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To assure that the adjudication and disposition of a child alleged or found to have committed a violation of Florida law be exercised with appropriate discretion and in keeping with the seriousness of the offense and the need for treatment services, and that all findings made under this chapter be based upon facts presented at a hearing that meets the constitutional standards of fundamental fairness and due process. It is therefore the purpose of the Legislature to provide authority for the state to contract with community substance abuse treatment providers for the development and operation of specialized support and overlay services for the delinquency system, which will be fully implemented and utilized as resources permit. In addition, it is the policy of the state to: The Legislature finds that detention should be used only when less restrictive interim placement alternatives prior to adjudication and disposition are not appropriate.

Juvenile Life Without Parole: An Overview | The Sentencing Project

Downloads Juvenile Justice in the U. Facts for Policymakers Authors: July Download PDF Print Email Recent research shows that the human brain continues to develop throughout adolescence, with the pre-frontal cortex — the section of the brain responsible for executive function and complex reasoning — not fully developing until the mid-twenties.

For example, it is developmentally normative for adolescents to take greater risks and show greater susceptibility to peer influences than adults.

Beyond developmental influences, additional risk factors associated with youth ending up in the juvenile justice system are cognitive deficits, low school involvement, living in poverty, or being runaway or homeless. Of these two million, about 95 percent had not been accused of violent crimes, such as murder, rape, or aggravated assault.

These large residential facilities are ineffective at providing the services and rehabilitation these youth need, and this lack of capacity contributes to high recidivism rates rearrest within one year of release. Reliance on these residential placement facilities is an inefficient use of taxpayer money, not only with regard to the funds needed to keep youth in these facilities, but also the future lower wages and lost productivity that often follows for these youth.

Proper treatment and rehabilitative services can help many youth currently in the juvenile system become healthy and productive members of society. Type of Crime Figure 1: Proportion of juvenile arrest rates by category of crime Between andchanges in juvenile arrest rates varied by type of crime.

Arrest rates decreased 24 percent for public drunkenness, 27 percent for driving under the influence, and eight percent for vandalism.

For property crimes, the male juvenile arrest rate decreased 28 percent, while the female juvenile arrest rate increased one percent. The majority of juveniles arrested were African-American, while they constitute only 16 percent of the U. Treating Youth as Youth In most scenarios, once a juvenile has been accused of a crime, he or she appears in juvenile court and the case is heard by a judge who decides upon a sentence.

From here, most juveniles receive some form of punishment, such as probation or community service. Often times, the sentence might call for placement in a traditional juvenile residential placement facility.

For those who are charged with serious crimes, including murder, assault, and robbery, many states have systems in place that allow the transfer from juvenile court to adult court. Below are some of the methods states use to adjudicate juveniles as adults.

Detention Services

Gives judges the discretion to determine whether a juvenile offender should be tried in adult criminal court. Allows prosecutors the discretion to determine whether a juvenile offender should be tried in adult criminal court, without any hearing or set standard.

Statutory waiver or automatic transfer: Allows for juveniles to be sent automatically to adult criminal court based solely on the category of crime they are charged with.

Requires juvenile offenders who were previously in adult criminal court to be transferred automatically for any future crime. Transfers of youth from juvenile court to adult criminal court are not exclusively reserved for the most violent juvenile offenders.

Various studies from New York, Pennsylvania, and Florida have found that the recidivism rate for juveniles who served in adult prisons is significantly higher than those who remained in the juvenile system. Mental Health Needs In a survey, juvenile offenders reported symptoms of mental health illness and trauma, regardless of age, race, or gender.

A majority of juvenile offenders in residential facilities had at least one mental illness. Many of these facilities lack any early identification system to screen and identify those with mental health needs.

The National Center on Education, Disability and Juvenile Justice

A lack of early identification or screening can result in youth going without needed care. Fifty-three percent of youth are incarcerated in facilities that do not provide mental health evaluations for all. Cost of large placement facility vs. Common communitybased alternatives include centers that youth offenders attend in the community each evening, home detention, short-term shelter care, and small community homes.

Community-based programs and services can produce positive social outcomes, such as a decreased dependence on alcohol and illegal substances, especially in the first six months after release from a facility.

Most community-based centers focus on evidence-based therapeutic services, especially multi-systemic therapy. In Missouri, most communitybased facilities are designed for 10 to 30 youths with a strong focus on therapeutic intervention.

Currently, youth adjudicated as adults are often sent to adult prisons, where they are unlikely to receive appropriate rehabilitative services. Transfers often increase the likelihood of recidivism and poor life outcomes.

Keeping them out of traditional residential placement facilities entirely, whenever appropriate, can prevent youth offenders from becoming adult offenders. Physicians for Human Rights.

A critical factor in juvenile justice reform. Moving beyond what we know:It replaced the Indian juvenile delinquency law, Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, , and allows for juveniles in conflict with Law in the age group of 16–18, involved in Heinous Offences, to be tried as adults.

(a) To increase public safety by reducing juvenile delinquency through effective prevention, intervention, and treatment services that strengthen and reform the lives of children. The upper age of juvenile court jurisdiction over an offense committed by a minor has traditionally been through age 17 (up to age 18) in most states.

Common law can set the lower age at seven years old, but many states specify the lower age of delinquency in statute. Number and Characteristics of Students with Disabilities in Correctional Facilities. Researchers generally agree that students with disabilities are overrepresented in the juvenile justice system.

Chapter JUVENILE COURT. Liberal interpretation and construction. The sections in Chapter of the Revised Code, with the exception of those sections providing for the criminal prosecution of adults, shall be liberally interpreted and construed .

To view data, click on the chart. Two studies come closest to providing "national" recidivism rates for the United States. One tracked , State prisoners released from prison in 11 States in