Identify the major problems facing juvenile corrections at the end of the 20th century. Which of these problems continue today?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Juveniles have a variety of legal rights, but they need advocates to see that these rights are acknowledged, and advocacy is lacking for many. They have a right to be in a sanitary environment and to be protected from other violent juveniles and abusive staff (Beck, Cantor, Hartge, & Smith, 2013; Beck, Guerino, & Harrison, 2010). Juveniles also may not be held in excessive isolation or under unreasonable restraints, but most institutions permit the use of isolation and restraints when needed (Snyder &Sickmund, 1995). Juveniles must receive adequate medical care, mental health care, and education, and they must have access to legal counsel, family communication, recreation, exercise, and programming (del Carmen, Parker, &Reddington, 1998; Puritz&Scali, 1998). Despite these rights, reviews of conditions of confinement in detention centers, training schools, camps, ranches, farms, and other facilities for juveniles nationwide have indicated substantial and widespread problems in living space, health care, security, solitary confinement, and control of suicidal behavior (American Civil Liberties Union, 2014; Parent et al., 1994).