Ways to decrease delinquency amongst juveniles and increase healthy family dynamics and how to analyze and understand the causation of criminal behavior

1. Harun Williams
CJA/374
October 31, 2012
Elizabeth Gonzalez
Juvenile Causation,
Intervention and Prevention
Presentation

2. Causation : Juvenile Crimes,Theory and Causation
Intervention Programs
Current and Future Prevention
Conclusion and Questions
DISCUSSIONTOPICS

3. Crimes Juveniles Commit – criminal mischief, truancy from school
Lack of supervision is a large contributing factor. (inadequate parenting)
Peer Pressure – encouragement from ‘friends’ to drink, try drugs, steal,
become part of s larger unit of delinquency that are favorable to criminal
attitudes and behaviors.
Lack of parental control, enforcement of rules or moral conduct – family
establishes structure which is vital to a human’s development, negative
parental conflict teaches indirect lessons which can contribute to delinquent
behavior.
Negative Family Influence aka Families in Crisis – single parent families,
absence of male/female role models, death of parental figures and
introduction into state child welfare programs all have an affect on
socialization into adolescence.
JUVENILE CRIMES AND CAUSES OF
DELINQUENCY

4. Behavior is universal.
Recognizing criminal behavior in juveniles.
When a child does something wrong, that is conflicting to the laws
or norms of society, such as acts of vandalism, theft, drug related
activity, or other anti-social behavior, or that is in need of treatment,
rehabilitation or supervision he/she is then considered a juvenile
delinquent.
Juvenile delinquency is learned through association, imitation,
observation, pressure, needs, wants, influence and desires.
Juvenile delinquents deviate from social rules to such a degree that
society has no choice but to take action against them.
Girls are more prone to delinquent behavior.
Theory of Delinquency

5. Status Offenders – runaways, truants, curfew violators
Chronic Offenders – youths who commit repetitive, habitual, persistent
offenses
Methods In place to decrease juvenile incidents – Curfews,Truancy court,
Treatment programs, decarceration.
Stigmatization of labels ‘undesirable characteristics’ assigned to those who
pass through the juvenile justice system
Types of Juvenile Offenders

6. Punishment
Probation Programs
Boot Camps
Rehabilitative Techniques
Use of Detention Facilities
Community Policing
EARLY INTERVENTION PROGRAMS

7. The Children's Aid Society was founded in 1853 by Charles Loring Brace at a
time when orphan asylums and almshouses were the only "social services"
available for poor and homeless children.
Between 1853 and 1929, more than 150,000 abandoned, abused and
orphaned children were rescued from the streets and slums of NewYork City
and taken by train to start new lives with families on farms across the
country.The emphasis was on giving these needy children a family life.
Charles Loring Brace's work transformed social services and social reforms in
NewYork City and across the nation.
The Guide to the Records of The Children's Aid Society (1853-1947)
childrensaidsociety.org

8. Mission Statement – To help children in poverty to succeed and thrive within
of each child’s family, their culture and the community to play a vital role in
their whole development.
Provides comprehensive support to children and their families in targeted
high-need neighborhoods through 12 different programs that focus on
meeting the social, emotional, physical and cognitive needs of the child as a
whole.
Early Childhood Development Programs – curriculums that enrich children’s
development while being sensitive to individual abilities and learning styles.
Keeping children involved in programs throughout their grade school years,
will provide the support needed to graduate high school, move on to college
or careers, and become successful citizens.
childrensaidsociety.org

9. The Hope Leadership Academy for adolescents inspires hope and boosts self
esteem for teens to succeed through such programs as the Corporate
Workplace Program.
Juvenile Justice re-entry programs help deter youth from dangerous
behavior by assisting and sometimes providing community service
opportunities.
Parents can receive help with legal, financial, emotional and health issues
which can help parents to better focus on the needs of their children.
Health services are available and tailored to meet the needs of children in
the community.
The end goal is to ensure that a child’s home environment is as healthy and
happy as the environment we create in our community schools and centers
so that children are not left wanting, craving undesirable behavior.
childrensaidsociety.org

