Challenges Facing Juvenile Offenders

Persons convicted of crimes committed below the age of 18 enter adult jails and prisons while still children or as the youngest of adults. The US supreme court has recognized that a youth offender serves a higher percentage of his life in prison than an adult offender. About 200,000 people ages 24 and younger leave juvenile facilities or prisons every year.
Characteristics & challenges
Research has found that youth offenders are among the inmates most open to physical and sexual assault during incarceration. Many are placed in isolated segregation to protect or punish them. Also, many are denied access to vocational and educational programs available to other inmates. Facing violence, suppress conditions, and the anticipation of lifelong separation from family and friends, many offenders experience intense loneliness and depression. Failed by prison mental health services, many attempt suicide; some succeed. Young offenders may face an assortment of adaptation problems. For example, school systems may not be amenable to
working with them and may warehouse them in special classrooms or different schools. Violence and drug dealing may occur in family settings. Some youth may be unemployable because they have not graduated from high school and have restricted employment history.
Treatment services in prison
The unique characteristics of prisons have important suggestions for treating clients in this setting.
Counselors and prison administrators establish programs that are long term and extensive. For example, TC is a treatment model that pursues to create a 24 hour, 7-day-a-week treatment environment that incorporates community, work, counseling, and education activities. Substance abuse issues may be addressed along with behavioral, emotional, and psychological problems.While most juvenile residential facilities offer at least some therapy or counseling services, a nationally representative survey of over 7,000 incarcerated youth showed that most of these facilities are not prepared to appropriately address the needs of youth in their custody. Many of these facilities lack any early identification system to mantle and identify those with mental health needs. A lack of early identification or screening can result in youth going without needed
care.
Current Population
More than 70 million Americans—about 1 in 4—are younger than 18, the age group often referred to as juveniles. This age group has increased persistently since the 1980s and is predicted to continue increasing until at least 2015. However, different sectors of the juvenile population will increase at different rates. As population changes, the juvenile justice system will also change. Approximately 2,570 youth offenders are sentenced to die in prison in the Unites States. All racial groups are represented in the population of offenders serving life terms, however, large gender differences were observed in an array of racial and ethnic variables.
Case studies
In Roper v. Simmons (2005), the Supreme Court found capital punishment for juveniles to be unconstitutional. The majority opinion offered three reasons not to punish juveniles as severely as adults:
Their immature judgment and lesser self-control cause them to act impetuously and without a full understanding of the consequences.
They are more vulnerable to negative peer influence. Their personalities are still changing and their crimes provide less reliable evidence of debased character.
In Graham v. Florida (2010), the Court applied Roper’s decreased responsibility rationale to cases in which youth convicted of non-homicide crimes were sentenced to life without parole.
Recommendations
Policymakers should consider hiring the minimum age for criminal court to 21 or 24. They should create special correctional facilities for young adult offenders, with tailored services such as cognitive behavioral therapy, drug treatment, mentoring, educational and vocational training, and work release programs. Some states have special facilities for young adults. Because juveniles sent to adult correctional facilities have higher recidivism rates than those in juvenile facilities, setting up special facilities could help decrease recidivism, thus saving money. Policymakers should also consider implementing a “youth discount” for young offenders, decreasing the severity of penalties, conduct risk and needs assessments of young offenders to guide interventions, and employ reentry services that include therapy, drug treatment and educational programs. (David Farrington)