1.  Carol Gilligan critiques Kohlbergs work on moral development.

How does her work differ from Kohlbergs?

In your opinion which is more accurate.  Why? 

Your written response must be at least 500 words, and must have some justification to back your opinion.  Depending on which is more accurate how would treatment of a juvenile delinquent differ?

2. Select and post your response to ONE situation from any chapter that interests you the most. This activity is worth 20 points in your Gradebook.

 Chapter 4.

1. Locate a recent juvenile case using the Internet. Analyze the delinquent act(s), the juvenile delinquent(s), and any other social or biological factors that are available.Read the postings of your classmates.  Respond to at least 2 of your classmates’ postings.  Do you agree?  Disagree?  Why?
   • Post a two paragraph discussion summarizing the article AND explaining which theories apply to the delinquency.
   • Which theories appear to have the best real life adaptation, in this case and in other juvenile cases?

Chapter 5.

1. Study Reckless’s containment theory in your textbook. Apply it to three common delinquent acts; shoplifting, drug use, and fighting.Read the postings of your classmates. Respond to at least 2 of your classmates’ postings.  Do you agree?  Disagree?  Why?
   • How can Reckless’s four motivating and restraining forces for delinquency apply in each case?
   • Post a paragraph for each of the three delinquent acts, giving realistic examples of juveniles experiencing these forces.

Chapter 6.

1. Ask five or more people which factor they feel is the most important in preventing delinquency: family, schools, peers, or the justice system. Why?Read the postings of your classmates.  Respond to at least 2 of your classmates’ postings.  Do you agree?  Disagree?  Why?
   • How do these four factors interact?
   • How can the most important one influence the others?
   • How can it be changed to decrease the rate of delinquency?

3.  Waiver to adult court indicates that a juvenile is the same as an adult.  How does this affect the concept of “Parens Patrae”? 

At what point and under what conditions should in your opinion a juvenile be waived to adult court?  Should a juvenile waived to adult court face the same penalties as an adult?  Why or why not?

This assignment must have at least 500 words.

4. Chapter 7.

1. You are a police officer who encounters several juveniles trying to steal a 12-pack of beer from some other juveniles, who have just bought the beer from a nearby liquor store. You break up the disturbance with the help of your partner, and now must decide what to do. The group of juveniles who tried to steal the beer did not hurt the others in any way and were apparently just after the beer. Nonetheless, the other kids are angry and resentful. Both groups are obviously too young to drink alcohol. Both groups are known to be occasionally truant, but they have no record and are not known drug users. Furthermore, the liquor store owner is known to sell both beer and hard liquor to minors, although this is the first time you have caught juveniles right as they leave his store.
2. Questions to discuss in your three paragraph posting are:Read the postings of your classmates.  Respond to at least 2 of your classmates’ postings.  Do you agree?  Disagree?  Why?
   • How do you handle the juveniles who tried to steal the beer? Do you punish them for attempted robbery, for possession of alcohol, for both, or for neither?
   • How do you handle the juveniles who just bought the beer? Do they have rights as victims?
   • How do you handle the liquor store owner, who is the only one in his store at this time and who was clearly the one who sold them the beer?
   • Which law enforcement approach do you think is best in this case: legalistic, watchman, or service? Would you treat the three different groups differently in any way (for instance, a watchman approach to the juveniles and a legalistic approach to the store owner)? If so, how?

Chapter 8.

1. Using the Internet, look up the cases of Kent v. United States, In re Gault and In re Winship. Write down  approximately one paragraph of biological information about each juvenile, including where each is now. Then answer the following questions:Read the postings of your classmates. Respond to at least 2 of your classmates’ postings.  Do you agree?  Disagree?  Why?
   • Whom did you find the most sympathetic?
   • Could you see yourself in the same position s any of these juveniles?
   • If you were a police officer who was dealing with all three of them, would you consider any of them to be worth rehabilitating? Why or why not?

Chapter 9.

1. Read “The Color of Justice” at the Building Blocks for Youth web site.  The article may be found by clicking on “research” on the left of the screen.
2. Read the press release, then answer the following questions:Read the postings of your classmates.  Respond to at least 2 of your classmates’ postings.  Do you agree?  Disagree?  Why?
   • Why do more African-American and Hispanic juveniles get waived to adult court?
   • What are the rates at which different racial and ethnic groups are waived to adult court?
   • Is there an explanation or partial explanation for this other than racism, or does it appear to be solely the cause of racism?

Chapter 10.

1. Interview two or three of your friends, and give them the following hypothetical case:
   • You are a prosecutor who has just been given a juvenile murder case. The delinquent is a first-time offender, but has had trouble in school for years. He is a 15-year old who has murdered a 12-year old boy from his neighborhood. The murder was excessively violent and gruesome, but he does not appear remorseful for his crime. Not surprisingly, there is public pressure to punish him severely. The murderer is of small stature and immature emotional development. He was born with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, and appears to have several learning disabilities.
2. You have the following options:Read the postings of your classmates.  Respond to at least 2 of your classmates’ ‘postings.  Do you agree?  Disagree?  Why?
   • prosecute him through the juvenile court system, which in your state will release him on his 19th birthday;
   • waive him to adult court, which would net a longer sentence but would subject him to incarceration with adults at an early age; or
   • opt for blended sentencing.
   • Which is best for an offender like this?
   • Summarize your friends’ opinions and reasons as well as your own. Your posting should be at least two paragraphs long.

