The aim of this study was to critically examined the juvenile justice system with regard to the theory of restorative justice as a better alternative to the punitive system that recognizes the rights of children as human rights is in line with the convention on the rights of the child. This research looked at punishment as a penal option, which the court imposes on a person for committing a crime. By means of a case study with regards to the One Stop Youth Justice Centre in Port Elizabeth, this study argued that the restorative method of dealing with youth offenders is a better alternative in contrast to the punitive system.

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This study examined the effectiveness of a family counseling intervention program called the Parent Monitoring Program (PMP) on reducing the rate of recidivism with first-time juvenile offenders in New Orleans, Louisiana. The PMP is a multimodal treatment intervention that combines individual, family, and group, counseling services to juvenile offenders and their families. Pugh, Force, Rault, and Triche (2000) reported that with effective and innovative family and community based intervention programs, juvenile offenders can be deterred from further delinquent behaviors. There is a great need for research studies to examine effective interventions that address reducing the rate of recidivism with juvenile crime (Cullen & Grandeau, 2000). This study looked at the differences in recidivism rates for the treatment group, juvenile offenders who completed the PMP, versus the control groups those juvenile offenders who either did not complete the PMP, or who refused the PMP services. The participants (N=1144) were mainly African Americans of low SES who committed minor offenses from the years 2001-2003. A logistic regression analysis was conducted to find out the differences in recidivism rates between the treatment and control groups, as well as levels of offenses in terms of recidivism rates and gender differences. Results of the analyses indicated that those participants who completed the PMP had lower recidivism rates than those who did not complete or refused the PMP service. In addition, level of offenses was positively associated in terms of recidivism (p <.001). However, in terms of recidivism, there were no differences between males and females xiii ( p =.108). Faculty members in counselor education can use the findings from this study to pay attention to the problems that this special population faces. Counselors can become more aware of the importance of a multimodal approach with emphasis on family involvement and early intervention. The multi cultural issues and risk factors that surround this population are of relevance to the curriculum in counselor education programs. Future research should look at the impact that religious organizations have on juvenile delinquency in terms of recidivism rates and the important role that the community plays.

Essa dissertação trata da relação entre o saber pedagógico e o governo dos adolescen-tes infratores. A partir da filosofia de Michel Foucault se investigará em um conjunto de arti-gos acadêmicos e opinativos- e de documentos governamentais quais são as novas práticas e concepções pedagógicas que surgiram na última década. Sabe-se que nos últimos anos o sis-tema de justiça juvenil brasileiro tem passado por grandes transformações, tanto no plano prá-tico quanto no teórico. O objetivo do trabalho é saber o que se passou durante esse período de reforma da instituição de responsabilização juvenil e se esse processo tornou o atendimento aos adolescentes infratores mais eficaz do ponto de vista da gestão da criminalidade juvenil. Inicialmente expõem-se alguns debates teóricos importantes para a justiça especial dispostas no Estatuto da Criança e do Adolescente. Trata-se então, da relação entre direito e poder a partir da análise dos argumentos expostos no debate acerca da redução da maioridade penal. Apresentam-se na sequência as diversas forças que habitam as instituições socioeducativas. Em seguida, vê-se como as práticas jurídicas e processuais tendem a limitar a ação governa-mental, proscrevendo-lhe regras de não intervenção. Por fim expor-se-á as práticas de atendi-mento, ressaltando terapêuticas e as práticas limitativas. Conclui-se que é o modelo de justiça penal mínima que melhor desenvolveu as aspirações educativas do ECA. Que, apesar de ter alcançado bons resultados, esse modelo concorre com muitas das forças reminiscentes do mo-delo anterior. / This essay studies the relationship between education knowledge and the juvenile justice sys-tem in Brazil. Based on the work of Michael Foucault, a selection of articles, government papers and academic publications is investigated in order to acknowledge the education prac-tices and techniques that arouse in the last decade. Brazilian juvenile justice system went through major transformations in recent years, both in the theoretical and practical fields. The goal of this research is to recognize the key transformations that took place in this period and learn if the process did or did not improve government\'s assistance towards young offenders. It starts with some theoretical debates relevant for the juvenile justice system, followed by the analysis of the relationship between law and power contained in the arguments exposed in the reduction of criminal age\'s debate. Numerous forces dwelling the country\'s juvenile justice institutions are presented. The following part analysis how legal and procedural practices tend to limit government interference, prescribing it rules of non intervention. It\'s understood that the criminal justice model of minimal intervention is the one that better developed ECA\'s ed-ucational aspirations. Despite achieving satisfactory results, this model still competes with many reminiscent forces of it\'s predecessor model.

