How Long Should Juveniles Remain In Institutions?

3 Pages 730 Words

“How long should juveniles remain in institutions?”


If, after a disposition hearing, the juvenile court judge finds that the community is inadequate to deal with the special needs of a delinquent youth, he or she may then be referred to the state department of youth services for confinement in a state run treatment center. Also there are privately run treatment programs that specialize in dealing with particular problems, such as substance abuse. These institutions are either secure or non-secure facilities. They consist of detention centers, shelters, training schools, wilderness camps, boot camps, group homes and halfway houses.
The goal of these programs is rehabilitation. As stated in Article 14 of the “International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,” this placement will take into consideration their age and promote their rehabilitation. Their stay in these institutions is supposed to help them re-enter the community and become productive members of society. It is often times very difficult to determine when a youth is rehabilitated and ready to be released. Sometimes it is a gamble. What are the chances that he/she is going to re-offend? There has to be a system in place to determine as best we can the chances that this offender has been helped and will not return to criminal activities once back into the community.
While in these institutions, juveniles have certain rights that must not be violated. Just as the rights adult inmates have in prisons, youth’s are entitled to these same rights. In “Convention on the Rights of the Child,” in Article 37, part (b), it states that, “no child shall be deprived of his or her liberty unlawfully or arbitrarily. The arrest detention or imprisonment of a child shall be in conformity with the law and shall be used only as a measure of last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time.” Most all of the institutions for juveniles have tre...