Juvenile Law Commons^™

Set Up To Fail: Youth Probation Conditions As A Driver Of Incarceration, Jyoti Nanda

Lewis & Clark Law Review

Youth probation is the most common form of punishment for youth in the United States criminal legal system, with nearly a quarter of a million youth currently under supervision. Yet the role youth probation conditions play in the incarceration of youth has not been the focus of legal scholarship. Youth probation is a court-imposed intervention where young people remain at home under the supervision of a youth probation officer and are required to adhere to probation conditions, rules, and court-ordered conditions. The orders rely on standardized terms on youth probation condition forms. This is the first scholarly Article to excavate …

Community-Based Rehabilitation's Effectiveness In Reducing Singapore Juvenile Recidivism, Denzil Neo, June Hyuk Lee, Mervin Xin Hong Chew, Munisraj Sarfoji, Timothy Prakash

Introduction to Research Methods RSCH 202

Singapore's juvenile recidivism rate has climbed by around 5% since 2013, putting the country at risk of increased youth crime. With several mandatory rehabilitative programmes classified into two categories, Community-Based Rehabilitation (CBR) and Institutional-Based Rehabilitation (IBR), it is unclear whether the mandatory individual rehabilitative programmes for offenders were actually effective in achieving their corrective goals. This proposal would undertake a regression analysis to compare the effectiveness of CBR and IBR programmes utilizing secondary data gathered by the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) and primary data from a survey. The survey will provide previously unstudied insights into the offender's …

Maternity Rights: A Comparative View Of Mexico And The United States, Roberto Rosas

The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice

Women play a large role in the workplace and require additional protection during pregnancy, childbirth, and while raising children. This article compares how Mexico and the United States have approached the issue of maternity rights and benefits. First, Mexico provides eighty-four days of paid leave to mothers, while the United States provides unpaid leave for up to twelve weeks. Second, Mexico allows two thirty-minute breaks a day for breastfeeding, while the United States allows a reasonable amount of time per day to breastfeed. Third, Mexico provides childcare to most federal employees, while the United States provides daycares to a small …

Children Of The Government: Affording A Higher Education A Review Of The State Of Pennsylvania’S Recently Implemented Law That Grants Children Who “Age Out” Of The Foster Care Tuition And Fee Waivers At Every University In The State, Erin K. Cooper

Helms School of Government Undergraduate Law Review

No abstract provided.

Out Of Sight, Out Of Mind: Analyzing Inhumane Practices In Mississippi’S Correctional Institutions Due To Overcrowding, Understaffing, And Diminished Funding, Ariel A. Williams

Honors Theses

The purpose of this research is to examine the political, social, and economic factors which have led to inhumane conditions in Mississippi’s correctional facilities. Several methods were employed, including a comparison of the historical and current methods of funding, staffing, and rehabilitating prisoners based on literature reviews. State-sponsored reports from various departments and the legislature were analyzed to provide insight into budgetary restrictions and political will to allocate funds. Statistical surveys and data were reviewed to determine how overcrowding and understaffing negatively affect administrative capacity and prisoners’ mental and physical well-being. Ultimately, it may be concluded that Mississippi has high …

Child Welfare Service Worker's Perspective Of The Juvenile Justice System, Valorie Antone, Kathryn Whitehead, Alexander Comeau, Zoe Donvan

Thinking Matters Symposium

Prior literature indicates youth who have had adverse childhood events or are diagnosed with a mental illness are more likely to become involved in the juvenile justice system (Chappard & Maggard, 2020). While research has been performed to involve juvenile justice workers and juveniles that have been involved in the system, there has been little involvement by the child welfare workers who have followed the trajectory of the youth from the beginning of involvement. This study investigates the perceptions of child welfare workers regarding youth involvement in the criminal justice system, addressing a current gap in the literature. In terms …

Children Are Human, Kim Pearson

Texas A&M Law Review

There are great benefits to be had should the United States, one of the global leaders in economic strength and political power, ratify the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (“CRC”). The mystery of the United States’s ultimate reluctance to ratify the CRC, despite the nation’s central role in the drafting process, has been interrogated for years. Scholars and policy- makers have developed compelling narratives regarding obstacles to the United States’s ratification and implementation of the CRC. However well- reasoned the arguments for ratification are, there has been little progress in persuading the United States to ratify …

The Youth Reformation Program, Anna Gilboard

Criminology Student Work

No abstract provided.

