Juvenile Justice and Corrections Exam Notes

Juvenile Courts

  • Separate entities or part of family court.
  • Operate informally.
  • Increasingly heard in criminal court, becoming more adult-like.

History of Juvenile Courts

  • Established in 1899 in Illinois.
  • Aimed to serve children needing supervision.
  • Now present in every state.
  • Based on Parens Patriae: "parent of the country".
    • Allows state intervention in a child’s life if it’s in the child’s best interest.
  • Before juvenile courts, cases were handled by social services or criminal courts.

Juvenile Assessment

  • Psychologists use tests to measure cognitive abilities, personality, and risk of violence or sexual offending.
  • Assessment includes interviews and observation.
  • Caution advised when psychologists primarily work with adults.
  • Avoid dual roles of evaluator and treatment provider.

Risk Assessment

  • Determines the likelihood of future violence or offending.
  • Helps match juveniles with appropriate placement or programs.
  • Prominent tools: Structured Assessment of Violence Risk in Youth, Youth Level of Service/Case Management Inventory.

Assessment of Competence

  • Psychologists must understand the law and adolescent development to evaluate competence to waive Miranda rights.

Evaluating Adjudicative Competence

  • Juveniles in criminal courts must be competent to stand trial, based on the Dusky standard.
    • Sufficient ability to consult with lawyer and understand proceedings.

False Confessions

  • Occur for various reasons, including police tactics.
  • Redlich and Goodman (2003) study:
    • Suggestibility: 69% falsely confessed or complied.
    • Internalization: 39% believed they committed the act.
    • Confabulation: 4% made up details.

Juvenile Amenability to Rehabilitation

  • Evaluated at multiple points in juvenile justice processing.
  • Considers present treatment needs.
  • Evaluations used in judicial waiver and disposition decisions.

Waiver Decisions

  • Judges decide whether to transfer juveniles to criminal court.
  • Often requested by prosecutors.
  • Legislative waiver (statutory exclusion): certain ages/crimes are automatically heard in criminal courts.
  • Consequences: public proceedings, criminal record, adult prison.

Disposition

  • Equivalent to sentencing in adult court.
  • Alternatives range from community-based services to secure facilities.
  • Judges may place juveniles in custody of juvenile justice officials for program determination.
  • Psychological assessment may occur later to decide on the right programmatic approach.

Conducting the Evaluation

  • Review juvenile's files (school, social service, court records).
  • Gather information about family history and substance use.
  • Assess intellectual, academic, personality, and vocational functioning.
  • Be aware of mental health needs and available treatment/rehabilitation services.

Out-of-Home Placements

  • Decreased in recent years.
  • Include training schools, treatment centers, wilderness camps, and group homes.

Juvenile Detention

  • Temporary placement pending adjudication or during proceedings.
  • May be held for own protection or to prevent further crime.
  • Cannot be placed in rehabilitation programs until adjudicated.
  • Can receive substance abuse treatment, sex education, etc.

Psychological Treatment in Juvenile Facilities

  • High rates of mental health needs among juveniles in the system.
  • Mental disorders can lead to impulsive, aggressive, and violent behaviors.
  • Adolescents in detention are more likely to have psychosis.
  • Psychiatric disorders are linked to suicidal behavior.
  • Current services often fall short of recommendations.

Approaches to Rehabilitation

  • Effective treatment reduces illegal behavior and meets individual needs.
  • Least restrictive placement should be used.
  • Group homes allow juveniles to remain in their community with outpatient services.

Teaching Home Model

  • Common group home model.
  • Teaching parents live with up to seven youths in a family-like setting.
  • Consultants provide supervision and integrate services.

Multisystemic Therapy (MST)

  • Based on systems theory.
  • Behavior is influenced by interactions within social environment.
  • Targets the child or adolescent as well as families, peer groups, schools, and neighborhoods.

Common Features of Successful Programs

  • Cognitive-behavioral models.
  • Multimodal programs (group, individual, and family treatment).
  • Programs targeting high-risk offenders with intensive work and follow-up.

Violence-Prevention Programs

  • Focus on preventing physical harm to others.
  • Adopt a cognitive-behavioral or social learning perspective.
  • Address cognitive distortions or "thinking errors".
  • May include victim empathy components.

Juvenile Sex Offender Treatment Programs

  • High percentage of juvenile sex offenders were themselves sexually abused.
  • Untreated adolescent sex offenders are likely to continue offending.
  • Gather extensive background and clinical information in evaluations.
  • Assess family, social, medical, and mental histories; developmental history; school information; violent behavior history; substance abuse history; sexual history; and mental status.
  • Peer groups are the preferred treatment method.
  • Use a cognitive-behavioral approach.
  • Sex education is provided.
  • Social skills and assertiveness training are included.
  • A multimodal approach is emphasized.