by Skye Martin

Created on: January 29, 2008

Juvenile delinquency generally refers to violent and non-violent criminal activity committed by minors. The matter of incarcerated youth is a difficult issue. The occurrence of recidivism among juvenile delinquents is estimated to be 50% to 70% when such persons are released from custody with no aftercare treatment (Wiebush et al. 2000). The significance of this is that juvenile recidivism causes correctional overcrowding and increased costs of confinement. Therefore, correctional institutions develop aftercare programs to reduce an individual's criminal lifestyle (Zhang et al., 2005). Unfortunately such programs currently, when evaluated, fail to produce consistent, significant results (Baltodano, et al., 2005); (Josi et al. 1999).

The literature on this subject suggests that several factors can result in delinquent behavior. A juvenile who shows poor school performance, has poor family relationships or abuses drugs is more likely to participate in delinquent behavior than normal youths (Zhang et al., 2005).

Current aftercare programs try to tackle these issues in mass and are typically uniform for everyone. Even though these programs make an honest attempt to cover all possible reasons why a single juvenile might recidivate, not all juveniles suffer the same combined risks. Studies suggest that treatments planned around an individual's specific needs have more positive results (Josi et al., 2007).

An aftercare program will only be successful when specifically addressing these issues on an individual level. The factors, then, that will allow for the successful reintegration of juvenile offenders are heightened treatment interaction, smaller program staffing and individualized job-assistance or academic tutoring.

The literature focuses largely on factors that may deter juveniles from successful reintegration. It is generally acknowledged that those who are at a higher risk of re-offending often have severe issues in one or more of the following areas: education, family life, substance abuse and cognitive function. (Zhang et al., 2005); (Baltodano, et al., 2005); (Josi et al. 1999). Juvenile aftercare programs typically focus on helping high-risk offenders manage these issues by offering daily life skills management and counseling. Altschuler et al., (1998) suggests that more structured transitions from correctional facilities to the community may have more positive outcomes; although, it is interesting to note that low-risk offenders are typically not supervised

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