| What are Juvenile Delinquency Programs? |
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There are several private and state-funded initiatives that address issues of juvenile delinquency. The effectiveness of these programs, however, have always been under scrutiny by behavioral analysts and experts. Here are a few examples of juvenile delinquency programs: Juvenile Awareness Programs - There are programs that aim to educate teens and make them aware of the consequences of their actions by organizing trips to prison. The idea is to scare teens by giving them a glimpse of prison life. It should act as a deterrent to bad behavior. However, studies show that it often does more harm than good. There's the risk of traumatising teens or that teens will romanticize and idealize toughing it out in a prison cell. It doesn't truly address the issue of why teens become juvenile delinquents in the first place. Boot Camps - Boot camps use military-style daily routines and physical training in order to achieve behavior modification. The main issue with boot camps is that they use negative discipline in order to somehow break a young person's spirit and affect behavior modification. The drills and activities in military-style boot camps are often without therapeutic value, and only succeed temporarily, just enough for juvenile delinquents to be able to survive and get out of boot camp. Even though some teens are sufficiently deterred from making bad choices, the recidivism rate for juvenile delinquents sent to boot camps is still high. Family Therapy - In these kinds of programs, the teen as well as family members go through therapy together in order to learn how the family can help inspire change through positive motivation. Family members are taught how to positively communicate with each other as opposed to using negative communication and interaction patterns. Families are also taught how to approach day-to-day situations and how they can help the teen respond properly to daily social interactions. Family therapy has proven to be more effective and a lot less expensive than boot camps and scare tactics. Therapeutic Boarding Schools - Similar to Family therapy, a juvenile delinquent is instead sent to boarding school where he/she can continue studying but at the same time also receive therapy. Through the different stages of therapy, the family is also involved and taught how to deal with the situation as well as help the teen become a better individual through positive reinforcement and motivation. Most therapeutic boarding schools also offer aftercare support or therapy sessions after the teen leaves boarding school in order to make the transition back to the community easier. The less successful programs which result to a higher recidivism rate are not usually effective because they deal with the symptoms rather than dig deeper and find the reason why these teens are acting out. Finding the root of the issue takes time, resources, and a lot of effort, but it's the best way to help a struggling teen out.
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