10. Children’s Aid’s concurrent planning approach to foster care became the
basis for the federal 1996 Adoption and Safe Families Act, which defines
today’s modern foster care system.
Children’s Aid commits 91 cents of every dollar that is donated directly to
children’s services.
Lynne Echenberg – Family court attorney who helped to develop the Next
Generation Center for youth (teens) who were ageing out of the foster care
system and into independent living.
NGC provides everything from educational guidance, tutoring and advocacy
to job readiness training, job placement services, technology instruction,
legal services, housing assistance, counseling, youth leadership training and
arts and recreational programs.
childrensaidsociety.org

11. Approaches used by communities to prevent delinquency have included
mentoring, youth employment programs, career preparation, and
alternative recreation activities.
Youth Runaway Hotlines - The toll-free Texas Runaway Hotline (1-888-580-
HELP) and the TexasYouth Hotline (1-800-98-YOUTH) offer crisis
intervention, telephone counseling, and referrals to troubled youth and
families
Community Based Child Abuse Prevention Programs - The CBCAP program
seeks to increase community awareness of existing prevention services,
strengthen community and parental involvement in child abuse prevention
efforts, and encourage families to engage in services that are already
available
Community Based Family Services -This program serves families who were
investigated by CPS but whose allegations were unsubstantiated.
PREVENTION PROGRAMS

12. CommunityYouth Development - contracts with Fiscal Agents to develop
juvenile delinquency prevention programs in ZIP codes that have a high
incidence of juvenile crime.
Services to At RiskYouth - STAR offers family crisis intervention counseling,
short-term emergency residential care, and individual and family counseling
to youth up to age 17 who experience conflict at home, have been truant or
delinquent, or have run away
StatewideYouth Services Network - supports statewide networks of
community-based prevention programs that provide evidence-based
juvenile delinquency prevention services to address conditions resulting in
negative outcomes for children and youth
Texas Families Together and Safe - designed to alleviate stress and to
promote parental competencies and adoption of behaviors that will increase
the ability of families to successfully nurture their children and work toward
family self-sufficiency
Prevention Programs

13. When parents get help, there is hope for kids.
Offers parental guidance with managing stress, developing positive
parenting skills, drug abuse counseling and history of abuse counseling.
Keys to successful parenting - Spend a few minutes every day doing
something with your children, ask your children for their opinions, ask your
children for help with simple tasks, never tell your children that they are bad.
Instead, tell them the behavior is bad.
Discipline your children for bad behavior when you are calm. Make rules you
can and will enforce.
Spend time with your kids – enjoy family meals, assist with homework,
family time builds memories and establishes values.Tell them about the
your interests at their age.
helpandhope.org

14. Dealing with Stressful Situations – Help your children to unwind, set up daily
routines, be patient and instruct children on which behaviors are not positive
and which behaviors are destructive.
Praise good behavior and reprimand such behavior as back talk and stand
your ground by providing appropriate consequences for negative behavior.
Give a time out. The length of time out needs to correspond to the age of
the child (three minutes for a 3-year-old, four minutes for a 4-year-old). Or
withhold privileges like watchingTV or going to a friend’s house.
Recognize signs of abuse or neglect and combat those signs by becoming an
more active parent.
helpandhope.org

15. Texas Juvenile Justice Department - TJJD Volunteer Services strives to maximize
community resources and volunteers to provide opportunities that enable youth
to become responsible and productive citizens.
TheTexas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) offers
internships that develop the necessary skills for a career in social
work. Internships must fulfill an official curriculum requirement and are set up
through your university.
TDFPS also has volunteers to help children (Child Protective Services, or CPS),
aged or disabled adults (Adult Protective Services, or APS), or in support of
quality child care in Texas (Child Care Licensing, or CCL).
StrengtheningYouth and Families Conference
Web-based resources for parents: www.power2talk.org and in Spanish
at www.poderdehablar.org
The 2012 JJAEP Report describes the status of these programs as required by
theTexas General Appropriations Act, 81st RegularTexas Legislative Session,
Rider 12 – Texas Juvenile Justice Department.
Volunteer to Help In your Community

17. REFERENCES
http://www.dfps.state.tx.us/Prevention_and_Early_Intervention/About_Prev
ention_and_Early_Intervention/programs.asp
http://www.childrensaidsociety.org
http://www.dfps.state.tx.us/Prevention_and_Early_Intervention/
http://www.tjjd.texas.gov/