New York Department of Juvenile Justice History
The New York Department of Juvenile Justice was created in 1979 as "a safe, secure and humane environment for its residents," according to the NYC Department of Juvenile Justice website. New York City then became one of the leaders in the juvenile justice field by providing programs to assist at-risk youth.
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History
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Juveniles involved in criminal behavior had previously been held in detention centers solely for the purpose of punishment. During the late 1970s, however, society's attitude toward delinquent juveniles began to change, and detention was now beginning to be seen as an opportunity to provide assistance to detainees so they could contribute something positive to society. New York City created its Department of Juvenile Justice on July 1, 1979. The city's only secure juvenile detention center, Spofford, and the Beach Avenue Group Home, a non-secure detention facility, were placed under the control of the newly developed DJJ.
Significance
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Since the DJJ's focus was on helping juvenile detainees become productive members of society, it started an aftercare program in 1983, which provided a case manager to assist former detainees with school, health, family and emotional needs. From this focus grew a program to help keep at-risk youth out of the juvenile justice system. The Reduce Children's Violence program was founded in 1993, and it includes anger management training, dispute mediation and conflict resolution training.
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Benefits
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Through these programs, as well as Project Confirm, which began in 1999, the DJJ is helping identify foster children in the system and keep low-level offenders from being detained unnecessarily. In the DJJ's long-term facilities, a behavior management program, ASPIRE, was developed to inspire young detainees to take responsibility for their own actions by recognizing their positive behavior patterns with increased privileges, and removing privileges when they display negative behaviors.
Parental Involvement
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In November 2008, the DJJ hosted a panel to discuss how to get parents involved in order to better respond to the needs of juveniles in the system and at-risk youth. The forum determined that bringing individuals and community organizations committed to helping these youths together on a regular basis was the key to continuing the success attained up to that point by the DJJ's programs.
Prevention
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Presently, the DJJ intends to develop a curriculum for detainees that will focus on skill-building and developing a mindset for success in both education and future careers. This plan will offer assistance to juveniles within the system as well as after their return to society. The chief goal of the DJJ is to prevent youths from returning to the system, and it has partnered with community organizations to provide workshops for detainees on various topics designed to achieve this goal.
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References
- Photo Credit new york image by Gerhard Führing from Fotolia.com