The “Innocence Penalty”: Is It More Pronounced For Juveniles?, Nilam A. Sanghvi, Elizabeth A. Delosa

Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)

Despite the presumption of innocence, we know that individuals accused of crimes are punished for maintaining their innocence in ways both tangible and intangible as they make their way through our criminal justice system. For example, even if instructed not to, jurors may infer guilt from a defendant’s failure to testify; defendants who exercise their right to go to trial receive lengthier sentences if convicted than those who plead guilty; and, once convicted, defendants who maintain their innocence are often denied opportunities for parole or clemency. This article explores whether these “innocence penalties” are even greater for children who are …

Young, Black, And Wrongfully Charged: A Cumulative Disadvantage Framework, Emily Haney-Caron, Erika Fountain

Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)

The term wrongful conviction typically refers to the conviction or adjudication of individuals who are factually innocent. Decades of research has rightfully focused on uncovering contributing factors of convictions of factually innocent people to inform policy and practice. However, in this paper we expand our conceptualization of wrongful conviction. Specifically, we propose a redefinition that includes other miscarriages of justice: A wrongful conviction is a conviction or adjudication for someone who never should have been involved in the juvenile or criminal legal system in the first place. Although there are various miscarriages of justice that might appropriately be categorized under …

Pornography: Social, Emotional And Mental Implications Among Adolescents, William Kelly Canady

National Youth Advocacy & Resilience Conference

This presentation will explain the historical development of pornography. It will highlight four segments: 1- Porn’s impact on brain development of reward pathways, ultimately increasing the appetite for more porn. 2- Porn can be a false substitute for real intimacy, resulting in decreased sexual satisfaction with a real person and increased verbal and physical aggression. 3- Porn promotes sex trafficking, promotes multiple sex partners and reduced STD prevention. 4- A review of interventions available to assist clients in navigating a lifestyle away from pornography.

“Born Under My Heart”: Adoptive Parents’ Use Of Metaphors To Make Sense Of Their Past, Present, And Future, Lucas Hackenburg, Toni Morgan, Eve Brank

Center on Children, Families, and the Law: Faculty Publications

Metaphors provide the opportunity to make sense of our experiences and share them with others. The current research qualitatively examined interviews with adoptive parents who had adopted through intercountry or private adoptions. Throughout their interviews, each participant used at least one metaphor in describing their experiences of adopting and raising their child. Overarchingly, the metaphor of “Adoption is a journey” encapsulated parents’ experiences. To demonstrate the journey, parents used metaphors to describe the past, present, and future. Metaphors of the past focused on their child’s trauma and the origin of how the child came to join their family. Metaphors used …

No Path To Redemption: Evaluating Texas’S Practice Of Sentencing Kids To De Facto Life Without Parole In Adult Prison, Lindsey Linder, Justin Martinez

The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice

Abstract forthcoming.

Caregivers’ Expectations, Reflected Appraisals, And Arrests Among Adolescents Who Experienced Parental Incarceration, Cynthia J. Najdowski, Melissa Noel

Psychology Faculty Scholarship

This research sought to identify a potential process by which intergenerational crime occurs, focusing on the effect of parental incarceration on adolescents’ subsequent arrests. We drew from Matsueda’s work on reflected appraisals as an explanatory mechanism for this effect. Thus, the present research examined whether caregivers’ and adolescents’ expectations for adolescents’ future incarceration sequentially mediated the effect of parental incarceration on adolescents’ actual arrest outcomes. Propensity score matching was used to examine this effect in a sample of 1,735 15- to 16-year-olds using NLSY97 data. Parental incarceration was positively related to caregivers’ expectations of adolescents’ future arrest. Moreover, caregivers’ expectations …

Juveniles Tried As Adults:The Impact Of Youth Demographic Factors On Juror Perceptions, Denieka Ellis

Student Theses

Abstract: This study explored the impact of defendant age, race and stereotypic crime on verdicts and recommended sentencing of juveniles tried as adults. Previous research shows that jurors enter trial with negative preconceptions and biases of juveniles because they are being tried within an adult venue. These negative preconceptions have led jurors to recommend harsher sentencing for juveniles rather than adults with the same defendant characteristics and criminal history. Crime type and crime severity have also been shown to impact perceptions of juvenile defendants in adult court. However, research has not yet explored the potential impact that stereotypic crime—a crime …

