Juvenile Competency to Stand Trial: A Systemic Look Under the Hood: Reasonable Accommodations

Juvenile competency to stand trial has historically involved the intrinsic abilities of a juvenile to understand and appreciate the nature of the proceeding against the juvenile and the juvenile’s ability to assist in his/her defense and communicate effectively with defense counsel. The literature has not addressed the recursive systemic competency process between the juvenile, defense counsel, and hearing officer. This article discusses the communication skills of defense counsel and hearing officers as part of the systemic equation in a juvenile’s competency to stand trial. A case example is used to demonstrate the importance of reasonable accommodations as part of the systemic, recursive interactions between a juvenile and court personnel. The authors conclude with recommendations for training in the areas of linguistics and the psychosocial development of juveniles in the socio-cultural context in which they live.     

The Impact of Juvenile Court Judge Ethical Orientation on Decision Making

This exploratory study examines the ethical ideologies of a sample of 76 juvenile court judges attending a conference using an Ethical Position Questionnaire. Potential effects of ethical orientation on judicial decision making are identified and discussed. The findings indicate a relatively even distribution of judges across ethical ideologies. The connection between ethical ideology and the prevailing juvenile justice philosophy across jurisdictions, and the importance and complexity of judicial education and training in juvenile justice, are discussed.     

Correlates of moral development in juvenile delinquents

Moral reasoning and development have been the focus of considerable research in the past two decades, stimulated primarily by Kohlberg’s formulation of the stages of moral development. Studies of juvenile delinquents have indicated that youthful offenders are at lower developmental stages of moral reasoning than their nondeliquent counterparts. Some research has also examined patterns among juvenile delinquents with respect to moral judgments, as it is recognized that they are heterogeneous as a group. In order to further examine correlates of moral judgments among juvenile delinquents, a sample of 411 adolescent offenders was obtained. The sample consisted of all adjudicated male delinquents aged twelve to fifteen admitted to a state training school over a sixteen month period of time. Data was obtained on a measure of moral judgment, the Morality-Immorality Scale (Baker, Stewart, Kaiser, Brown & Barclay, 1979), along with a variety of measures of personality, behavioral, social, intellectual and educational skills. The adolescents were divided into three groups based on their scores on the MIS. The highest scoring group on MIS had better scores on a variety of behavioral, intellectual and personality indicators, while the lowest scoring group had the worst scores on such measures. Moral-religious emphasis in the home was not associated with the scores on the Morality-Immorality Scale, but a measure of family pathology was negatively related to these scores. Implications of the findings for research and for the development of moral education programs for delinquents is discussed.     

Serious and Violent Juvenile Crime: A Comprehensive Strategy

Abstract OJJDP is actively involved in the Department of Justice's “Pulling America's Communities Together” (PACT) program. Developed at the direction of Attorney General Janet Reno, this initiative is designed to provide training, technical assistance and program development resources to participating jurisdictions address violence in their communities. Four jurisdictions have been selected to date: Denver, Omaha, Atlanta, and the District of Columbia. In addition to making its wide range of training and technical assistance resources available to these jurisdictions, OJJDP is helping the sites assess their juvenile justice systems and develop plans to implement the Comprehensive Strategy. To help jurisdictions begin assessing their systems and existing youth violence problems, OJJDP is preparing a juvenile violence fact book, called “The State of Juvenile Justice.” In addition to presenting statistical data on the nature and scope of the problem across America, the fact book will encapsule program and policy positions of major juvenile justice professional associations regarding youth violence. Such knowledge will assist local jurisdictions in developing their own positions, strategies and programs. In addition to NCJFCJ, other groups such as the American Probation and Parole Association, the National Juvenile Detention Association, the American Correctional Association, and the Coalition of Juvenile Justice State Advisory Groups have been invited to participate in development of The State of Juvenile Justice document.     

Youth In Prisons and Training Schools: Perceptions and Consequences of the Treatment-Custody Dichotomy

Transfer (or waiver) of juveniles to criminal court is one of the most extreme responses to serious youth crime. Although many states have recently revised their transfer statutes, and the number of juveniles prosecuted as adults increases each year, little research has been conducted to assess the correctional experiences of delinquent youth convicted in criminal court and sentenced to adult prison. Evaluations of such experiences are important to policymakers and juvenile justice officials who are considering juvenile transfers as a strategy for securing longer and harsher confinement for offenders. Based on interviews with 59 chronic juvenile offenders placed in state training schools, and 81 comparable youths sentenced to adult correctional facilities, this article presents a comparison of offenders' perceptions of their correctional experiences. Juveniles incarcerated in training schools give more positive evaluations of treatment and training programs, general services, and institutional personnel than do those youths in prison. Juveniles housed in institutions which emphasize security over treatment — i.e., prisons — are more often victimized during their confinement than youths in the treatment-oriented training schools. Once placed in prisons, adolescent inmates are more likely to be victims of prison violence and crime from both inmates and staff. These research results suggest some paradoxical effects of the treatment-custody distinction implicit in judicial waiver practices. The differential socialization into crime and violence for youths in adult prisons may increase the risks of having these types of behavior repeated by transferred youths once released.     

