Essay on Reforming the American Juvenile System: Economic, Social, and Racial Discrepancies

Introduction

In the recent past, the public support for the establishment of a unique juvenile system has raised drastically. Therefore, the current drive to reform the American juvenile system focuses on economic, social, and racial discrepancies among the imprisoned youth population. The "get-tough" legal stance has played a fundamental role in encouraging the implementation of harsh school guidelines that promote a detrimental cycle. As a result, the application of zero-tolerance policies has increased the population of youths being incarcerated, especially for minor violations. Youths with cognitive disabilities, from minority groups, or low-income backgrounds are over-represented in the American juvenile system due to the disproportionate zero-tolerance rules. The disparate policies have created the school-to-prison pipeline phenomena, which has led to more learners dropping out before being integrated into the juvenile justice system. The integration of positive youth development, restorative justice, and youth courts will assist the juvenile systems in mitigating contentious issues such as trauma, substance abuse, solitary confinement, or court fees.

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Problems and Consequences

Trauma-Informed Courts

Judges understand that when youths are summoned to courts, they experience different levels of trauma as they enter the courtrooms. Therefore, magistrates and judges need to foster a conducive environment that can assist in relieving the trauma that teenagers experience. In some courts, they are shackled and handcuffed, regularly increasing their trauma. The police and judges handling the culprits should remember that despite the nature of the criminal case, the offenders are children who are between the age group of ten to sixteen years old (Craig, 2018). Hence, they should have an in-depth understanding of the trauma the perpetrator is experiencing and formulate better strategies to help relieve it. Some of the offenders have witness tragic domestic violence incidences that have aggravated the depression that has led to them murdering or shooting their peers. Therefore, the juvenile justice system needs to enlighten adjudicators and their subordinates on the ideal approach to relieve such trauma levels and initiate a cordial interaction with the offenders.

Opioid Crisis and its Effect on Youths

In the post-millennial era, the number of teenagers who are indulging in drug and substance abuse has increased gradually. The proliferation of the opioid crisis in American society replicates the crack crisis that the U.S.A experienced during the 1980s. Many juvenile courts have to serve as avenues that mitigate the increase in teenagers using heroin derivatives. Most of the victims abusing drugs are juveniles who have social, economic, or psychological issues due to their background. Walters (2017) claimed that roughly 50% of generation Z teenagers live with single parents who are likely to die in their mid-life stage, leaving them orphaned and homeless. Hence, foster homes cannot cater to the gradual increase in homeless children. The shortage of foster centres has caused an increment in the population of children depending on opioids or heroin. A majority of the youth imprisoned are between the age group of fourteen to seventeen years since they were found with Fentanyl, meth, or cocaine in their system. The legalization of marijuana in some states might proliferate drug abuse convictions, given that most of the youths abusing heroin or cocaine had previously used marijuana. The legal system needs to explain the drug crisis and foster care issues to facilitate the establishment of short and long-term programs that will reduce the incarceration rates among youths.

Juvenile Bails, Fines, and Court Fees

The children should not be liable for the payment of court fees or bails since they are unemployed and lack resources to enable them to pay for the fines or restitution charges. County auditors or county commissioners have always requested that children offenders pay fines when they damage property. Such policies have obliged judges to order culprits to pay restitution due to infringement or destruction of property. The federal and state government should issue grants to some of the victims to compensate for their crimes. It is illogical to impose fines on children who are destitute or whose parents are incarcerated (Payne & Welch, 2017). The legislators might blame judges for imposing such penalties, but in reality, it is a polemical issue that should be addressed. The juvenile system should outline the different circumstances under which the children's guardians should pay the court fees, fines, or restitution that teenagers are being compelled to pay.

Solitary Confinement

The juvenile incarceration centers should refrain from detaining their inmates in solitary confinement. Solitary confinement is traumatizing and abusive to teenagers. It is a contentious concern that no child should be secluded during their sentence. According to Payne and Welch (2017), if a child misbehaves or compromises the welfare of their peers, they should be secluded for at most two hours before they are redirected for psychological assistance. The juvenile system should offer mental health assessment services rather than confine the children in solitude cells.

