Keeping promises to preserve promise: The necessity of committing to a rehabilitation model in the juvenile justice system.

Source: (2013) Georgetown Journal on Poverty Law and Policy. 20(2):273-395.

In reaching this conclusion, this Note will first provide a brief overview of the
juvenile justice system’s historical mission and its subsequent abandonment of its
charge to rehabilitate young people. It will then discuss the consequences of the
system’s focus on punishment instead of rehabilitation, most notably in the form
of high recidivism rates that disproportionately affect communities of color. Part
two of the Note will discuss in more detail why the system is currently failing. It
contends that a misallocation of resources away from wrap-around services and
towards law-and-order focused punishment has doomed the system to failure. In
addition, the juvenile justice system lacks the types of multi-systemic partnerships
and coordination that would better transition young people from system
involvement back into their communities. Finally, this Note introduces a series of
suggested reforms, drawing from best practices throughout the country. These
systemic changes will address the three possible stages of a youth’s system
involvement: the period immediately following arrest, detention, and transition
back into the community. (excerpt)