10.10. The Structure of the Juvenile Justice System
10.10. The Structure of the Juvenile Justice System
Alison S. Burke
The juvenile justice process involves nine major decision points: (1) arrest, (2) referral to court, (3) diversion, (4) secure detention, (5) judicial waiver to adult criminal court, (6) case petitioning, (7) delinquency finding/adjudication, (8) probation, and (9) residential placement, including confinement in a secure correctional facility (see Juvenile Justice Process flow chart). [1]
The majority of cases are first referred to the juvenile justice system through contact with police. Probation officers, school officials, or parents usually refer to the remaining cases. The most common offenses referred to court are property offenses (roughly 92%), followed by person offenses (89.5%), drugs (88.2%), and general delinquency charges (81.6%). Other referrals come from schools, families, social workers, or probation officers.
At the intake stage, probation officers or attorneys determine whether or not the case needs the attention of the juvenile court or if it can be handled informally, such as diversion to probation or a drug treatment program. If the case progresses to court, the authorities need to determine if the youth can be released to a parent/guardian or if the youth needs to be held in a secure detention center. When determining this, the court needs to assess the risk the youth poses to society and if the youth poses a flight risk. In some cases, the parent cannot be located or, if located, refuses to take custody of the youth. In these cases, the juvenile is remanded to custody. The decision to detain or release the juvenile will be made by the judge at a detention hearing.
If the case is handled in court, the county attorney needs to file a petition. When the youth has a formal hearing, it is called an adjudication rather than a trial in adult court. The adjudication of youth as delinquent can result in either dismissal of the charges or confinement at a secure institution. In most juvenile cases, the least restrictive option is usually sought, so the youth is usually put on probation or some sort of community treatment. Formal processing is less common than informal processing involving diversion or community-based programming.
Working With Youth
When I graduated from college with a BA in psychology, I applied for a job working with the Division of Youth Corrections in Denver, CO. I worked in a Residential Treatment Facility (RTC), which used behavior modification techniques, assigned case workers to each youth and their families, and attempted to help the kids learn problem-solving skills and accountability. Youths were confined for a variety of reasons, from committing gang-affiliated drive-by shootings to youth who were designated dependent youth through social services and having nowhere else to go. We had high-risk kids, low-risk kids, conduct disorder, and mental health kids all together in the same unit. Having a mix of all these different kids is not a great