Juvenile Justice System
The juvenile justice system was created based on the hope that all children can be rehabilitated into law-abiding, productive citizens. The underlying principle is that children are different from adults and can be rehabilitated if given a second chance (Alexandra Wilding, Juvenile Justice System, June 1, 2011).
According to The School-to-Prison Pipeline, the consequences for the above modules not being adhere to, often leads the traumatized child to the juvenile justice system. Studies have shown that boys and girls initial introduction to the juvenile or criminal justice system is shaped by his or her school experiences. School offers the first public exposure to social, emotional, behavioral, cognitive learning for most youths. Youth, who do poorly in school, become frustrated, they fail to advance academically, and eventually they pursue illegal activities rather than graduate from high school. Schools perceive traumatic children’s behavior as problematic and often do not deal with the behavior properly. Research shows that traumatic children have not fully developed the appropriate skills to interpret long term consequences and they act on impulse, therefore they run the risk of future punishment within the juvenile justice system (Aaron Kupchik, The School-to-Prison Pipeline).
Girls make up a growing percentage of the juvenile justice population. From 1985 to 2009, delinquent crimes among girls increased by 86% (from 222,900 in 1985 to 415,600 in 2009). For boys, the rate of delinquency increased slightly by 17% over the same period of time. Girls entering the juvenile justice system are more likely to be there because of nonviolent offenses. These offenses typically extend from child abuse, violence exposure, mental health problems, pregnancy, and failure in school (Ossai Miazad, The Gender Gap: Treatment of Girls in the United States Juvenile Justice System, 2002). Boys entering the juvenile justice system are more likely there as the result of violent crimes, association with deviant peers, physical aggression or oppositional attitudes and behaviors. Among boys, a diagnosis of conduct disorder (CD) is one of the strongest predictors of adult antisocial and aggressive behavior.
A traumatic or problematic child acts up in class, the teacher feels powerless to rectify the situation, so school security is called in, the school security is not willing to help the child, so the child is sent to the principal. The principal does not want to deal with the situation, so the police are called to intervene. Communicating to police, leads to the youth having an arrest record, going to juvenile court, juvenile detention, and eventually time in prison. Inappropriate discipline in the school undermines its primary goal of educating the child. Almost always the children arriving at school with the fewest social and academic skills are unfairly targeted by school officials. It appears that having the child removed for the school is much easier than having to deal with or analyze the hidden causes for a child’s misconduct. The process of becoming a statistic of the school-to-prison pipeline can often be diverted at the school level.
The school-to-prison pipeline is not equal amongst races. Students of color, who come from low-income homes, tend to be suspended, expelled, and arrested more than any other race. Black youths are singled out for punishment more than Hispanics and Asians. Black youths are perceived to be a threat or too loud and too physical. Black youths are targeted for their style of clothing which is interpreted as a “thug like” appearance. Black youths make up a large majority of juveniles in the legal system. Its most direct victims are the poorest and least educated black males. Research shows that school policies vary in ways that correlate directly with the race of the student body and socioeconomic status (The School-to-Prison Pipeline).
Schools that continuously deal with behavior issues by having the police intervene, ultimately cause other issues. Students who must be removed from class miss instructional time, which has a direct effect on students being able to pass standardized test mandated by the state. There is speculation that the pressure of demonstrating high scores on required standardize testing, causes school administrators to intentionally suspend misbehaved students so they are not present on the day of testing. The student further develops a deeper sense of powerlessness and alienation for school. Students who are continuously suspended from school do not feel connected to society and typically become adults who defy authority and disobey rules.
The school-to-prison pipeline eventually means the child will have to make an appearance before a judge. Many professionals are beginning to voice their concern that juvenile justice system closely mirrors adult criminal court systems and its punishment is viewed as oftentimes too severe. Punishment for juvenile delinquency has been reversed in one area - the eradication of juveniles receiving the death penalty.
It is the belief that if a juvenile is incarcerated for a particular crime, they will receive education within a juvenile detention center. There are some facilities that do not have a system to educate confined youth. Without access to education, children have little to no chance of removing themselves for the prison pipeline. Some states even maintain the notion that if the youth is released under probation, that youth is not entitled to an education. To provide adequate education or vocational training can foster a sense of hope. This hope maybe the catalyst for the child not returning to prison as an adult.
Depending on the offense, traumatic children can now be committed to adult prisons. Approximately seven thousand children are held in adult jails and forty-one hundred are committed to adult prisons. Being converted to an adult prison means the child will have a lesser chance of obtaining an education. Adult facilities are not required to offer educational instruction.
When the child is committed to an adult jail or prison, some states do not provide educational services for youth who in public schools were eligible for special service due to a disability. Youths with disabilities in public schools receive additional services in the classroom and have Individual Educational Plans (IEPs). In facilities that have an educational plan, there is often failure to include IEPs as part of the instructional process. Adult facilities are not required to have qualified teaching staff to implement the IEP.
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