Impacts of Juvenile Probation Training Models on Youth Recidivism

Probation and parole case managers in 12 field offices of a state juvenile justice agency took part in a controlled experiment aimed at advancing knowledge on implementing evidence-based practices in juvenile assessment, treatment planning, and placement. Employing stratification and random assignment, case managers in four of the offices were assigned to a control/no training condition and case managers in the other eight offices took part in an initial training and two follow-up sessions on research-based supervision practices. In four of these offices, training was enhanced by the inclusion of peer coaches who provided internal support for practice implementation. Consistent with other ongoing research that shows improved organizational functioning in the enhanced training sites, logistic and Cox regression results on 1,518 youth in two follow-up cohorts tracked over 12?months indicate those supervised in the enhanced sites show a pattern of reduced recidivism compared to those in the standard and control sites.     

BUILDING A MULTIDISCIPLINARY, COLLABORATIVE CHILD PROTECTION SYSTEM

The process of preparing lawyers and other professionals to work for the benefit of troubled children requires an understanding of concepts that extend far beyond the traditional course structure currently employed in American law schools. It is clear that mental health problems of children and families, compounded by substance abuse, influence behavior, resulting in children entering family and juvenile courts as victims of abuse or neglect and committing criminal acts. It is incumbent on law schools to incorporate training in fields far different from the traditional didactic experience in legal curricula if they are to address the current needs of children and familes who are ensnared in the nation's juvenile justice system. The beginning point of this process is within the legal training apparatus of America. Law schools must expand their curriculum to incorporate other disciplines to produce an advocate capable of serving the interest of children and society.     

Mental Health Services for Incarcerated Youth: Report from a Statewide Survey

The need for mental health care has been steadily increasing for youth coming into contact with the juvenile probation system. This paper presents the results of a statewide survey of juvenile probation departments and associated mental health, health care, court, and education personnel in California. The intent of the survey was to better understand the costs and associated contexts of caring for youth with suspected mental disorders in juvenile detention facilities. The burden of caring for these youth on detention facilities and their staffs is substantial. Implications for courts, policy planning, training, and further research are discussed.     

从社群主义拯救罪错少年——恢复性少年司法及其社区参与

少年司法固有的福利模式和刑事模式均无法单一地解决少年犯罪的问题,因而受到学界的批评.同时,以恢复社会关系,促进罪错少年回归社会为目标的恢复性少年司法似乎正在成为少年司法的“第三条道路”.从社会变迁的角度看,社会、社群和社区的发展变化对少年司法制度的发展具有巨大的影响力.我国的城市化和市民社会正处于迅速发展的阶段,社会、社群、社区的发展驱动了具有恢复性少年司法因素的少年司法的发展,这体现了社群主义的价值底蕴.我国不少地方的司法机关进行了恢复性少年司法的探索,其各个阶段均具有社区参与的因素.从社会发展的趋势看,城市化和市民社会的发展使恢复性少年司法的社区参与具有广阔的前景.     

Potential Impact of Research on Adolescent Development on Juvenile Judge Decision‐making

This paper discusses how biological and psychological literature on the developmental differences between juveniles and adults may affect juvenile judges in their “dual role” as retributive and rehabilitative decision‐makers in juvenile cases, specifically focusing on sentencing. Particularly, it discusses potential influences of this research on adolescent development regarding four factors known to be integral in juvenile judge decision‐making: legal factors, characteristics of juvenile offenders, and individual structural and social contexts in which judges’ decisions are made. To conclude, implications and recommendations stemming from this discussion are considered.     

The effectiveness of social skills training (SST) for juvenile delinquents: a meta-analytical review

Journal of Experimental Criminology - To examine the effectiveness of social skills training (SST) for juvenile offenders and for whom and under which conditions SSTs are the most effective....     

Legal,Psychological, and Behavioral Outcomes

States have responded to the public's outrage at rising juvenile crime by revising their transfer statutes to make it easier to transfer juvenile offenders for trial and sentencing in criminal court and possible incarceration in adult prisons. These changing trends in juvenile justice raise three questions about what actually happens to juveniles once they are in the adult criminal justice system. To what extent does trial in adult court and/or incarceration in adult prisons promote or retard community protection, juvenile offenders' accountability, and the development of competencies in juvenile offenders? This article discusses state transfer laws and the legal consequences of criminal court prosecution, and analyzes current research on deterrence effects of transfer laws, conviction and sentencing in juvenile versus criminal court, recidivism rates in juvenile versus criminal court, and conditions and programming in juvenile versus adult correctional facilities. The research findings have two important implications for juvenile justice policy: the number of juvenile cases transferred to criminal court should be minimized, and imprisonment of juveniles in adult facilities should be avoided whenever possible. These implications are discussed, and directions for future research are identified.     

