NCJ Number
156298
Journal
Reclaiming Children and Youth Volume: 4 Issue: 1 Dated: (Spring 1995) Pages: 54-56
Date Published
1995
Length
3 pages
Annotation
In November 1994 a wide-ranging group of scholars, educators, clergy, civil rights leaders, and journalists met for a videoconference to discuss ways to reclaim violent and aggressive youth; this article presents the group's framework for positive action.
Abstract
The group advises that punitive solutions to the problem of youth violence are placing a heavy economic burden on the Nation, since there are more than 1 million people in Federal and State penitentiaries and an additional 500,000 people in local jails. Although not suggesting that punishment is always inappropriate, the group advises that punishment must be balanced with violence prevention and intervention. The recommended framework for such a program includes prenatal and early childhood programs for at- risk populations and the expansion of parent education and family support programs. Two recommendations are the provision of violence-prevention programs as well as the provision and integration of family support services that affect children, including schools, day care, and health care. Other recommendations are to restrict access to the instruments of aggression; reduce and reform the violence purveyed to the public as entertainment, including movies, television, and video games; educate families about the risks of maintaining firearms in the home; and use alternatives to incarceration for youth when appropriate, as well as effective rehabilitation programs for violent youth who are incarcerated. Remaining recommendations are to expand the number of interventions based on healthy preadolescent and adolescent development, expand programs that help prevent teen pregnancy, enforce zero tolerance for the possession of guns and other weapons in schools, and support programs that reduce violence in the family. A 10-item bibliography