Juvenile Rehabilitation

Juvenile Rehabilitation PaperNameClassDateProfessor

Juvenile Rehabilitation Paper Juveniles are vulnerable to pressure by peers which can lead to delinquent behavior. Juveniles that commit delinquent acts are not treated like criminals but instead the goal of the juvenile justice system is to rehabilitate juveniles to become better members of society. In order to ensure the juvenile is given the tools to make positive changes in their lives all types of juvenile programs are available in society. Juvenile programs are designed to assist juvenile in changing delinquent behaviors or to assist them in overcoming a substance abuse problem. These rehabilitative programs help juveniles avoid joining gangs or assist them in getting free of the gang life. The BUILD Model The BUILD Model is a youth program developed in Chicago in 1969 to provide a response to the growing youth violence in the citys urban areas. In the 1960s the number of youth getting involved in street gangs was growing and so was the level of violence being displayed. In response the BUILD Model was created. The model is focused on intervention, prevention, and building positive futures. Instead of the juvenile from the lower class urban area being denied the same opportunity as other juveniles they are given the opportunity to make positive choices through the program. Through the BUILD Model juveniles at risk for engaging in violent behavior or joining gangs are identified and targeted for assistance. BUILD offers juveniles an opportunity to make positive changes in their lives though education and support from the community. The juvenile is supported in their efforts to obtain a high diploma and seek out a college degree. Through coordinated community services the juvenile that is at risk is identified and steps are taken to encourage the juvenile to accept the help of the program. BUILD offers juvenile positive alternatives to joining the gangs that are in the neighborhoods. It provides an alternative to a life of violence and drugs that surround youth gangs and provides assistance to assist the juvenile in transitioning from being at risk to at hope (). This means once the juvenile begins to take steps to avoid engaging in juvenile delinquency or joining a gang they are considered an active member of the program. BUILD provides coordinated services designed to assess the needs of the youths, identify the strengths and abilities, and place them in programs that will provide them with the most benefit. Juveniles placed in the BUILD program will receive group or individual counseling if needed as well as family counseling. They will be placed in violence intervention courses if necessary and have access to programs designed to assist them in catching up in school in order to graduate with peers. The BUILD Model is designed to develop positive interactions in the juveniles life. These positive influences will assist in changing their behaviors and guiding the juvenile in choosing a productive course in their lives. Without intervention juveniles in the gang life or vulnerable to becoming gang members will succumb to the pressure. Juveniles placed in the program are identified by school officials or members of community programs. Their problems will range from poor grades, poor attendance, skipping schools, and hanging out with gang members. Other juveniles selected for the program are not properly supervised or have been caught engaging in acts of juvenile delinquency. The juvenile selected for the program is the monitored for their success. The BUILD model has been around for over 40 years so its success has been measured. Under the BUILD structure 93% of juveniles have graduated and 72% of juvenile in the program have enrolled in college (BUILD, 2014). Out of the program 90% of the program members were gainfully employed and 60% have become interns (BUILD, 2014). The success of the program has been in part to the combined effort of many community programs in the Chicago area. The program has positively affected over 3000 juveniles in the Chicago area and has been embraced by other cities experiencing similar gang violence problems. Florida Youth Challenge Academy The Florida Youth Challenge Academy is a different approach to addressing the juvenile delinquent behavior of the youth. The academy is designed to address the behavior of older juvenile males ages fourteen to eighteen. These juveniles are repeat offenders who have failed to rehabilitate after other attempts the juvenile justice system and refuse to obey the rule of their families. These juveniles do not meet curfew, engage in drug and alcohol use, engage in violence, are members of gangs, or are just high risk juveniles. The goal of the academy is to remove the juvenile from their negative environment so they can take steps to become more productive adults. The Florida Youth Challenge Academy requires that the juvenile become a resident of the facility for a minimum of six months with an additional year of intensive supervision. These juveniles are placed in a residential facility where they learn new skills to overcome their anger and to choose more positive behaviors. During the residential phase the juvenile is subject to a rigid schedule of exercise and academics as well engages in rehabilitative services designed to teach them new positive behaviors. The juveniles placed in the programs at Florida Youth Challenge Academy are taught to become leaders as well as to follow orders and take instruction. They become more disciplined through rigid schedules and a tough love approach. Juveniles are motivated to successfully complete their school work and to make positive changes in becoming better members of society. The juvenile learns new life skills and job skills that will assist them in avoiding peers who will have a negative influence in their lives. The juvenile has an opportunity to be totally free of the negative environment which led to their poor behavior. During the residential phase the juvenile must follow the rules and fulfill their obligation in order to graduate. The post-residential phase takes place after graduation from the residential phase and is a time when the cadet uses the skills learned in the residential phase through their placement in either a job, further education, or the military (FLYCA, 2014). Once the juvenile enters the post phase they will go into a probationary period where they will be supervised by a mentor who is responsible for continuing to encourage the success of the juvenile while also monitoring their behavior. The mentor is appointed during the residential phase and continues until the juvenile successfully graduates from the program. At the academy over half of the candidates are successful at changing their lives once they graduate the program. The juvenile is placed immediately into further programs designed to assist them in continuing their success in avoiding delinquent behavior. Graduates go on to graduate college and many enter into the military. Some of the graduates immediately enter the workforce. Despite the success of the program a little under 40% of the juveniles in the program will continue to engage in delinquent behavior when they return home (FLYCA, 2014). The program only temporarily changes the environment of the juvenile making it harder for them to avoid the life they left behind when they entered the academy. The goal of the Florida Youth Challenge Academy is to turn juveniles into upstanding adults. Juveniles struggling to stay out of trouble or to complete their academics obligations benefit from this new environment. They learn new behaviors and ways to overcome the obstacles causing them to fail to act properly. Through structure, discipline, and a supportive environment the juveniles learns to make sound decisions and make the right choices. The academy has been successful for over thirty years in positively hanging lives of juveniles.Most Effective Program Both programs provide positive changes in the lives of vulnerable juveniles but the BUILD Model has had more success in changing the lives of the juvenile. At the Florida Youth Challenge Academy the juvenile is removed from their environment and learn to display better behavior but the problem is once they reenter the environment they left they are not equipped to avoid the same troubling behaviors as in the past. The juvenile instead is faced with the same peers and same pressures. Through the BUILD program the juvenile remains in the environment and learns to overcome the obstacles present there. In order to improve the model provided by the Florida Youth Challenge Academy youths would have to interact more with their real environment in order for there to be success. It is far too easy for the juvenile to succumb to pressure by peers when the structure of the program is no longer present. In order to improve BUILD there needs to be a similar mentoring program available to juveniles, once they leave he program. When juveniles have a positive outlet they will be better equipped to avoid the behavior that caused them to be placed in the program.

ReferencesBUILD. (2014). Juvenile intervention. Retrieved May 19, 2014 from http://www.buildchicago.org/intervention Florida youth challenge Academy. (2014). What is the Florida Youth ChalleNGe Academy? (FLYCA). Retrieved May 19, 2014 from http://floridayouthchallengeacademy.org/about-us/