L’autonomie de la justice pénale des mineurs est un principe essentiel du droit français, bénéficiant d’un large ancrage dans la législation et les concepts républicains. Ce principe repose sur une approche protectrice et humaniste de l’enfance délinquante. Cependant, il n’a pas fait l’objet d’une consolidation constitutionnelle suffisante jusqu’à aujourd’hui. Le mouvement amorcé en 2002 de déspécialisation de la justice pénale des mineurs et son rapprochement avec la justice pénale des adultes en témoigne. Il sera proposé des pistes pour opérer une véritable consolidation constitutionnelle du principe d’autonomie de la justice pénale des mineurs et pour améliorer la protection constitutionnelle spécifique des mineurs délinquants / The autonomy of the juvenile criminal justice is a fundamental rule of the French law rooted in the legislation and the republican principles. This rule is based on a protective and humanistic approach of the juvenile delinquency. However, it has not been sufficiently consolidated to date. This fact is evidenced by the process of “despecialisation” of the juvenile criminal justice and its rapprochement with the criminal justice system for adults, which started in 2002. Ways to realise a real constitutional consolidation of the principle of the autonomy of the juvenile criminal justice and to improve the specific constitutional protection of juvenile delinquents will be suggested.

At the end of the nineteenth century, individuals identified as child savers pioneered an unprecedented movement to save America’s children from physical and moral harm. The establishment of the juvenile justice system came as a result of the actions of the child savers. Researchers have focused extensively on many aspects of the juvenile justice system including studies on the effectiveness of the system to tracking the changes the system has undergone since its establishment. Numerous other studies examined opinions of the juvenile justice system. However, the research has focused solely on the general public, juvenile probation officers and juvenile correctional staff. The current study examined the actual participants within the juvenile justice system - the juvenile offenders - to gauge their perceptions of the system that was created to protect and turn them into law-abiding individuals. A survey was conducted with juvenile offenders housed within two conservative, Midwestern juvenile correctional facilities. The juveniles believed that rehabilitation should be an integral goal of the juvenile justice system and they endorsed community-based interventions as a means to change behavior. The results indicate that the juvenile offenders are in tune with the general public as seeing the juvenile justice system as a child saving institution rather than as a punitive endeavor.

The purpose of this study is to identify the barriers to and facilitators of mental health services utilization among youth in the justice setting, and to explore ways to overcome these barriers and expand these facilitators. This qualitative study utilized focus groups as a means to extract themes among the perceptions of social workers on this topic. Results were transcribed to written form. Qualitative analysis procedures were followed to identify and label themes. A total of 473 statements are organized into 26 major themes with 18 sub‑themes. Suggestions for change under the agency/organizational category of domain three received the most overall discussion with 108 statements in all. The most discussed topics in the focus groups are quality of or improvements to services, which receives a total of 114 statements total, and punitive systems of care, which receives a total of 60 statements in all. Major suggestions for change made by participants include education and outreach for the public on mental health for juveniles, training on interventions and cultural competence for providers, and a shift from punitive to restorative for systems that justice youth interact with, to include schools, courts, probation, and law enforcement.

Exclusionary discipline in school contributes to gender and racial disproportionality in the juvenile justice system and marginalizes African American girls. Using the social justice and rational choice theories as the foundation, the purpose of this case study was to explore the relationship between the criminalization of behavior in schools, racial bias, and gender stereotypes contribute to the overrepresentation of the school to prison pipeline in Virginia. The central research question focused on the relationship between the criminalization of behavior in schools, racial bias, and gender stereotypes on the overrepresentation of African American girls in the school to prison pipeline. Employing a qualitative case study design, data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 8 African American women (ages 20-30) and surveys from 12 educators. Other data included school discipline and juvenile justice reports from the Virginia Department of Education and Office of Juvenile Justice. The interview data were coded and analyzed using matrix and thematic analysis. Three findings emerged from the thematic analysis from document data. First, participants perceive diversionary programs, community partnership and restorative justice programs create safe and positive learning environments. Second, there are opportunities for policymakers to use their influence to promote social equity. Finally, zero tolerance policies are ineffective. The positive social change implications from this study include recommendations to policymakers to implement restorative justice programs to ensure that all students learn in a positive environment. These actions will benefit all students in public schools and decrease racial disparities in schools and the juvenile justice system.