The Virginia Department Of Juvenile Justice - 926 Words

Most of us grow up being taught to protect those who cannot protect themselves. Social workers, especially, are exhorted by their code of ethics to challenge injustice â€Å"particularly with and on behalf of vulnerable and oppressed individuals and groups of people† (National Association of Social Workers, 2008). So why are as many of 70% of those in local and state juvenile justice systems dealing with their illness in correctional facilities (National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), 2016; Shufelt Cocozza, 2006)? These are the national numbers. So what about in our own state of Virginia? The Virginia Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) conducted a study of juveniles in detention homes in 2002 and that found that more than 40% of males and almost 60% of females needed mental health services. As many as 7% of the males and 15% of the females needed this assistance urgently (Juvenile Offending, n.d.). Even more disturbing is the fact that nationally up to two out o f three of that 70% was actually a dual diagnosis of more than one mental illness, often including a substance abuse disorder. One in five of those same juveniles were so severely disabled by their illness that they were unable to function as a young person and were seriously in danger of not developing into a functional adult (Hammond, 2007). Juveniles are considered more difficult to treat for mental illness due to developmental issues (Hammond, 2007) and rapidly changing biological and mental makeup.Show MoreRelatedJuvenile Delinquency Is An Increasing Problem Within The United States995 Words   |  4 Pages Juvenile delinquency has become an increasing problem within the United States. According to Siegel and Welsh (2012), more than 1.1 million youth are being arrested each year for various crimes ranging from loitering to murder. There are numerous reasons why there should be programs to help deter delinquency. One of which, Greenwood (2008), states that juvenile delinquency has started to take it’s toll on tax payers. The cost of arresting, incarcerating, prosecuting, and treating offenders has beganRead MoreSentencing For Drug Offenders Should Be Lenient1880 Words   |  8 Pagesis; meaning if the violator is an adult or a juvenile. In Crime state rankings 2010: Crime across America, the percent of the population who are illicit drugs users for Virginia was 8.2%, ranking twenty-fourth on that list and the national percent was 8.1% of the population in 2007 (Morgan, K. O. L., Morgan, S., Santos, R. B. 2010). In Crime state rankings 2011: Crime across America, the percent of the population who are illicit drug users for Virginia was 7.3%, ranking thirty-two on that list andRead MoreThe Death Penalty For Juveniles946 Words   |  4 Pagesof seventy-two juvenile offenders. it helped twenty-nine in Texas, fourteen in Alabama, five in Mississippi, four in Arizona, four in Louisiana, four in North Carolina, three in Florida, three in South Carolin a, one in Nevada, and One in Virginia. They were all taken off death row and sentenced to life without parole. There is also a science behind why minors, anyone below the age of eighteen, cannot be put on death row. The National institute of Mental Health, the UCLA’s Department of AlexanderRead More Boot Camps and Juvenile Crime Essay1148 Words   |  5 PagesBoot Camps and Juvenile Crime Five years ago, responding to an increase in serious juvenile crime, the state of Maryland initiated one of the nations largest boot camp programs for teenage criminals. The program, called the Leadership Challenge, quickly became the model for other states. But last week, after reviewing a task force report that documented instances of physical abuse at their camps, Maryland officials appeared on the verge of conceding that the current initiative was a failure.Read MoreZero Tolerance Policies And School Discipline10009 Words   |  41 Pagesstudents from school into the juvenile justice system (Robinson, 2013). This dilemma, known as the school-to-prison pipeline is garnering much attention in Virginia due to the states continued issues in overcoming the phenomenon. This study explores zero tolerance policies and school discipline to better understand its effect in to bring awareness to an issue that may help in dismantling this pipeline. Particularly looking at those school divisions within Virginia that have disciplined studentsRead MoreCriminal Justice As An Adjunct Professor At The Nevada Air National Guard Essay1196 Words   |  5 PagesSUMMARY OF QUALIFICATIONS: Thirty-five years of policing experience in a large metropolitan police department with a tourist based economy. Retired in 2009 as the Assistant Chief of Police. Operational and Senior command experience in Administration, Patrol and Detective Divisions. Recognized internationally for training, presentations and publications in Community and Problem Oriented Policing and a wide-range of other policing topics. Retired as a Lieutenant Colonel in the Nevada Air NationalRead MoreZero Tolerance Policies Are Ineffective And Creates More Harm Than Good For High School Education Essay1314 Words   |  6 Pagesrecords undesirably. More than three decades have passed and zero-tolerance approaches in schools have failed. Whereas cases should be judged on an individual basis, zero-tolerance policy negatively affects the relationship of education with juvenile justice given that zero-tolerance policies do not accommodate adolescent development. Zero-tolerance policies are school or district mandates that predetermine â€Å"consequences or punishments for specific offenses that are intended to be applied regardlessRead MoreThe Reentry Policy Brief Provides3089 Words   |  13 Pagesof incarcerated juveniles and avoid increasing the already wide racial disparities of the incarcerated population of juveniles. Most reentry facilities in Florida are run by reentry programs that were expanded from Transition from Prison to Community (TPC) and Transition from Jail to Community (TJC) models. Yet these programs appear to not have fully addressed recidivism among juveniles and are also not tailored to lower the widening racial disparities among the incarcerated juvenile population. BetterRead MoreEssay on Kentucky Department of Juvenile Justice1997 Words   |  8 PagesOffice of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention found that high numbers of detention orders were being issued for status youth statewide. The main issue of c oncern was the valid court order exception to the DSO core requirement was used 2,000 times. This allowed judges to order non-delinquent youth in locked detention facility whose most serious violations involved repeat offenses of running away, skipping school or being rebelling against authority figures. The disturbing thing about thisRead MoreJuvenile Services Department ( Jsd ) Essay1946 Words   |  8 Pagesagency; purpose/mission: Juvenile Services Department (JSD) provides a continuum of comprehensive service to arrested and at-risk juveniles and their families. JSD is designed to address the root causes of juvenile crime and prevent further delinquent behavior. Law enforcement and social services to work together to provide a complete range of services for both at-risk youth and youth involved with the Juvenile Justice System. JSDS increase public safety by reducing juvenile delinquency through effective