Analysis of cognitive inhibition and flexibility in juvenile delinquents

Executive functions are still developing during adolescence. It is important to analyse if juvenile delinquency is related to a delay in the development of these functions. The objective of this study was to analyse cognitive inhibition and flexibility, two components of executive functions, in juvenile delinquents. Participants were 81 males, 17.46 ± 1.60 years old. Three groups were compared: a juvenile delinquent inmate group (IG), an age-paired group (APG), and an age- and education-paired group (AEPG). A modified Stroop task was used to assess cognitive inhibition and flexibility. The IG and the AEPG (low-education adolescents) had significantly more difficulties than the APG on inhibition; the IG and the AEPG had no significant differences. No group differences were found on flexibility. Since all low-education adolescents have difficulties on inhibition, these difficulties are not an exclusive characteristic of juvenile delinquents. Analysis of cognitive processes in juvenile delinquents must control for education to determine how specific are the difficulties found in these adolescents.     

儿童权利的文化解释

In China, the protection of juvenile rights has historically been a secondary consideration, which is often relegated to the status of “goal for the future”. However, the value of juvenile rights and their protection lie not only in the morality of child protection, but also in the role that juvenile rights can play in the development of human rights as a whole. Publicity given to juvenile rights reminds us of the “adult society” standing in complementary opposition to the “juvenile society” that juvenile rights refer to. It is adult society to deal with juvenile rights, so any errors of understanding or failures of equality can lead to children being deprived of the rights. The rational underpinnings of juvenile rights are the weapons with which we can counter the influence of traditional, conservative thinking. These arguments will allow children to assume their rightful role as an independent group whose rights are academically and practically accepted and protected.     

Juvenile and Family Court Judges’ Knowledge and Attitudes About Sex Trafficking of Minors: Associations with Gender,Race, and U.S. Region

Juvenile and family court judges are a professional group that have a significant amount of decision-making power in cases of sex trafficking of minors. The purpose of this project is to examine the association of juvenile and family court judges’ gender, race, and U.S. region with their attitudes and knowledge about sex trafficking of minors. Drawing from a survey of 55 juvenile and family court judges in the U.S., this study used standardized scales to measure attitudes and knowledge about child sex trafficking. Results indicate some differences by gender and geography in a sample of experienced judges across the U.S. The consistency of these findings are discussed in the context of other research and implications for targeted training.     

Victims of sexual assault perpetrated by female youth: an exploratory study of gender differences*

ABSTRACT

This study examines sexual offending behaviour of juvenile females and juvenile males who come to the attention of the police. Using victim age as an analytical tool and more than 20 years of incident-level crime data, perpetrator, victim, and offense characteristics are compared to assess if the offending behaviours of juvenile females and juvenile males differ when the victim is a child versus a peer. The multinomial logistic regression showed there were differences in offending between juvenile females and juvenile males dependent on type of victim. Perpetrator substance abuse, victim sex, victim-offender relationship, type of sexual assault, use of force, location of the sexual assault, the time of day of the sexual assault, and whether or not the incident resulted in an arrest all reliably predicted these differences. The results reinforce the field's call for a greater development of a gendered understanding of sexual offending behaviour.     

When the Bough Breaks the Cradle Will Fall: Promoting the Health and Well Being of Infants and Toddlers in Juvenile Court

Approximately one‐third of the children in the child welfare system are under the age of six. These children are almost invisible in our juvenile courts. It is now clear from the emerging science of early childhood development that during the first few years of life children develop the foundation and capabilities on which all subsequent development builds. Living in emotional and environmental impoverishment and deprivation provides a poor foundation for healthy development. These very young and vulnerable children are exhibiting disproportionate developmental and cognitive delays, medical problems, and emotional disorders. However, there is growing evidence that early planned interventions can help. The juvenile court must take a leadership role in focusing on the very young child and learning more about risk, prevention, and early intervention in order to facilitate the healing process.     

Field reliability of the SAVRY with juvenile probation officers: Implications for training

Two complimentary studies were conducted to investigate the inter-rater reliability and performance of juvenile justice personnel when conducting the Structured Assessment of Violence Risk for Youth (SAVRY). Study 1 reports the performance on four standardized vignettes of 408 juvenile probation officers (JPOs) and social workers rating the SAVRY as part of their training. JPOs had high agreement with the expert consensus on the SAVRY rating of overall risk and total scores, but those trained by a peer master trainer outperformed those trained by an expert. Study 2 examined the field reliability of the SAVRY on 80 young offender cases rated by a JPO and a trained research assistant. In the field, intra-class correlation coefficients were 'excellent' for SAVRY total and most domain scores, and were 'good' for overall risk ratings. Results suggest that the SAVRY and structured professional judgment can be used reliably in the field by juvenile justice personnel and is comparable to reliability indices reported in more lab-like research studies; however, replication is essential.