East Chicago Family Center

2 Pages 543 Words

During class time on Monday we visited the East Chicago Family Center. I believe that this site visit was beneficial because we got to see first hand what juvenile community corrections is like. We also got to see some of the activities that the juveniles do in these centers and how they interact with each other and their supervisors.
At the East Chicago Family Center we got to see what these juveniles do when they are at the center. The juveniles were in a classroom setting answering questions and doing activities. Many of the juveniles seemed to be annoyed with some of the activities. Many of the juveniles seemed like they were there only because they had to be and were only doing the activities that they were told to do so they wouldn’t get in trouble. However, some of the juveniles seemed as if they were interested in the activities and seemed like they wanted to be there. These juveniles were participating in the activities, answering questions and seemed to talk more about their situations and why they were there. These juveniles explained what happened in their lives that caused them to commit crimes and what they were going to do to change this behavior. The most common answer from the juveniles on why they got in trouble was because they did not get along with their parents or siblings and they wanted to get out of the house. Most of the juveniles were in the program because of a violation of probation. When asked why they violated most explained that they ran away from home because of a parent.
I also observed the supervisors, there were two men who were talking to the juveniles and telling them what they were going to do that day. The men acted as teachers, both men walked around the room and talked to the juveniles, keeping conversations with them and asking them questions. The main point of their discussion seemed to be how the juveniles could change their lives and make the proper choices needed to keep them out of...