Implementing Juvenile Justice Reform The Federal Role (2014) / Chapter Skim
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2 Foundation for Change
2 Foundation for Change
Pages 17-25
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From page 17... ...
That committee postulated that the overarching aim of the juvenile justice system is to support prosocial development of youths who come in contact with legal authorities or are involved in the system and thereby ensure the safety of communities. The specific goals of the juvenile court and affiliated agencies of the juvenile justice system are to hold youths accountable for wrongdoing, prevent further offending, and treat juveniles fairly (see National Research Council, 2013, pp.
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From page 18... ...
The committee that wrote the 2013 NRC report sought to articulate how the science of adolescent development can align with the goals of the juvenile justice system and produced a set of guiding principles for that purpose (see Box 11-1 in the 2013 report or the guiding principles box in Appendix B.) This committee aims to show how the developmental approach can guide juvenile justice reform.
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From page 19... ...
Responses by law enforcement and school disciplinary personnel should be governed by the "first, do no harm" axiom that is inherent in a developmental approach; an approach consistent with this is to routinely and informally divert youths suspected of less serious offending to parental supervision or other community resources in lieu of initiating the juvenile justice process. Pre-petition diversion is an effective and often used approach for nonviolent, first time offenders (National Research Council, 2013)
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From page 20... ...
• rosecutors wield a sizable amount of power and discretion in that they can divert or charge P adolescents with various crime types and also, where it is an option, can transfer the adolescent to adult criminal court for processing. Prosecutors using a developmental approach will make indi vidualized determinations that balance holding youths accountable for their actions with providing the interventions they may need, while taking into account the developmental differences between adolescents and adults.
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From page 21... ...
. institutional treatment programs generally have an unimpressive record for reducing reoffending and that large, overcrowded facilities with limited treatment programs (in which custody trumps treatment concerns)
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From page 22... ...
A Genuine Commitment to Fairness Ensuring fairness is important in individual cases and also throughout the administration of justice more generally. Empirical studies have found that treating youths fairly and ensuring that they perceive that they have been treated fairly and with dignity contribute to several important features of prosocial development, including moral development, belief in the legitimacy of the law, and the legal socialization process more generally (National Research Council, 2013, pp.
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From page 23... ...
In the committee's view, the time is right for OJJDP to take the lead in a nationwide effort to facilitate, support, and sustain developmentally oriented juvenile justice reform. OJJDP should begin to develop and enhance the capabilities that will be needed to carry out the activities that have characterized the foundations' commitments: supporting program innovation and policy development, disseminating knowledge, providing technical assistance for reform, convening stakeholders, and facilitating consensus building.
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From page 24... ...
A historical review of the juvenile justice system shows that a number of drivers -- although they surely are not the sole factors influencing change -- have provided an impetus for reform throughout the years. In recent years, civil rights litigation, transformational state models, influential foundation initiatives, and community advocacy, in response to mounting scientific evidence, have pushed reform agendas in many state and local juvenile justice systems.
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From page 25... ...
Third, what should OJJDP do to forge the collaborative partnerships with other federal agencies and stakeholder groups that will be needed to leverage its own resources, promote consensus-building, and harness the energies and activities of these organizations to facilitate a developmental approach to juvenile justice reform?
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