Juvenile Court System

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The juvenile court system could not function without the help of agencies and organizations who sponsor prevention and diversion programs. Prevention and diversion programs vary among states, counties, towns, and even neighborhoods. A program offered in one town may be not be offered anywhere else in the nation, thus, these programs may become very personalized to the issues or concerns of a particular geographical area. On the other hand, some prevention and diversion programs, like Drug Abuse Resistance Education, Job Corps, and alternative education programs, become nationwide practices with programming offered in nearly every community. The Big Brothers, Big Sisters mentoring program has become a nationwide prevention and diversion program. Probation is the most frequent form of disposition. The belief is that the deeper an offender goes into the system, the more difficult it is to treat them successfully and the more likely that they will fall into the criminal…show more content…
Restorative justice comes in a variety of applications such as mediation panels, community service, circles, and so on. The type of program used by the juvenile court will depend on the type of restorative justice program offered in their geographical area. It is important, however, to understand all of the various restorative justice applications because this philosophy is quickly being adapted in jurisdictions across the United States. Disposition is a phase of delinquency proceeding similar to "sentencing" phase of adult trial. The judge must consider alternative, innovative, and individualized sentences rather than imposing standard sentences. The judge (1) considers evidence about the juvenile’s needs, available resources, and other relevant factors and (2) designs a plan to meet the juvenile’s needs and the interests of the state. Case dispositions are coded into the following
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