Public-School Systems Are Criminalizing Our Young People: Giving Voice To The Marganilized, Carrie Stoltzfus

Graduate Theses & Dissertations

A phenomenological qualitative study using Critical Race Theory and counter-storytelling was completed to investigate what K-12 public schools should be doing to keep young people out of the school-to-prison pipeline (STPP). This study took place in a large city in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. Interviews were completed with former students of the researcher who were previously incarcerated, educational professionals, and justice system professionals. Additionally, observations of the court systems and document reviews were completed in order to triangulate findings. Themes emerged around factors that lead to incarceration and the preferred practices to support young people to avoid …

The Lived Experience Of African American Juvenile Parole And Probation Officers In The Pacific Northwest, Andre J. Lockett

CUP Ed.D. Dissertations

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore and better understand the lived experiences of African American juvenile parole and probation officers in the Pacific Northwest. I conducted semistructured interviews with four African American juvenile parole and probation officers using a transcendental phenomenological framework. This framework was further supported and guided by social identity theory, critical race theory, and person‒organization fit theory. Through detailed semistructured interviews, field notes, and artifacts; honest and thought-provoking insight was gathered about the experiences of African American juvenile parole and probation officers. Furthermore, interview data was coded and analyzed using ATLAS.ti (2020) and during …

Public Opinions Of Unmanned Aerial Technologies In 2014 To 2019: A Technical And Descriptive Report, Lisa M. Pytlikzillig, Janell C. Walther, Carrick Detweiler, Sebastian Elbaum, Adam Houston

Lisa PytlikZillig Publications

The primary purpose of this report is to provide a descriptive and technical summary of the results from similar surveys administered in fall 2014 (n = 576), 2015 (n = 301), 2016 (ns = 1946 and 2089), and 2018 (n = 1050) and summer 2019 (n = 1300). In order to explore a variety of factors that may impact public perceptions of unmanned aerial technologies (UATs), we conducted survey experiments over time. These experiments randomly varied the terminology (drone, aerial robot, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), unmanned aerial system (UAS)) used to describe the technology, the purposes of the technology (for …

Plugging The Pipeline: Prosecutors And Educators Collaborating To Eliminate The School To Prison Pipeline, Hunter Taylor, Gerry Lopez, Evelyn Essenwanger, Hunter Taylor

National Youth Advocacy & Resilience Conference

Ideal for law enforcement, educators, and all citizens working with youth at-risk, this unique presentation explains how prosecutors in one of the nation’s largest counties have engaged local school districts, community based organizations, and even ex-gang members to create an award winning Crime Prevention Unit designed to keep youth in the classroom and out of the criminal justice system.

Evaluating The Facilitating Attuned Interactions (Fan) Approach: Vicarious Trauma, Professional Burnout, And Reflective Practice, Katherine Hazen, Matthew W. Carlson, Holly Hatton-Bowers, Melanie Fessinger, Jennie Cole-Mossman, Jamie Bahm, Kelli Hauptman J.D., Eve Brank, Linda Gilkerson

Center on Children, Families, and the Law: Faculty Publications

Background: This evaluation examined the use of the Facilitated Attuned Interaction (FAN) approach to reflective practice among child welfare and early childhood professionals working with vulnerable children and families.

Objective: The aims of the current evaluation were to test (a) the role of vicarious trauma in predicting professional burnout, (b) the effect of reflective practice quality in decreasing professional burnout, and (c) the ability of reflective practice quality to lessen the relationship between vicarious trauma and professional burnout.

Participants and Setting: The sample included sixty-three professionals across diverse professions including child welfare social workers, early childhood educators, and child welfare …

Mandatory, Fast, And Fair: Case Outcomes And Procedural Justice In A Family Drug Court, Melanie Fessinger, Katherine Hazen, Jamie Bahm, Jennie Cole-Mossman, Roger Heideman, Eve Brank

Center on Children, Families, and the Law: Faculty Publications

Objectives: Problem-solving courts are traditionally voluntary in nature to promote procedural justice and to advance therapeutic jurisprudence. The Family Treatment Drug Court (FTDC) in Lancaster County, Nebraska, is a mandatory dependency court for families with allegations of child abuse or neglect related to substance use. We conducted a program evaluation examining parents’ case outcomes and perceptions of procedural justice to examine whether a mandatory problem-solving court could replicate the positive outcomes of problem-solving courts. Methods: We employed a quasi-experimental design that compared FTDC parents to traditional dependency court parents (control parents). We examined court records to gather court orders, compliance …

A Class Action Lawsuit For The Right To A Minimum Education In Detroit, Carter G. Phillips

Northwestern Journal of Law & Social Policy

No abstract provided.

