Running head: ALTERNATIVE TREATMENT OPTIONS FOR JUVENILE .
A Brief Look at Alternative Treatment Options for Juvenile Delinquents.
The Juvenile Justice System has many treatment options to choose from. Besides the usual jails and correctional centers, there are specialized Youth Centers, Group Homes, and Foster Care Programs.
The first alternative treatment option for juveniles I will discuss is the Youth Center. In Ohio the Paint Creek Youth Center was assessed by Peter Greenwood and Susan Turner (1993). The main goal of this center is to provide high-quality tailored programming. There was a three-day orientation program and an aftercare program to assist in the transition of juvenile offenders back into society. The youths received classes and formal counseling instead of being locked up in a cell. They were part of the community.
While at the center, they earned privileges as they progressed. Among the privileges were being allowed to have a paying job, family visits at the center, and weekends at home. The uniqueness of this program was the emphasis on tailored treatment. Instead of being lumped into groups, the youths were counseled individually. This allowed the counselors and youths to benefit from the program.
Greenwood and Turner concluded that the aftercare program had a modest effect on post-release arrests and behavior. More cognitive and behavioral effort was needed in the aftercare. They also determined that this alternative shows promise, and that more attention should be paid to the youth's social behavior when they return to the community.
The next alternative treatment option for juveniles I will discuss is Group Home Treatment Program. According to Bynum and Thompson (2002), group homes usually resemble a dormitory type of living facility. Juveniles are supervised during parts of the day and at night, while being allowed limited participation in the larger community either to attend school or work at part-time jobs.