Prevention & Treatment Programs

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RESPONSE:

1. List and describe the characteristics of successful prevention and treatment programs for juvenile and criminal behavior.

Your discussion should provide a minimum of two characteristics of both prevention and treatment. State why it is important and give an example of a program that is currently operational.

1) Prevention

Traditionally, crime prevention efforts are aimed toward people who are not yet involved in crime. The following characteristics are important because they are shown to be research validated. For example, the Juvenile Crime Prevention (JCP) program has a specific goal" "to reduce juvenile arrests, reduce juvenile recidivism (new offenses by juvenile offenders) and reduce the need for beds in facilities operated by the Oregon Youth Authority." (http://www.oregon.gov/OCCF/Mission/Progs/progjcp/miprogjcp.shtml)

Boot camps are shown not to work according to Mental Health America. Instead, based on research findings, according to Mental Health America, programs should be:

? Individualized and family centered and
? Small and community based (http://www.infoline.org/InformationLibrary/Documents/Juvenile%20Boot%20Camps.asp)

These offer the juvenile a place to feel safe and discuss issues that may be causing the problems (risk factors). It involves the family, who are important in the juvenile's life for direction and guidance. It also involve the smaller community in which the juvenile find herself or himself, so this is also important place for the juvenile to feel understood and safe, as well as the community involvement also impacts the overall community making it a safer place for juveniles to be involved in more healthy activities and helps to make more healthy choices e.g. crime watch may be a deterrent for some juveniles.

EXAMPLE: Youth Enrichment prevention Programs

One example of a community prevention program is a wilderness program like Outward Bound, which is "an option for parent who wants their teens immersed in an intensive correctional program outside the home. Connecticut's alternative program is the Wilderness School" (http://www.ct.gov/dcf/cwp/view.asp?a=2539&q=313850), such as the one in East Hartland. It is managed by the State Department of Children and Families. Referrals of teens to the Wilderness School come from various source, such as "youth service bureaus, school systems, residential programs, probation and parole offices, and DCF regional ...