Juliana Gonzales Psychology Major/ Human Development California State University Monterey Bay Salinas Superintendent/Educators James A. Earhart Preventing "At Risk" Youth from Incarceration What is the problem? Juvenile incarceration=Costly Juvenile= future implications Families= family conflicts/financial burden State= 240/day/youth What can we do to help? Educating parents Offering resources Mental health screenings Learning disability screenings Substance awareness Family interventions Stop the stigma! Why does it happen ? Impulsive and risky behavior/ immature prefrontal cortex (Krebs, 2010) Why does it happen? Substance use, mental health issues, educational difficulties, family problems ( Howell et al., 1995) What are the Implications? An estimated less than 20% of youth who are incarcerated and then paroled, finish high school or attain their GED. (Abrams, Snyder, 2010) 50% recidivism rate (Justice Policy institute, 2010) About half of the states in the US have enacted the 3 strikes law/ age 16 can receive a strike on their record depending on the crime ( Stahlkopf, 2010) Lets make a change! Without a change to the previous take on Juvenile Delinquency we are creating a vicious cycle! Lack of resources Incarceration 80% no education 50% recidivism Incarceration References Dobbs, D. (2011, October). Beautiful brains. National Geographic, Howell, J. C., Krisberg, B., Hawkins, J. D., & Wilson, J. J. (Eds.). (1995). A sourcebook:Violent and chronic juvenile offenders. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Howell, J. C., (1996), Juvenile Transfers to the Criminal Justice System: State of the Art. Law & Policy, 18: 1760. doi: /j tb00163.x Justice Policy Institute (2009). The costs of confinement: Why good juvenile justice policies make good fiscal sense. Washington, D.C. Krebs, C., Lattimore, P., Cowell,A. Graham, P. (2010) "Evaluating the juvenile breaking the cycle program's impact on recidivism." Journal of Criminal Justice 38, doi: /j.jcrimjus Stahlkopf, C., Males, M., & Macallair, D. (2010). Testing incapacitation theory youth crime and incarceration in california. Crime and Delinquency, 56(2), doi: / Note: Bar graph on age of onset retrieved from: Retrieved from:Images retrieved from Google Images Any Questions?