Why Do We Need A Juvenile Drug Court?

Messing Around with Addiction: The Struggle of America’s Youth Rehabilitation is the act of restoring something to its original state. Everyone makes mistakes and everyone needs a chance to change from the mistakes they’ve made. Legally if you are over the age of eighteen you are recognized as an adult but scientifically our brains are not fully developed until age twenty-five. So how can a judge hold a fifteen year old fully accountable for his or her actions when he or she can’t even fully understand the consequences? The United States government has set up two different types of court systems: juvenile and adult court to separate children from adults; within both of these court systems you have a drug court. Juvenile drug courts are dockets
within juvenile courts for cases involving substance-abusing youth in need of specialized treatment services. The focus is on providing treatment to eligible, drug-involved juvenile offenders with the goal of reducing recidivism and substance abuse (Crime Solutions, 2). The United States has made a major move forward with their drug policy ideals; prior to the drug court system the administration was focused on the “get tough” and “zero tolerance drug policies” that created an over populated prison system with non-violent offenders across the United States and therefore the system didn’t allow the offenders the opportunity to reform themselves properly (Lutez 240). Drug addiction is a huge issue among the youth of America and with the use of proper rehabilitation programs it can be fixed.
A drug court is looked at as a “problem solving” court because it is designed to treat someone and hold them accountable for their actions.
After graduation of the program the citizens can become functioning members of the society. How can this be done effectively for juveniles? The first drug courts were created for adults in 1989 and the procedures used within the adult drug court system were used to create the juvenile drug court system (Franco, 4). However through research and time the juvenile drug court system has made substantial changes to benefit the juvenile. For example “the psychological attributes and developmental needs of adolescent offenders who enter the drug court system are substantially different from adult offenders and must be taken into account when planning any behavior change intervention” (Stein, 2). This means that juveniles do not have the full brain capacity to fully understand the process and the consequences that come with their actions, so if they were to just lock up a thirteen year old boy for the possession of cannabis he would never fully learn his lesson, but if you were to provide him with the resources to learn about the dangers of cannabis and the legal punishments that come with possessing the drug, he would learn from his mistakes. Drug courts represent a coordinated strategy between the judiciary, prosecution, defense bar, probation, law enforcement, treatment, mental health, social services, and child protection services to
actively and forcefully intervene and break the cycle of substance abuse within the juvenile justice system” (Lutez, 227). As you can see this isn’t a simple process when determining what the best option can be for a juvenile for example, every child’s situation is different and through research it has been proven that not every treatment is effective, in fact some treatments can actually cause more damage than good. There are several procedures in place when dealing with a first time juvenile offender, for example when the juvenile is first processed into the system he is screened by the rehabilitation services within his district and can be admitted into a program as soon as a week upon arrest. “The Establishment of a drug court team includes, at a minimum, a judge, prosecutor, defense attorney, treatment provider, evaluator, and school representative working collaboratively to meet the needs of the juvenile and his or her family” (Cooper 3). The juvenile will attend a routine judicial hearing that the drug court team will attend and from there decide the best option for the juvenile. A key element to the hearing is that the judge works with other agencies and court dockets and coordinates a personal plan for the individual so they receive the best resources and the most effective treatment (Cooper 3).
An extensive amount of research has been done over the effects of cannabis on a persons overall well being and most extensively on the human brain; in turn that is why the United States government has funded so many rehabilitation programs for juveniles, to keep them on the right track to be productive citizens and overall healthier human beings.
“It is now generally accepted that cannabis may produce an acute toxic encephalopathy in adolescents and young adults, marked by disorientation in time and space, shortened attention span, impaired short-term memory, lowered psychomotor performance to name a few” (Helliker 53). The United States has created many rehabilitation programs to directly help juveniles that are arrested for possession, consumption, or anything thing that is related to drug usage. “The programs created for this cause use a combination of resources: incorporation of drug testing, creating a non-adversarial relationship between the defendant and the court (so the defendants needs can be meet without a legal cloud) as well as providing access to a continuum of treatment and rehabilitation service” (Franco 10). The most effective types of rehabilitation programs to combat cannabis abuse are programs that focus on individual counseling programs. This is because every one is different and even the slightest environmental aspects can change the type of treatment needed and the use of behavioral programs to shape the individuals behaviors into positive behaviors.
“Participants within the program undergo random weekly drug testing and attend regular court hearing, during which the judge reviews their progress in treatment and may impose a range of consequences contingent upon their performance. These consequences may include: writing assignments, community service, more meetings, etc. (Marlowe 124). Through these extensive programs and weekly meetings the juvenile can stay under supervision of the drug court team and most importantly the judge of the case. Unfortunately, these programs are designed that if someone violates their rehabilitation program/ probation he/she can be sentenced to harsher sentences such as incarceration at a detention center. These programs are not set up for the individual to fail, but they are set up to be very black and white: attend the hearings, pass weekly drug test, and meet with the counselor (to name a few). If all is done correctly, one successfully passes the treatment rehabilitation program and in turn become a drug-free individual that is ready for a second chance.
Finding the correct solution for an at-risk juvenile is an epidemic within the United States court system and with time it will get corrected. This is an issue that shouldn’t be swept under the rug; the future of America is in the justice systems hands. These programs are created for a reason; to serve juveniles and give them another opportunity at life. We all make mistakes, and part of growing up is learning from our mistakes and turning them into positives.