Juvenile Delinquency Phase 5(IP)

Treatment Options for Disposed Juvenile Offenders

The goal of the juvenile justice system is generally to treat the offender rather than subject him or her to an adult-like sentencing Thus , the reason behind the creation of juvenile courts is geared towards protecting the adolescent 's welfare by means of rehabilitation over determining the disposition of the juvenile crime . Aside from the fact that relapses or repeated juvenile offenders have significantly increased , a lot of juveniles are becoming involved with hostile and more complicated crimes . Hence , there is a need to resort to

treatment options to better address the problem . While treating a juvenile offender is still the best practice , current treatment options tend to suggest that imposing penalties and making a juvenile offender accountable for his or her actions are equally significant (Suffredini 1994

As alternatives , a lot of American states have already made what is called the "blended " sentencing structures that address relapse among juvenile offenders . These blended ' treatment options were created purposely to eventually prevent juvenile offenders from repeating the same kind of offenses or committing other crimes especially if they are on probation or already disposed by the juvenile court system . These rehabilitation options work as mechanisms that hold juvenile offenders accountable for the crimes they committed . These are applied while sustaining the authority and ability of the juvenile court to give the best sanction alternative which will be effective in treating a juvenile offender (Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention [OJJDP] n .d

According to the National Center for Juvenile Justice or NCJJ , the treatment options of blended ' sentencing refer to the imposition of juvenile and /or adult correctional sanctions to cases involving serious and violent juvenile offenders who have been adjudicated in juvenile court or convicted in criminal court ' Simply put , these elaborated rehabilitation alternatives permit a criminal and juvenile court to hand down a decision or even compel the carrying out of either juvenile or adult prison terms , or could be both , in resolving juvenile crimes . The blended ' treatment options permit juvenile courts to impose juvenile and adult dispositions simultaneously , and at the same time postpone the adult sanction . In case when a juvenile offender follows the terms of the court sentence and he or she does not become further involved in other crimes , the adult disposition is canceled (OJJDP , n .d

Still , these treatment options are faced with critical issues such as the constitutional rights of the juvenile offenders , as well as the availability of resources . Critics of this treatment alternative have expressed that , in the event the offenders are subjected to the expanded blended ' sentencing , their substantive and procedural rights must still be upheld . Government resources refer to the provision of assets pertaining to jury trials , bail , and other criminal justice system rights (OJJDP , n .d References

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (n .d . Juvenile justice reform

initiatives in the states , 1994-1996 . Juvenile Justice Clearinghouse Retrieved May 8

2008 , from http /ojjdp .ncjrs .org /PUBS /reform /ch2_k .html

Suffredini...