Addressing The High School Sexual Assault Epidemic: Preventive And Responsive Solutions, Carolyn Haney

Indiana Journal of Law and Social Equality

No abstract provided.

Families Belong Together: The Path To Family Sanctity In Public Housing, Mckayla Stokes

Northwestern Journal of Law & Social Policy

In its 2015 landmark civil rights decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, the Supreme Court finally held that the Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses of the United States Constitution guarantee same-sex couples’ marital equality. The Court’s unprecedented declaration that the right to marry is a fundamental right under the Due Process Clause strengthened married couples’ right to privacy because it subjects government actions infringing on marital unions to heightened scrutiny. The Supreme Court has the option to minimize the impact of Obergefell by interpreting the right to marriage very narrowly—as only encompassing the right to enter into a state-recognized union …

The Pursuit Of Comprehensive Education Funding Reform Via Litigation, Lisa Scruggs

Northwestern Journal of Law & Social Policy

No abstract provided.

Panel Discussion: The Right To Education: With Liberty, Justice, And Education For All?

Northwestern Journal of Law & Social Policy

No abstract provided.

Awareness Of Sex Offender Registration Policies And Self-Reported Sexual Offending In A Community Sample Of Adolescents, Cynthia J. Najdowski, Hayley M. D. Cleary

Psychology Faculty Scholarship

Sex offender registration laws are widely implemented, increasingly restrictive, and intended to serve both specific and general deterrent functions. Most states have some form of policy mechanism to place adolescents on sex offender registries, yet it remains unclear whether adolescents possess the requisite policy awareness to be deterred from sexual offending. This study examined awareness of sex offender registration as a potential sanction and its cross-sectional association with engagement in several registrable sexual behaviors (sexting, indecent exposure, sexual solicitation, and forcible touching) in a community sample of 144 adolescents. Results revealed that many adolescents were unaware that these behaviors could …

Children Of A Lesser God: Reconceptualizing Race In Immigration Law, Sarah L. Hamilton-Jiang

Northwestern Journal of Law & Social Policy

The increased public exposure to the experiences of Latinx unaccompanied children seeking entry at the United States southern border has revealed the lived reality of the nation’s pernicious immigration laws. The harrowing experiences of unaccompanied children are amplified by their interaction with a legal system plagued by a legacy of systemic racism and sustained racial caste. While immigration law currently affords minimal legal protections for these children, in application, the law continues to fall egregiously short of providing for the safety of unaccompanied children. Though critics have long attested to the legal system’s neglect of unaccompanied children, subsequent legal analysis …

Mental Health Jail Diversion: A Therapeutic Approach To Offending In Twenty-First Century America, Ryan J. Parent

Criminology Student Work

This analysis is concerned with understanding the facets of criminal justice diversion programs that successfully improve the mental wellbeing of participants and, as a subsequent effect, reduce offending amongst the mentally ill populous in the United States. An inquiry of pre-program and post-program data from both adult and juvenile mental health specific programs reveals that participation amongst both groups shows a meaningful reduction in new/repeat offending in comparison to non-participants. The data shows that the expansion of law enforcement Crisis Intervention Team’s (CIT’s) has a compounding effect to the positive results. A review of these programs in Australia indicates that …

Skinning The Cat: How Mandatory Psychiatric Evaluations For Animal Cruelty Offenders Can Prevent Future Violence, Ashley Kunz

The Scholar: St. Mary's Law Review on Race and Social Justice

In 2017, the Texas legislature amended Texas Penal Code § 42.092, which governs acts of cruelty against non-livestock animals. The statute in its current form makes torturing, killing, or seriously injuring a non-livestock animal a third degree felony, while less serious offenses carry either a state jail felony or a Class A misdemeanor charge.

While a step in the right direction, Texas law is not comprehensive in that it fails to address a significant aspect of animal cruelty offenses: mental illness. For over fifteen years, Texas Family Code § 54.0407 has required psychiatric counseling for juveniles convicted of cruelty to …