Community

 Prepare a written analytical report (7-9 pages) on a juvenile delinquency treatment program in your community or any community of your choice. You were asked by the government to assess the juvenile delinquency program you selected in order to reform the existing program and perhaps add a few new ones. The government wants to increase reliance on alternative to incarceration programs, but needs to know if the current program is working. The government is thinking about adding more community programs, counseling, and after-school jobs for older juveniles.

• What is the name of the program you are assessing?
• Where is the program located?
• Is the program cost-effective?
• What positive impact is the program providing?
• Will the program help to curb juvenile delinquency?
• What are the negative sides of the program?
• Include suggestions for improving the program
• Explain your reasons for supporting or eliminating the program.

A child's social, community, and environmental relations are thought to exert a powerful influence on their involvement in delinquent activities. Kids who fail at home, at school, and in the neighborhood are considered prone to sustaining delinquent careers over their life course. Research indicates that chronic, persistent offenders are the ones most likely to experience educational failure, poor home life, substance abuse, and unsatisfactory peer relations.

Social, community, and environmental relations can also have a positive influence and shield or insulate at-risk children from involvement in a delinquent lifestyle. Consequently, many delinquency prevention efforts focus on improving family relations, supporting educational achievement, and utilizing community resources. If the family is believed to be the cause of delinquency, family counseling and therapy may be used to prevent it. Similarly, gang control efforts have been made to counteract the influence of peer group pressure toward delinquency.

Since there are so many factors that can influence a juvenile's behavior, what can you do to prevent delinquency? Consider all of the factors in this unit that influence delinquency: gender, family, peers, and schools. If you were responsible for juvenile prevention in a town, where would you start? Come up with a proposal to present to the mayor of this town on how to prevent juvenile delinquency. Be sure to support your ideas with references from the book and other sources.