Juvenile Court Systems

Our juvenile court systems have come a long way. Juveniles sometimes need help to get there life’s in order and track. There are various ways for juveniles to get the help they may need to get back on track The major difference between our juveniles and the adults they commit crimes is that there are many private facilities for the juveniles.

There are different types of facilities that can and do benefit our juveniles we have many short-term facilities for examples like shelters and detention centers, diagnostic centers and reception. You also have the Long-term facilities boot camps half way houses group homes and many more. There are so many options that a juvenile has but are not limited to psychiatric hospitals private institutions.

Correctional programs are designed as an option that gives the offender with official approval and management in a commune place location than being in a jail house. Commune based correction came about in the 1960’s, but through the early 1970’s and 1960’s federal grants were presented to community correction programs. Then they began expand, but “cbc” was only suppose to be in the vicinity of the eight judicial districts. Some programs may offer the offenders an education which is known as a halfway house for juveniles to live together and go to school, work with guardianship and therapy. Correction centers are mostly for juveniles that are considered status offenders. Theses juveniles are the ones that are charged with an offense that the court see as an adult may do. Things like a juvenile that runs away from home, breaking the curfew violations, skipping school underage drinking, , or beyond a parents control. When a child gets there first Status offender charge they are usually not incarcerated on their first offense, but once the juvenile has violated a court order they are labeled a delinquent and they will be sent to a detention center or corrections facility.

There is a children’s home in my area called The United Methodist Children’s Home. The home provides many services for all types of kids. Lot of the youths in the home is referred by division of family and children services and also private referrals are accepted. The average stay in the home is around 18 months. The home helps with campus care group care, independent living programs, short-term family housing, foster care, transitional living program, counseling, education foster adopt programs and much more. The facility is not mainly for juveniles that have committed crimes but for the ones that have nothing else and 9 times out of 10 will turn to crime. The home helps kids see that there are people that can and will help them see what else there is out there to keep them out of trouble. It helps them get an understanding on life and the positive things in life. It gets them ready to live in the real world.
The value of a detention center is reliant to lead us to deal with the issues the juvenile will confront. The juvenile detention center isn’t like the group homes or shelters in a secure facility but the juvenile is only placed there for a provisional point of time until legal action is taken. Juvenile detention facilities are here to up hold youths in the juvenile justice system that are waiting to go to court and are also waiting to hear the decisions like hearing, probation, confinement or community service. Juveniles are also sent to a detention centers by court order, most of the time it is no more than 120 days. Juveniles are put in detention facilities under court order, if they cannot be sent home, or to prevent them from harming themselves or others.

We have many youth detention centers in our area. Sad to say but it is a good thing because we need them but the fact that we have so many is a sign that we have a lot of juveniles that have to be sent there. We have one in the metro are in Atlanta called Metro Regional Youth detention center and also one closer in Warner Robins called Houston county Youth detention center. They both have a lot in common. In my area they all are ran pretty much the same. the community detention centers are programs provides a non secure alternative to detention in a regional detention center there programs consist of in home supervision at which until the child goes to court they are allowed to stay at home then there is electronic monitoring this is when the child wears a leg monitor and is not allowed to leave home after a certain time. In my area we also have what you call alternative schools this is for kid that get in repeated trouble at there regular school. In my opinion this is a step before a child gets into serious trouble and has to go to a real detention center. When a child get into trouble at school they are sent to alternative school so they will be able to bet there education but they are being punished at the same time for what they have done at regular school. In my opinion juvenile are given many choices and chance to get there life’s together before they become adults and end up in prison and treated like adults.

References

Houston County Detention Center. (2009). Houston County. Retrieved May 8, 2009, from http://www.houstoncountyga.com/government/sheriff/sheriff-detention-center.aspx

Metro Regional Youth Detention Center. (). Education.com. Retrieved May 8, 2009, from http://www.education.com/schoolfinder/us/georgia/atlanta/metro-regional-youth-detention-center/