Runaway Girl Essay

1499 Words6 Pages
The United States Juvenile Justice System is a system in which delinquent youth are given a chance at rehabilitation with the threat of actual incarceration. Some have discredited the system, claiming high recidivism rates show a lack of ability to rehabilitate juvenile delinquents. As an example, in the New York State Office of Children and Family Services found the percentage of juveniles rearrested within twenty-four months of being released from a juvenile detention facility was a staggering sixty-six percent in 2008 (New York State OCFS, 2011). Although there are cases of high recidivism rates, this does not mean the system is a complete failure. Some say an example of where the system was successful is the story of Carissa Phelps, who recalls her time in the Juvenile Justice system in her book, Runaway Girl. In her story, Carissa shares her family life, her personal life, and some of the decisions she made that got her into some tough situations. Carissa was born into a large family, which split when she was young. She then moved into a household with her new, and just as large, step-family. Living in a large family presented Carissa with a few problems. The largest of which being both parents began to change the way they treated their children. At first, Carissa was treated like a normal child, with love and care, but once her mother remarried, Carissa was treated like someone who was just visiting. In fact, Carissa recalls how her stepfather had the policy of once you turned eighteen, you had to move out; whether you were still in school or not (p. 22) Another example of indifference by Carissa’s parents, specifically her mother, is when Carissa’s stepfather threw her out of the house for being for the bus. In doing so, Carissa received lacerations to her hands. As Carissa recalls this event, she noted how her mother had an indifferent look and did nothing

More about Runaway Girl Essay

Open Document