NCJ Number
168707
Date Published
1993
Length
0 pages
Annotation
This video briefly profiles a number of programs throughout the Nation that are designed to divert juveniles from gang life and delinquent behavior.
Abstract
The format for describing the programs consists of scenes of the programs in action, along with comments by program participants and program leaders. In Baytown, Tex., a gang member who was shot and paralyzed from the waist down visits school classrooms to talk about the dangers of gang life and warn kids not to join gangs. In Kissimmee, Fla., a Teen Court uses teens as court personnel to judge and sentence fellow teens who have committed petty delinquent acts. The Southwest Key Program in Phoenix, Ariz., provides education courses and behavioral management courses in a day center, along with counseling and services for parents. In Dallas, Tex., students suspended for school rule infractions participate in an alternative school that involves more intensive instruction and supervision than a regular school. Police in Mesquite, Tex., have developed a demonstration "slam-dunk" program to entertain students at their schools, followed by police instruction about the dangers of gangs and drug use. In La Habra, Calif., a teen's mother opens her home to neighborhood kids after school to provide tutoring in math, computers, and other subjects, along with social activities. Peer mediation in a school in New Haven, Conn., helps students resolve conflicts rationally with the help of mediation by fellow students; and in Washington, D.C., the Garrison Elementary School holds "Morning Meetings" before classes begin to teach social skills and conflict-resolution skills. The video concludes with a checklist of steps to help kids avoid delinquent behavior.