Paradox of Juvenile Justice and Poverty: Opportunities and Limitations to Reducing Poverty Through Juvenile Justice System Reform

• NCJ Number: 230453
• Journal: Georgetown Journal on Poverty Law & Policy Volume: 16 Dated: 2009 Pages: 471-482
• Author(s): Robert G. Schwartz
• Date Published: 2009
• Length: 12 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Symposium Issue 2009 for additional articles see NCJ-230452, and NCJ-230454-59.

Annotation

This article identifies issues of poverty as central in impeding the positive development of many youth, and it proposes that the juvenile justice system tailor its policies to benefit high-risk youth adversely impacted by poverty.

Abstract

Issues of poverty are involved when youth are referred to the juvenile justice system, when youth are in the system, and when they reenter communities after out-of-home placements. In order to have a positive impact on such youth, every stage of case management requires developmental approaches that involve all sectors of the community, engage parents, and address broader neighborhood issues. For youth who are likely to go to trial, there should be diversion from pretrial juvenile detention, because detention is a significantly disruptive, traumatic event in a youth's life. By using risk assessment instruments and detention alternatives, unnecessary detention of youth can be avoided without endangering the community. Because many youth will neither be diverted from the system, from detention, or from out-of-home placement after sentencing, attention has turned in recent years to reentry. Supervision and support services for youth after leaving such placements will have a significant impact on their life chances for the future. This article cites Federal and State funding opportunities that can make communitywide inroads against poverty, thus improving the community context in which delinquent youth are supervised or to which they return from custody. If at all possible, youths' behaviors that threaten community safety should be addressed in their neighborhoods with the support of their families, schools, and community resources. Such an approach emphasizes competency development, which is the process by which juvenile offenders acquire the knowledge and skills that make it possible for them to become productive, law-abiding community members who have the capacity to escape poverty and its adverse impact on their lives. 46 footnotes