Criminal behavior— in young offenders— often reflects the perpetrator’s access to opportunity. The fewer opportunities a person has at home, the more likely they are to participate in criminal activity.
It’s easy to write off the idea that school can play a significant role in transforming the juvenile justice experience. The kids who are experiencing this system presumably attended school prior to their arrest and conviction. Clearly, it did not do them much good, right?
It’s more complicated than that. The juvenile justice system, though imperfect, is uniquely positioned to ensure children participate in education and develop skills that will help them avoid recidivism. In this article, we take a look at how education can other forms of support can transform the juvenile justice experience.
Why Education in Juvenile Justice Matters
Educational outcomes for students are influenced by a complex array of factors. The child’s ability and individual effort are certainly important. However, they often don’t factor as heavily as environmental concerns.
Are their parents getting them to school every day? Are they able to study and work in a structured environment at home, or do they have other responsibilities like caring for younger siblings or cousins?
Kids who can’t commit to school because of their home life will not only struggle academically but often find themselves in the type of trouble that can lead to interactions with the juvenile justice experience.
Obviously, that is not ideal. However, the silver lining is that judicial oversight can often address some of the environmental concerns that led to trouble in the first place. Children dealing with the juvenile justice system may find themselves in a more structured environment than they experienced at home.
This can give them the opportunity to engage more fully with their schoolwork and develop skills and habits that can keep them out of trouble later on.
This may sound overly optimistic. In some ways, it is. Just having access to a decent education is not enough to make sure that kids succeed. However, in optimizing the learning environment to meet the unique needs of the children participating in it, the juvenile justice system has the opportunity to make a lasting difference.
Rehabilitation Versus Punishment
It helps to think about the value of education in terms of what criminal justice is supposed to accomplish. While the United States arguably has a primarily punitive justice system the ultimate goal is to ensure people who interact with the system can safely and successfully re-enter society.
This is never more true than in cases involving children. Often people will exit the juvenile justice system as teenagers. If they exit without any education they will re-enter the world without many options.
This is a recipe for recidivism. By providing juvenile delinquents with the opportunity to learn and grow through a quality education, they will have a better chance of experiencing a successful release.
Providing a Quality Education
But what does quality education look like in the context of juvenile offenders? Establishing normalcy is an important step in ensuring that juvenile offenders have access to a workable educational environment.
Regardless of what they have done, they are children and require the same accommodations as any other student. This will include regular school hours, ample time for homework, and access to any learning accommodations that might be granted to someone going through the traditional public school system.
In most states, children within the juvenile detention system are required to attend school. However, there are many circumstances that can disrupt their access to education. They may experience disruptions based on their behavior or the behavior of their peers.
While there is no easy answer to the challenges of educating detained juveniles adherence to basic learning conventions can help. Kids generally benefit from bespoke, small-group learning opportunities that are tailored to their unique needs and interests.
While most detention centers will have practical constraints that keep them from fully individualizing education plans, this is a good place to start thinking about ways to improve the rehabilitative aspect of youth criminal justice.
Conclusion
While juvenile convictions are naturally not a good thing they don’t have to be life-altering. Young offenders typically have their records sealed. This means that they may re-enter society without the same tangible barriers to success that adult offenders encounter.
That’s a good start. However, it takes more than a clean record to set someone up with adequate opportunity. Providing young offenders with a high-quality education is the best way to ensure that they are truly rehabilitated through their encounters with the criminal justice system.
