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DELINQUENT YOUTH
A major reason most experts today support concepts such as a youth services bureau is that traditional correctional practices fail to
rehabilitate many delinquent youth. It has been estimated that as many as 70 percent of all youth who have been institutionalized are involved in new offenses following their release. Contemporary correctional
institutions are usually isolated geographically and socially from the communities in which most of their inmates live. In addition, rehabilitative programs in the typical training school and reformatory focus on
the individual delinquent rather than the environmental conditions that foster delinquency.
Finally, many institutions do not play an advocacy
role on behalf of those committed to their care. They fail to do anything constructive about the conditions back home-family, school, work faced by the youthful inmates. As a result, institutionalization too often
serves as a barrier to the successful return of former inmates to their communities.
Perhaps the most serious consequence of sending youth to
large, centralized institutions is that too frequently these places serve as training grounds for criminal careers. The classic example of the adult offender who leaves prison more knowledgeable in the ways of crime
than when he entered is no less true of the juvenile committed to a correctional facility. The failures of traditional correctional institutions, then, point to the need for the development of a full range of
strategies and treatment techniques as alternatives to incarceration.
Most experts today favor the use of small, decentralized correctional
programs located in, or close to, communities where the young offender lives. Halfway houses, all-day probation programs, vocational training and job placement services, remedial education activities, and street
worker programs are among the community-based alternatives available for working with delinquent and potentially delinquent youth.
Over and
above all the human factors cited, the case for community-based programs is further strengthened when cost is considered. While more progressive correctional programs such as all-day probation, remedial education,
and job training can be costly, they are nowhere near as expensive as traditional incarceration. It has been estimated that it costs more to keep a youth in prison for a year than it would to send him to an
expensive private college for the same period of time.
The continuing increase in juvenile delinquency rates only serves to heighten the drastic
under-financing, the lack of adequately trained staff, and the severe shortage of manpower that characterize virtually every juvenile correction system.
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TEST QUESTIONS
ADULT TEST #5 QUESTIONS
1. According to this author, traditional correctional practices have
?????????
2. What percentage of youth are involved in new offenses after release from a correctional institution?
?????????
3. Contemporary correctional institutions are geographically
?????????
4. The author says institutionalization too often serves as a
?????????
5. Similar to an adult offender, a juvenile may leave more knowledgeable in the ways of
?????????
6. The author feels that correctional institutions should be what size?
?????????
7. Compared to traditional prisons, all-day probation and job training cost
?????????
8. Estimates show that keeping a youth inprison for a year costs as much as sending him to
?????????
9. The author suggests that correctional programs should be located in or close to the offender's
?????????
10. The article tells us that the rate of juevnile delinquency is
?????????
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DELINQUENT YOUTH
A major reason most experts today support concepts such as a youth services bureau is that traditional correctional practices fail to
rehabilitate many delinquent youth. It has been estimated that as many as 70 percent of all youth who have been institutionalized are involved in new offenses following their release. Contemporary correctional
institutions are usually isolated geographically and socially from the communities in which most of their inmates live. In addition, rehabilitative programs in the typical training school and reformatory focus on
the individual delinquent rather than the environmental conditions that foster delinquency.
Finally, many institutions do not play an advocacy
role on behalf of those committed to their care. They fail to do anything constructive about the conditions back home-family, school, work faced by the youthful inmates. As a result, institutionalization too often
serves as a barrier to the successful return of former inmates to their communities.
Perhaps the most serious consequence of sending youth to
large, centralized institutions is that too frequently these places serve as training grounds for criminal careers. The classic example of the adult offender who leaves prison more knowledgeable in the ways of crime
than when he entered is no less true of the juvenile committed to a correctional facility. The failures of traditional correctional institutions, then, point to the need for the development of a full range of
strategies and treatment techniques as alternatives to incarceration.
Most experts today favor the use of small, decentralized correctional
programs located in, or close to, communities where the young offender lives. Halfway houses, all-day probation programs, vocational training and job placement services, remedial education activities, and street
worker programs are among the community-based alternatives available for working with delinquent and potentially delinquent youth.
Over and
above all the human factors cited, the case for community-based programs is further strengthened when cost is considered. While more progressive correctional programs such as all-day probation, remedial education,
and job training can be costly, they are nowhere near as expensive as traditional incarceration. It has been estimated that it costs more to keep a youth in prison for a year than it would to send him to an
expensive private college for the same period of time.
The continuing increase in juvenile delinquency rates only serves to heighten the drastic
under-financing, the lack of adequately trained staff, and the severe shortage of manpower that characterize virtually every juvenile correction system.
RECORD YOUR TIME
PROCEED TO QUESTIONS
TEST QUESTIONS
ADULT TEST #5 QUESTIONS
1. According to this author, traditional correctional practices have
?????????
2. What percentage of youth are involved in new offenses after release from a correctional institution?
?????????
3. Contemporary correctional institutions are geographically
?????????
4. The author says institutionalization too often serves as a
?????????
5. Similar to an adult offender, a juvenile may leave more knowledgeable in the ways of
?????????
6. The author feels that correctional institutions should be what size?
?????????
7. Compared to traditional prisons, all-day probation and job training cost
?????????
8. Estimates show that keeping a youth inprison for a year costs as much as sending him to
?????????
9. The author suggests that correctional programs should be located in or close to the offender's
?????????
10. The article tells us that the rate of juevnile delinquency is
?????????
CLICK TO SEE ANSWERS
Mark a "+" for correct, a "-" for incorrect or blank
ANSWERS TO TEST #5
1. failed
2. 70%
3. isolated
4. barrier or training ground
5. crime
6. small
7. less
8. (private) college
9. community or neighborhood or home
10. increasing
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