Juvenile delinquency is regarded as the participation of a minor child who is between the age of ten and seventeen in activities or behaviors that are seen to be illegal. It is also seen as children who show a persistent behavior of disobedient and mischievousness to the extent that they are considered to be out of control by their parents. These children are often subject to the legal action by the system of the court. Each state in the United States has a separate legal system that is in place which aims at dealing with juveniles who are seen to be breaking the law. The issue of juvenile delinquency is not only a hot topic in the city of Centervale but in the whole country. It has become vital to develop a program that aims at addressing the issue.
Selected Group
Reports indicate that the most common offense that is committed by juveniles in the county is theft. It often includes burglary, shoplifting, robbery, and other forms of property theft. Unfortunately, most of the teens that engage in stealing and get away with it tend to advance and later engage in criminal activities. It is a habit that becomes a slippery slope than later leads the teen to a lifestyle that is destructive. Families need to engage in a program that would address the issue.
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Program Outline and Aim
The model of this program is education where children and families are mainly given information ( McCord, 2001) . The program will inform parents about the way in which they need to raise their children despite their family situation. It also teaches both parents and children about the effects of weapons, gangs, and theft. It aims at providing the youth with the knowledge that actions have consequences. Its intention is to encourage hope and to open opportunities for young people. The therapy will work in three phases where the first step involves encouraging family members to accept help and to open up so that they can get the help that they need. The second step is where family members are taught the importance of abiding by the rules, parents are taught about good parenting, and children are informed about the consequences of not following the law the last stage involves encouraging the members to follow what they have learned. The aim of the program includes reducing the crime rate among young people, to create awareness among the youth on the dangers of engaging in crime, and to show families on how they can help their children avoid such lifestyles.
Current Trends
The trend of Juvenile delinquency in the United States shows a decline. In the year 2016, the law enforcement agencies in the country estimated that 856,130 arrests were made on people who were under the age of eighteen. The figure is estimated to be 58% less than the number of arrests that were made in 2007 (Office of Justice Programs, 2018). Even with the decrease in the overall number of cases, families are still concerned when a teenager or child steals. The main concern among family members is if the daughter or son is a juvenile delinquent. It is considered to be normal for a young child to steal something that has excited his or her interest. This should not be seen as stealing until the child is old enough to understand that taking something that belongs to another individual is wrong. Parents and the family as a role have the responsibility of teaching the young one the right path.
There have been similar programs that aim at addressing the issue such as the Family-based Programs for Preventing and Reducing Juvenile Crime. The programs have three main intervention strategies that include the family therapy programs, the parental training programs, and the integrated approach programs. The family therapy programs are often based on the family and need to target the risk factors which are linked to families. The family therapy programs adopt a multidimensional methodology which mainly combines youth training, family dynamic improvement, and parental training. The one that is common is the Functional Family Therapy of FFT which mainly helps adolescents who are on probation and their family. In this case, a family therapist often works with members of the family so that they can learn how to positively encourage change in their homes. Just like this program, FFT has three phases that include the first step where the therapist tries to remove any form of resistance to the therapy and encourages family members that negative interaction and communication can be changed. The second step involves teaching family members new ways of dealing with situations. The last phase is where members are encouraged to adopt new skills depending on the social situation. The FFT reduces the rate of juvenile delinquency at the lowest costs. The aim of this particular program is to improve interaction and communication between children and their parents. It also aims at enriching parental practices to ensure that they have better ways of resolving issues as they develop (Public Safety Canada, 2018). The program has a similar to this one because they both aim at helping parents to deal with their children. However, an improvement can be made in terms of helping parents to address issues related to crime among their children as they arise because they are in a better position to identify a change in character among their children as they start to engage in crime.
Theory in Juvenile Delinquency
One of the theories that are used in juvenile delinquency is the social learning theory which indicates that criminal activity is learned through having a close relationship with other people. It stresses on the fact that children are often born good but learn to be bad. It further argues that every person has the potential of being a criminal because they are given the opportunity to do illegal activities. It argues that is the child has positive role models at home and in the community then he has the possibility of achieving his goals. On the other hand, if the child grows around people who do not provide positive role models then the child will end up committing crimes.
The theory acknowledges the fact that children are most likely to be affected by the way in which their parents and family bring them up either in a positive or negative manner depending on the family values that currently exist. Parent-child relationships that include correction, closeness, rejection, and acceptance play a vital role in terms of predicting the behavior of the child as he grows up ( Shoemaker, 2010) . Family influence has been linked to negative trends and in some cases, the family influence is more than that by peer groups. Children who are in non-traditional family setups such as those from reconstituted families and those who are raised by single parents have a higher chance of committing juvenile crimes. The main reason for this is that children from the traditional families often enjoy the warm family connection with both the parents who then become role models and mentors. The sense is that parents are in a better position to dedicate more time and energy to their children. The modern society is experiencing an increase in the non-traditional setups where many individuals are considering single parenthood. Therefore, such social setups have made juvenile delinquency to become more rampant in the modern society. This theory is linked to the program because it targets families that have juvenile delinquents. More specifically, it will help to achieve the objective of the program by concentrating on families and parents so that they can help children avoid crime and to create awareness.
Implementation of the Program
The program would be implemented through therapy sessions when families have cases of juvenile delinquency. However, the program is expected to face challenges that mainly include lack of commitment from the family especially the non-traditional families where the parent might find it hard to balance between engaging in the program and providing for the family. There is also the limitation of lack of awareness about the program that can have negative effects on its effectiveness. A program that is new is likely not to be known by many people which mean that it may not be effective for many families.
Program Evaluation
Evaluating the program is vital in determining its effectiveness. The major way of determining the effectiveness of the program is by analyzing the statistics of juvenile delinquency in the city of Centervale. A decrease in the number indicates the success of the program. Another way of measuring the success of the program is through conducting a study among the families that have been engaged in the process. Their response would indicate the success of the program, meaning that if it is successful then they will provide positive feedbacks. Evaluating the success of the program is vital in determining areas that need improvement.
Conclusion
Juvenile delinquency is one of the main issues that affect not only the city but also the whole country. Theft has been identified as the main crime that is committed by juveniles. Preventing crimes by the youth is the best option through educating them and their families on the dangers of engaging in crime and to show families on how they can help their children avoid such lifestyles to reduce the crime rate among young people .
References
McCord, J., Widom, C. S., Crowell, N. A., & National Research Council (U.S.). (2001). Juvenile crime, juvenile justice . Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
Office of Justice Programs. (2018, 07 02). Juvenile Arrests . Retrieved from Office of Justice Programs: https://www.ojjdp.gov/ojstatbb/crime/qa05101.asp
Public Safety Canada. (2018, 01 31). Family-based Programs for Preventing and Reducing Juvenile Crime . Retrieved from Public Safety Canada: https://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/rsrcs/pblctns/fml-prgrms/index-en.aspx
Shoemaker, D. J. (2010). Theories of delinquency: An examination of explanations of delinquent behavior . Oxford: Oxford University Press.