The Indian Child Welfare Act and State Court Collaboration

The juvenile system should work closely with the National American Indian Court Judges Association. The state judges and tribal judges should cooperate to ensure that the Indian Child Welfare Act has been applied to uphold historic ethnics of the Native Americans as a form of counselling and justice to the juveniles (Lopez & Nuno, 2016). The approach will assist the judges in having an insight into the tribal court protection and the Native American customs on a child who has been abused or orphaned. In the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, adjudicators should contact their relatives to show respect for their tribal customs and general laws while maintaining the child's integrity when helping juvenile offenders.

Reforms

Positive Youth Development

The juvenile justice system should incorporate positive youth development that relies on schools, government agencies, and communities to offer opportunities for teenagers to enhance their interests and skills. The juvenile system should provide particular services that cater to substance abuse and mental health challenges; however, most of the teenagers might not qualify for the projected interventions and programs. Craig (2018) urged that the incorporation of affirmative youth empowerment programs into the juvenile system will benefit teenagers charged with trivial offences and non-violent offences. The implementation of positive youth development initiatives relies on progressive frameworks that improve the social environment and inspires youths to endorse pro-social norms. Social control and social learning theories will facilitate the integration of positive youth development programs. The initiative seeks to equip youths with useful skills that will encourage them to exploit their abilities rather than indulge in crime.

Restorative Justice

Restorative justice should provide an approach that ensures offenders and victims are involved in collective societal issues rather than punishing the delinquent. Offenders and victims both have a critical role in the restorative justice process that encourages convicts to be liable for their deeds. The approach intends to give offenders the chance to alter their detrimental effects by providing them with an opportunity to prevent future crimes. Restorative justice promotes programs that encourage interaction between the offender and victim to cultivate high rates of accountability among offenders and satisfaction among victims (Payne & Welch, 2017). It should be applied to schools that experience high crime rates. The programs should enlighten the children on the significance of shunning their violent actions before they are siphoned into the juvenile system. Therefore, restorative justice encourages amicable interaction and accountability that cultivate mutual empathy for an offender.

Youth Courts

Youth courts exemplify a legal system that has a youth jury who convict their peers for their minor offences. The main objective of the youth courts is to foster accountability among teenagers and educate them about judicial systems to encourage them to be active problem-solvers in society. Besides, they play a fundamental role in administering restorative and fair sentences to the victims and offenders (Lopez & Nuno, 2016). The youth courts should be regulated by non-governmental organizations, law enforcers, juvenile probation agencies or juvenile courts. They should function under four main models: Youth Tribunal Models, Peer Jury, Youth Judge, and Youth Judge. The formation of national policies for youth court will enable them to operate based on the restorative justice framework rather than local jurisdictions.

The current drive to reform the American juvenile system emphasizes economic, social, and racial inconsistencies among the incarcerated youths. Youths with cognitive disabilities, from minority groups, or low-income backgrounds are over-represented in the American juvenile system due to the disproportionate zero-tolerance rules. The incorporation of positive youth development, restorative justice, and youth courts will assist the juvenile systems in alleviating juvenile justice issues such as trauma, substance abuse, solitary confinement, or court bails. Therefore, the legal system should focus on the drug crisis and foster care issues to enable the establishment of short and long-term programs that will reduce the incarceration rates among youths. It should outline the different circumstances under which the youths' guardians should pay the court fees, fines, or restitution that children are being compelled to pay. The juvenile system should provide mental healthcare services rather than seclude the children in solitude confinement.

References

Craig, J. (2018). The potential mediating impact of future orientation on the ACE-Crime relationship. Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice, 17(2), 111-128. doi: 10.1177/1541204018756470

Lopez, V., & Nuno, L. (2016). Latina and African-American girls in the juvenile justice system: needs, problems, and solutions. Sociology Compass, 10(1), 24-37. doi: 10.1111/soc4.12338

Payne, A., & Welch, K. (2017). The effect of school conditions on the use of restorative justice in schools. Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice, 16(2), 224-240. doi: 10.1177/1541204016681414

Walters, G. (2017). Sibling delinquency as a risk factor for future offending. Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice, 16(4), 343-357. doi: 10.1177/1541204017713255