvenile to stand trial in the adult court- without hearing.

o   In re Gault 1965

§  Granted juveniles the same rights as adults

§  Applied 5th and 6th Amendment rights to juvenile defendants

·         Exception was rights to public trial by jury

§  Supreme court over turned Gault’s sentence, in an 8-1 decision saying “was in clear violation of his 14^th amendment due process rights, since he had been denied right to legal counsel, had not been formally notified of the charges against him, had not been informed of his right against self-incrimination [to remain silent], had no opportunity to confront his accusers, and been given no right to appeal his sentence to higher court” 

o   The Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974

§  Prohibited detaining juveniles in adult facilities

§  This act:

·          formally recognized that the adult corrections and juvenile justice systems were distinct and separate

·         established OJJDP: promoted development of national standards and methods of working towards these standards

·         move away from institutionalization for what are known as status offenses

·         disallowed the use of adult jails for detention of youthful offenders

·         sight and sound separation of juveniles and adults (though this policy was exempted for juveniles waived to adult courts)

·         shift away from state independence and toward a national agenda set forth by federal government

·         What is sight and sound separation? 

o   Juveniles and adults cannot be detained in the same area

§  Except for those juveniles waived/tried in adult court

·         What are the three areas that fall within the balanced approach, according to the authors?

o   Community protection

§  community’s right to be safe

o   Accountability to victims

§  the offender’s responsibility to make amends to the community and to the victim

o   Competency development

§  Providing youth’s with pro-social skills

§  Provide youths with competency­

·         competency­ to the skill itself

·         competency­ to the offender’s ability to demonstrate that skill

§  Goal is to assist youths and their families in developing skills that will enable the youths to maneuver their way out of the system and become productive members of society 

·         What are the reason(s) the authors give for why scared straight programs are ineffective?

o   The shame and intimidation involved in these interactions resembles the experiences that put them at higher risk in the first place, and they consider the experience normal (high-risk offenders)

o   Overall, the scare tactic only sensationalizes a lifestyle they are already drawn to , and reinforces their decisions 

o   Education/classroom-style teaching approach

§  Information alone does not work

o   open-ended counseling

§  free-formed, unstructured discussions do not work

o   Thinking delinquency is the result of poor self-esteem, because it is not. 

o   boot camps/ “exercise themselves out of delinquency”

§  We actually created offenders with high self esteem who are better equipped physically for future crime.

o   moving youth to adult system

§  may be most popular but is ineffective

§  fueled by frustration, fear, and desire for quick-fixes

§  diminish the youth’s chances of receiving age-appropriate treatment responses

o   Making the most efficient use of the public’s money

§  Risk assessments help direct how to use funds to get the biggest return on cost

·         Cost – services developed

·         Return – decrease in juvenile crime

§  Juvenile offenders who are at low risk or re-offending typically need less –intensive and less-expensive services, whereas those at higher risk need more concentrated responses

o   Avoiding practices that do more harm than good

§  Mixing offenders together (high/low risk offenders)

o   Focusing EITHER on early prevention OR  corrections lockup for high-risk offenders

o   School performance

o    negative peer association

o   criminal attitudes/beliefs/behaviors

o   alcohol and drug abuse

o   based on risk assessment tool, finding out which risk areas are associated with criminal behavior of a specific case 

o   It is best to be “smart on crime” by using a balance of treatment options (“soft on crime”) AND correction responses (“hard on crime”)

§  Correction responses

·         Probation, Community service, Restitution to victims, detention, residential families, long-term lockup, electronic monitoring, parole, intensive supervision, court involvement, and drug testing 

o   1) Match the dosage to determined risk level

o   2) separate low, high, medium risk offenders into respective groups

o   3) be community-based whenever possible

o   4) use cognitive behavioral approach

o   5) provide gender-specific services

o   6) build on youth and family strengths