Policies and Procedures for a Youth-at-Risk Organization
According to the Encyclopedia of Juvenile Justice, the definition of an at-risk youth depends on who you ask. The Boys and Girls Town programs define these young people as "any youth who is in danger of placement outside the home." Most government agencies use risk and protective factors as criteria for designating a young person as at-risk.
Other People Are Reading
-
History
-
Young people have perpetually behaved in unacceptable ways. But it was not until the end of the 18th century that youths were seen as distinct from adults. Children were tried, convicted and sentenced as adults up until this time. Then industrialization and urbanization separated children from their farms and families and often left them unsupervised and unemployed. Today, most juvenile crimes occur while children are unsupervised, usually after school gets out.
Effective Policies Consider Risk and Protective Factors
-
Extensive research has been conducted on which factors place a youth at risk and what factors protect the youth from risk. Researchers have established areas in which these factors operate. These include the community, family, school and the individual/peer domains.
-
Community and Family Risk Factors
-
Community risk factors are a poor attachment to the neighborhood, moving frequently, high crime rate-neighborhoods, drug use as a social norm, and poverty. Family risk factors are poor family management, such as not monitoring behavior or rewarding the youth for success, abuse, having a parent incarcerated, family conflict and alcohol or drug abuse.
School and Individual Risk Factors
-
School risk factors are skipping school, failing grades, low expectations and little commitment to education. Individual and peer risk factors are rebellion, early drug use and the favorable attitude of peers toward antisocial behavior.
Protective Factors
-
Programs with policies that reduce risk factors and enhance protective factors have been found to be most effective. Protective factors include community involvement, school involvement, involvement in an organized religion, strong emotional ties to family members, rewards and recognition for success, and effective social skills such as conflict resolution, problem-solving, sociability and resilience, or the ability to recover from emotional upsets.
-
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Je' Czaja
