Good Example Of Essay On Juvenile Detention Alternative Initiative

Introduction

Juvenile crime is a recurrent problem in South Dakota and across all other states in the country. The rate of juvenile crime has been gradually but steadily increasing in the United States. The most frequently applied solution to juvenile offenses is imprisonment that entails incarcerating juvenile offenders in juvenile detention centers for a particular period corresponding to their crime. However, juvenile detention has come under scrutiny and criticism for its inefficiency in rehabilitating young delinquents and the ill-treatment that happens in detention facilities. Examination of alternative methods of handling juvenile reprobates has yielded higher efficiency in reducing criminal tendencies among young offenders. The Juvenile Detention Alternative Initiative (JDAI) has been fronted to replace juvenile detention centers as a method of assimilating young lawbreakers. JDAI has been implemented in South Dakota as an alternative to juvenile detention.
JDAI substitutes incarceration with other correctional procedures that are more effective than detention such as home detention, electronic monitoring, shelter care, and evening attendance classes. JDAI has been proven to enable rehabilitation and reduces the risk of recidivism. Implementation of JDAI in Rapid City and Sioux Falls has been successful in reducing the rates of juvenile crimes and rehabilitating young offenders. Consequently, JDAI has been picked up by the court system of South Dakota and is undergoing utilization all over the state. Despite JDAI’s success rate, the program has not received enough attention in the state and even lesser knowledge exists elsewhere in the world. The paper will examine the various programs that can be employed to increase awareness about JDAI.
The primary objective of the program management process regarding JDAI is to increase awareness of the program in South Dakota and all over the world. The aim is to encourage its use by judicial systems when dealing with juvenile offenders and to increase public knowledge regarding the advantages of the program. Some areas within South Dakota have successfully implemented JDAI but most areas still utilize detention as the only way of correcting minor delinquents. The higher effectiveness of JDAI in reducing juvenile crime and rehabilitating offenders as compared to detention indicates that the program should be implemented across the world. An extensive research detailing the areas that have inadequate knowledge about the JDAI program has to be done. Data collection will be done through interviews, questionnaires, and observational studies. The data will be analyzed to reveal the levels of information regarding JDAI in the public domain. Areas with the least knowledge about alternative methods to incarceration take higher priority when disseminating information about the JDAI program (Kettner, Moroney and Martin, 2013).
The first approach to increasing information about JDAI is by using the mass media outlets. Billions of people all over the globe have ready access to one or more forms of media. In South Dakota and globally, the most popular means of accessing information include televisions, radios, and newspapers. In newspapers, JDAI experts will write columns regarding the advantages of the alternative program in juvenile rehabilitation over the traditional detention. The columns will be published weekly, and questions from readers regarding the programs will be answered with sufficient information. The papers that will carry the columns will be the papers that have the largest circulation in their distribution area. Print journalists will also be expected to highlight the successes of the programs in judicial systems that have implemented JDAI.
Television and radio stations will be crucial in enhancing awareness about JDAI due to the large population of viewers and listeners. Video documentaries about the alternative program and its efficiency will be created for television. The documentaries will be filled with information that juxtaposes the JDAI program against the detention program in order to show the levels of success achieved in reducing crime and changing juvenile lawbreakers. The documentaries will have interviews with juvenile delinquents who passed through the program and had a positive transformation after going through JDAI procedures. Radio station will hold debates and discussion regarding the most effective way of rehabilitating juvenile criminals. News reporters will also be expected to interview JDAI specialists in order to offer the public more information about the program. News stations will also report on the impact that JDAI programs have had on the rates of crime in areas that have enacted alternatives to juvenile detention.
The internet is an important avenue for increasing information about alternative programs to detention. A majority of people in the world have access to the internet through computers, tablets, and cellphones. Developing a website that can be accessed by web users will aid in increasing knowledge about JDAI in the public domain. The website will have articles that broadly examine alternative methods of rehabilitating juvenile offenders. Areas that have successfully implemented the alternative methods will be underscored in order for the public to appreciate the value of the program. Charts, tables and graphs that study the rates of juvenile crime before and after implementation of JDAI will be posted on the website. The existing websites and news pages that have information about alternative programs will be tied-in to the website to increase the scope of data available. Creating pages on social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook will raise awareness about JDAI especially among the youth. Documentaries on JDAI will be uploaded to YouTube and other video sharing sites with the video links also being posted on social media pages. Testimonies of juvenile offenders who were rehabilitated through JDAI programs will also be uploaded so as to increase the public confidence in alternatives to incarceration.
Another approach to increasing awareness about alternatives to juvenile detention is by encouraging judicial systems around the world to give JDAI trial runs. The JDAI trial runs will be implemented in different jurisdictions gauge the benefits of alternative methods of correction other than juvenile detention. Sample groups of juvenile delinquents will be subjected to alternative procedures of rehabilitation for a particular period. After rehabilitation, the behavior and attitude of the juvenile offenders will be analyzed and contrasted with the conduct of formerly incarcerated offenders. Juvenile crime rates in areas that have utilized alternative procedures of correction will also be evaluated. The higher success of JDAI programs as compared to detention will encourage more states to implement the program. The cost of implementing the JDAI program will be computed in order to determine its economic feasibility and to estimate the amount of money that the JDAI programs will need for operation. Constant monitoring and evaluation will be done in order to determine the aspects of the alternative initiative that need improvement (Kettner, Moroney and Martin, 2013).

Conclusion

Juvenile crime is a prevalent problem in the US and across the world. Juvenile detention has come under criticism for its inefficiency in rehabilitating young delinquents and the mistreatment of incarcerated minors. JDAI has been noted to reduce juvenile crime rate and achieving success in rehabilitating offenders. Therefore, the awareness regarding alternative methods of rehabilitating juvenile lawbreakers needs to be increased in South Dakota and across the world. Information about JDAI can be disseminated through newspapers with experts engaging readers on the effectiveness of the program. Television and radio stations air documentaries and news stories regarding the impact of JDAI programs in reducing crime. Creating a website and opening pages on social media will increase the amount of information about JDAI available to people globally. Judicial systems in various countries will be encouraged to implement JDAI by implementing trial runs and evaluating the result. Increasing information about JDAI programs will encourage their implementation and therefore, reduce juvenile crime rates.

Works Cited

Kettner, Peter M., Robert M. Moroney and Lawrence L. Martin. Designing and Managing Programs: An Effectiveness-Based Approach, Fourth Edition. Sage, 2013.