CARE AND FEEDING OF WAYWARD YOUTH - NOTES ON THE CORRECTIONAL MANAGEMENT OF JUVENILE DELINQUENTS

• NCJ Number: 65145
• Author(s): L M HAYES; R JOHNSON
• Date Published: 1979
• Length: 39 pages
• Corporate Author: National Ctr on Institutions and Alternatives
• Sale Source: National Ctr on Institutions and Alternatives
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

THIS EVALUATION OF THE 20TH CENTURY ATTITUDES, THEORIES, AND PRACTICES IN THE TREATMENT OF WAYWARD YOUTH CONCLUDES THAT INSTITUTIONALIZATION AND MEANINGFUL TREATMENT DO NOT AND CANNNOT EXIST WITHIN THE SAME SETTING.

Abstract

SOCIETY'S ATTITUDE TOWARD TROUBLESOME DEVIANTS HAS SHIFTED FROM A COLONIAL LAXITY TO A GRADUALLY INCREASING DEMAND FOR INSTITUTIONAL ISOLATION. PARALLEL WITH THE DEVELOPMENT OF INSTITUTIONS HAVE BEEN CHILD-SAVING MOVEMENTS AND HUMANITARIAN CALLS FOR REHABILITATION WHICH HAVE BROUGHT ABOUT SUCH REFORMS AS THE JUVENILE COURT AND THE CURRENT TRENDS TOWARD COMMUNITY CORRECTIONS AND DEINSTITUTIONALIZATION. NEVERTHELESS, THE BULK OF JUVENILE CORRECTIONS IS STILL INSTITUTIONAL. THE TRAINING INSTITUTION OF CENTRAL OHIO (TICO) IS AN EXAMPLE OF A TOTAL INSTITUTION IN WHICH THE STANDARD TRAPPINGS OF A THERAPEUTIC COMMUNITY EXIST WITHIN A CONFINEMENT SETTING. IN CONFINEMENT AT TICO ARE 200 YOUTHS BETWEEN 15 AND 18 YEARS OF AGE, WHO HAVE COMMITTED SERIOUS OFFENSES AND ARE CONSIDERED SECURITY RISKS. WHEN A SOCIAL CLIMATE SURVEY WAS CONDUCTED WITH A RANDOM SAMPLE OF THESE CONFINED YOUTHS, FINDINGS SHOW A COERCIVE, MILITARY ENVIRONMENT. BASED ON THE IDEALISTIC THEORY OF THE COTTAGE ENVIRONMENT, THE INSTITUTION ORGINALLY WAS INTENDED TO PROVIDE ITS INMATES WITH OPPORTUNITIES FOR INDIVIDUAL EXPRESSION AND AN AWARENESS OF FAMILY RESPONSIBILITIES. DESPITE EDUCATIONAL, VOCATIONAL, AND TREATMENT PROGRAMS, THE ATMOSPHERE IS ONE OF RIGID SUPERVISION. NEGATIVE SOCIAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE INSTITUTION ARE THE LABELING PROCESS AND ITS CONSEQUENCES, AND RAMPANT SEXUAL AND INTERPERSONAL EXPLOITATION. OF THE YOUTHS INTERVIEWED, 70 PERCENT INDICATED THAT INMATES WILL RESORT TO VIOLENCE IN ORDER TO OBTAIN VALUED ITEMS, SEXUAL FAVORS, OR OTHER SERVICES. PERSONAL SECURITY CONCERNS AND FEAR WERE RANKED SECOND AFTER FEELINGS OF POWERLESSNESS WHEN YOUTHS CHARACTERIZED THE LIVING ATMOSPHERE AT TICO. IN THE FINAL ANALYSIS, THE COTTAGE SYSTEM AT TICO IS LITTLE MORE THAN A EUPHEMISM FOR A BARREN INSTITUTIONAL DORMITORY. TABULAR DATA AND FOOTNOTES ARE INCLUDED. (MRK)