Mentoring Program to Reduce Juvenile Recidivism - 4170 Words

Introduction Youth are often confronted with socio-economical and political challenges including poverty, ethic and minority status and are often cited as at risk for committing long-term community problems like rise in crime due to substance abuse, school drop-out and several forms of academic failures, delinquencies, criminal offenses and unemployment (e.g. Grisso, Vincent Seagrave, 2005; Champion Mays, 1991; Fellmeth, 2002). According to Grisso and his colleagues (2005), the argument that in order to help young offenders that were placed under rehabilitation centers reconnect to community and avoid recidivism is to provide them education and employment opportunities upon release. It is in this area where mentoring programs to†¦show more content†¦B. Mentoring Programs in Reducing Recidivism Studies suggest that young people are often at risk of re-offending (e.g. Sharkey, et al, 2003; Vincent Seagrave, 2005). Sharkey and his colleagues explained that youth often reoffend since, as they prepare themselves in returning to their respective communities, they are usually confronted by similar situations that had influenced their behaviors prior to committing offenses. Another group of researchers however show that youth engaged in education, employment and other productive endeavors in their communities within 6 to 8 months after their release are less vulnerable to commit another offense (e.g. Keating, et al., 2002, Bullis, et al, 2002, Grossman Tierney, 2008). In the literature, mentoring programs are often advocated as an effective intervention in helping young offenders in fostering one-to-one relationships (a young offender with a caring adult) and in connecting them to promising education and employment opportunities upon their release Supporters of this view highlig ht that positive relationship with caring adults strengthens the protective factors which help young offenders to overcome structural and institutional hurdles to having healthy and productive lives. Keating,Show MoreRelatedGrant Proposal. Second Chance Act Smart On Juvenile Justice:956 Words   |  4 PagesAct Smart on Juvenile Justice: Community Supervision Reform Program I. Statement of the Problem: The North Carolina Department of Public Safety (Division of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention) is requesting funds to provide juveniles a second chance through a community supervision reform program. The Department’s goal for requesting these funds is to reduce the number of juveniles currently on probation. As of 2013, there were over 383,600 juveniles on probation. This program would provideRead MoreEvaluation Of Robinson s Juvenile Recidivism Prevention Center3541 Words   |  15 PagesABSTRACT According to the Office of Juvenile Justice and delinquency prevention, mentoring is a valuable method to avert at-risk juvenile from involvement in delinquency and also to facilitate already delinquent ones to transform their lives for the better. Evaluation is useful in assuring that the mentoring program is working as intended and to establish whether the program is meeting its goals and objectives. Without conducting an actual evaluation, program teams sometimes draw on findings thatRead MoreThe General Strain Theory Of Female Delinquency1253 Words   |  6 Pagestime on homework, are involved in delinquent peer groups, and have less self-control† (Bartollas 74). Many of these factors have also been studied by the U.S. Department of Justice; for example, they found that school performance has an effect on juvenile delinquency. According to their report â€Å"much research has been conducted on the general relationship between academic performance and deviant behavior. The inverse relationship between academic performance and deviance seems stronger in boys thanRead MoreEvaluation Of Mentoring Programs For The United States1732 Words   |  7 PagesJordan Woltjer 11/16/2016 Course Project Part 2 Matz shows that mentoring programs were first instituted in the U.S. in the late 19th century as an alternative to incarceration to be used in Juvenile Courts under the supervision of probation officers (2014). According to Matz, these sentencing policies were inspired by the progressive era’s focus on alleviating the mass poverty that was caused by industrialization, immigration, and urbanization (2014). Blakeslee and Keller state that â€Å"The highlyRead MoreAn Overview of Alternative Methods of Incarceration700 Words   |  3 PagesAn Overview of Alternative Methods of Incarceration Leaders at the Federal, State, and Local levels are constantly seeking ingenious methods to reduce the costs of criminal justice and corrections. It is agreed that violent offenders should be in maximum security facilities, however establishing alternatives to prison for non-violent offenders have become a necessity (e.g. DMI, Project HOPE, The 24/7 sobriety project). Due to the overcrowding and budget issues, methods have been devised to increaseRead MorePast Offenders Are Neglected And Vulnerable984 Words   |  4 Pagesoffer the unique personal experience of offering mentoring skills which reach beyond one’s educational knowledge and experience. Past offenders will be relied upon to develop customized plans of execution to teach mentees first hand how to avoid systematic hurdles when attempting to transition from being a delinquent to working towards obtaining goals and taking advantage of opportunities through effective planning and decision making. In juvenile justic e, offenders may have alternative desiresRead MoreAdult Criminal Justice System Of North Carolina1110 Words   |  5 PagesUnder North Carolina’s General Statute 7B 1604a, any juvenile who commits a criminal offense on or after the juvenile s sixteenth birthday is subject to prosecution as an adult (â€Å"Limitations†). North Carolina remains one of only two states in America that automatically prosecutes all 16- and 17-year-olds in the adult criminal justice system regardless of the severity of the crime they commit; punishments served to students involved in something as trivial as fist-fight in a local high school cafeteriaRead MoreComprehensive Gang And Delinquency Prevention Programs2329 Words   |  10 PagesThese comprehensive gang and delinquency prevention programs uses different techniques and to direct youth to positive alternatives. It begins at the local level by using community leaders and Club staff to discuss local gang issues, design a community-stra tegy and clarify each organization’s or person’s role in providing services to the youth. Meanwhile on the local level, through the system of courts, police, other juvenile justice agencies, schools, social service agencies and community organizationsRead MoreJuvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act6750 Words   |  27 PagesIntroduction The Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA) is the principal federal program through which the federal government sets standards for juvenile justice systems at the state and local levels. It provides direct funding for states, research, training, and technical assistance, and evaluation. The JJDPA was originally enacted in 1974 and even though the JJDPA has been revised several times over the past 30 years, its basic composition has remained the same. Since the actRead MoreBenefits Of Treatment For Juvenile Offenders1934 Words   |  8 Pages The Benefits of Treatment for Juvenile Offenders Tompkins, Patrice Texas State University The Benefits of Treatment for Juvenile Offenders The juvenile justice system is broken in the United States but Louisiana, among many other states, is focusing their efforts into treatment over the incarceration of juvenile offenders According to the New York Times (2015), Louisiana has become a juvenile justice reform leader. State and local leaders have been working hard to make dramatic