What are aftercare programs? Discuss some of the problems associated with twenty-first-century juvenile justice in the United States.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Aftercare involves the provision of services to assist youths in successfully making the transition from juvenile institutions to life back in the community. The services are the same as those provided by other types of community-based programs and may include foster care, shelter or group home placement, home placement, or efforts to help youths live on their own. Parole, too, is one form of aftercare. Unfortunately, the quality of many aftercare programs is questionable, and in some cases, youths fail to receive any services after institutional release. Like probation supervision, parole supervision may involve very little contact between parole officers and parolees. Moreover, large caseloads carried by aftercare workers may prevent the provision of meaningful services.

In conclusion, twenty-first-century juvenile justice in the United States has several important problems to resolve. Many of the problems are the same ones that have plagued juvenile justice since the first specialized institutions for children were established in the early 1800s. The problems include:
1. Providing adequate due process protections to youths at all stages of the juvenile justice process.
2. Continuing to build on knowledge of effective correctional interventions and developing a range of effective and humane correctional responses, from diversion to institutional aftercare programs.
3. Eliminating the abusive treatment of youths placed in correctional programs.
4. Working out the appropriate balance between community-based and institutional correctional programs.
5. Conducting rigorous evaluations of juvenile justice agencies and programs.
6. Recognizing the limits of correctional responses in solving the juvenile crime problem.
7. Working out an appropriate balance between preventing and correcting delinquency.
8. Hiring and supporting a skilled, knowledgeable, and professional workforce that can adequately address existing problems and develop programs better able to address youth, family, and community problems.