A Home Remedy for Juvenile Offenders

[flashl]

When Jacob Rivera, 15, was resentenced in May on an assault conviction, he felt he had received a “blessing.”

Only months earlier he had been sentenced to a year in state custody, and he had already spent weeks bouncing between a juvenile detention center in the Bronx and a residential treatment campus upstate. Two of his older siblings had spent time in those facilities and, he said, had “come out a mess.” He could see his future.

But the court gave him a second chance because his case had not been properly reviewed for inclusion in a new alternative sentencing program, which the city started in February 2007. The program, called the Juvenile Justice Initiative, sends medium-risk offenders back to their families and provides intensive therapy.

The city says that in just a year, it has seen significant success for the juveniles enrolled, as well as cost savings from the reduced use of residential treatment centers.

Under the program, Jacob went back home on probation, and he and his family were assigned a counselor, Eddy Lee, who visited the two-bedroom Bronx apartment that the teenager shares with his mother, Michelle Rivera, her husband, a younger brother and other relatives.
...

By the standards of juvenile justice, Jacob is a resounding success. And he is not alone. The city said that in the year since the program began, fewer than 35 percent of the 275 youths who have been through it have been rearrested or violated probation.

State studies found that more than 80 percent of male juvenile offenders who had served time in correctional facilities were rearrested within three years of their release, usually on more serious charges.

NY Times

[cornermouse]

1. Problem with the logic used in this article.

1. Before committing his own crime, two older sibling had preceded him in spending time for crime in some sort of state custody. To me, that's an indication of something seriously wrong in the home he was raised in, yet the state is returning him to it.

2. The article states that more than 80% of offenders who served time in correctional facilities were rearrested within 3 years as opposed to fewer than 35% over the first year (that's a 1 year span, not a 3 year span). Not that this is necessarily accurate either, but if you figure 35% over 3 years you get a 90% return rate. I don't call that a success.

[flashl]

2. Reading further in the article ..

Under the program, Jacob went back home on probation, and he and his family were assigned a counselor, Eddy Lee, who visited the two-bedroom Bronx apartment that the teenager shares with his mother, Michelle Rivera, her husband, a younger brother and other relatives.

Within weeks, the situation improved as Mr. Lee provided intensive counseling to the family, with the aim of defusing what had become an increasingly angry relationship between Jacob and his mother. Instead of screaming at Jacob when he refused to comply with her curfew, Ms. Rivera called Mr. Lee. Over time, Mr. Lee persuaded her to agree to be less strict if her son would agree to be more forthcoming about his whereabouts, and more responsible.

Soon Jacob started meeting curfew and began passing his court-ordered drug tests and staying in school. If he continues on this course, he will end his probation in July, Mr. Lee said.

To help, on a few occasions, when communications between parent and child are strained, usually a son, I have been the 'counselor' (sounding board) for parent and child. It helped to diffuse toxic relationships created where the parent is simply desperate and want to lock the child in the basement to protect them from harm.

Studies have repeatedly shown that the current juvenile justice system is more likely to return 'homegrown terrorist' back to society because they only serve to punish. There are no efforts to fund successful prevention and aftercare programs but we seek positive results.

Sometimes, all it takes is a third party to help bridge communications. The court and juvenile justice system seem to be on the right path by going into the home and offering help.