Juvenile Detention the United States Research Paper

And since those who are forced into detention are disproportionately African-American, the problems caused by the detention of juveniles is particularly acute in the African-American community. The effects of detention have been researched and discovered to be detrimental to the safety and mental health of the juvenile, as well as increase the chance of recidivism. Therefore, any solution to the problem of juvenile detention will be proportionately beneficial to the African-American community.

The most effective solution to the problem of juvenile delinquency seems to be the new alternative programs developed during the early part of the 21st century. Juvenile Drug Court Programs have given many juvenile offenders the help and support needed to become productive members of society. Programs like Detention Diversion Advocacy Program (DDAP), in which 56% of their juvenile clients were African-American, have evolved into an effective means by which juveniles can transform their delinquent lives into good, productive lives. In can then be argued that juvenile detention is an ineffective means of dealing with juvenile delinquency, particularly among African-American juveniles, and that alternative programs have proven themselves to be more effective and beneficial to African-American juveniles.

Finally, the reason that alternative programs have been so successful in transforming the lives of African-American juveniles is that these programs have taken into consideration the values and commitment that are very similar to the core values of St. Leo University. In particular, the value of Responsible Stewardship shares much in common with the ideals that many of the community-based juvenile delinquency programs. For instance, the DDAP stresses the importance of respecting the "value of interpersonal support while learning to enhance their self-sufficiency and accountability within the broader community." ("DDAP") This is very similar to the idea of being resourceful with the intention of developing the community. Additionally, DDAP case managers must be committed to the goal of serving the community through service to the clients, and to do so in an efficient, but effective way. And like DDAP, SFU expects all of its students to "foster a spirit of service" towards the community. ("Core Values") Detention has not been an effective means of solving the problems associated with juvenile delinquency, but by adopting ideals similar to those professed by St. Leo University, the juvenile court system has finally discovered an effective method to helping juveniles to lead better and more productive lives.

References

Austin, James, Kelly Dedel Johnson, and Ronald Weitzer. (2005). "Alternatives to the Secure Detention and Confinement of Juvenile Offenders." U.S. Department of Justice: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. Retrieved from https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/ojjdp/208804.pdf

Cooper, Caroline. (2001). "Juvenile Drug Court Programs." U.S. Department of Justice: Juvenile Accountability Incentive Block Grant Program. Retrieved from https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/ojjdp/184744.pdf

"Core Values." (n.d.) St. Leo University Webpage. Retrieved from http://www.saintleo.edu/About-SLU/Florida-Catholic-University

"DDAP: Detention Diversion Advocacy Program." (n.d.) Center on Juvenile & Criminal

Justice. Retrieved from http://www.cjcj.org/detention_diversion_advocacy_program%20//%20History

Holman, Barry, and Jason Ziedenberg. (2006). "The Dangers of Detention: A Justice

Policy Institute Report." Justice Policy Institute. Retrieved from http://www.justicepolicy.org/images/upload/06-11_REP_DangersOfDetention_JJ.pdf

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/juvenile/stats/juvvsadult.html

Leukefeld, Carl, et al. (2011). Handbook of Evidence-Based Substance Abuse

Treatment in Criminal Justice. New York: Springer. Print.

Wilson, James Q. (2011). Crime and Public Policy. New York: Oxford UP. Print.