5. Select and post your response to ONE situation from any chapter that interests you the most. This activity is worth 20 points in your Gradebook.

Chapter 11

1. Visit the web site for the International Institute for Restorative Practices and review the past eForum articles. Read any one of the selections that deals with the implementation of restorative justice (Balanced and Restorative Justice (BARJ)). (You cannot select an article related to a conference.) You are looking for actual practical applications of the theory of restorative justice. Answer the following questions in a two paragraph posting:Read the postings of your classmates.  Respond to at least 2 of your classmates’ postings.  Do you agree?  Disagree?  Why?
   • How does restorative justice appear to work in this case?
   • What are the benefits of using restorative justice instead of sanctions?
   • What are possible or apparent drawbacks?

Chapter 12

1. Go to the Texas Youth Commision web site and read the Basic Correctional Treatment and Specialized Correctional Treatment  (If the links do not work you will find the information in the Instructor notes area)
2. Explain how and why these approaches are different. Do these approaches seem successful? Why or why not?
3. Read the postings of your classmates. Respond to at least 2 of your classmates’ postings.  Do you agree?  Disagree?  Why?

6. Chronic juvenile offenders do not “grow out” of criminal behavior, and tend to begin at a young age (10-12).  In your opinion what can be done to change the cycle in order to break the cycle of continuing offenses?

How can your program be implemented?

This must be at least 500 words.

 

7. Select and post your response to ONE situation from any chapter that interests you the most. This activity is worth 20 points in your Gradebook.

Chapter 13

1. Visit the Gang Resistance and Education Training  (G.R.E.A.T.). Evaluate the program’s potential and effectiveness in the following areas:
   • a middle-class suburb with no gang activity;
   • a working-class neighborhood with some delinquency problems but no hardcore gang activity; and
   • an inner-city neighborhood with heavy gang activity, in which youths sometimes join gangs for protection.
2. This web site shows how schools and local law enforcement agencies work together to help prevent gang membership.Be sure to take into account the pre-existing conditions and attitudes in each neighborhood when you analyze the effectiveness and usefulness of G.R.E.A.T. in that neighborhood.
   • How would these efforts measure up in the three listed neighborhoods?
   • How effective would they be in each of the listed neighborhoods?
   • Are they necessary in each neighborhood?
   • How could the program(s) be implemented?
   • Which program(s) would work best in each neighborhood?
4. Address each neighborhood individually. For example, the first 2-3 paragraphs should discuss G.R.E.A.T. as it relates to the suburban neighborhood.
5. Be THOROUGH in your opinion. Cite resources for your opinion, such as your textbook or other articles/websites. An opinion consisting of 2-4 sentences will NOT be sufficient to receive credit.
6. Read the postings of your classmates.  Respond to at least 2 of your classmates’ postings.  Do you agree?  Disagree?  Why?

Chapter 14 Part I

1. Read the first two pages of the online article “Attitudes Toward Psychiatric Medication Among Incarcerated Female Adolescents” by R. Alan Williams in the December 1998 Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.  This article is printed in full in a folder labeled “Attitudes Toward Psychiatric Medication Among Incarcerated Female Adolescents”, located in Instructor’s Notes.

2. When finished, answer the following questions:

• Why are female delinquents a bigger concern now than before?
• What are the rates of psychiatric disorders among them? Which disorders were listed in this article? How do these rates compare with those of male delinquents?
• How do adolescents generally respond to drug treatment? Do you agree with them? Why or why not?
• Are psychiatric drugs the best solution for these juveniles? Why or why not?
• Should incarcerated juveniles be forced to take psychiatric drugs? Why or why not?

3. Read the postings of your classmates. Respond to at least 2 of your classmates’ postings.  Do you agree?  Disagree?  Why?

Chapter 14 Part II

1. Locate and read a non-fiction story about a juvenile’s addiction to drug use. One classic is the 1960s book Go Ask Alice, which is the diary of a teenage girl who fights addiction. There are also numerous celebrities who were addicted to drugs when they were juveniles.  There are a large number of these non-fiction stories that are equally interesting. You may also use a long magazine article. However, it MUST focus on a particular person with an addiction problem, not on drug use in general.

2. When you have completed your reading, answer the following questions:

• Why did this juvenile become addicted to drugs? Did he or she ever seem to be in control of the drug use?
• What personality traits may have contributed to the addiction? What social factors? What other factors? How does this story end, and why?
• What could have prevented this drug addiction from ever occurring?
• Include the URL or other resource that you used, and be sure to identify the individual.

3. Read the postings of your classmates.  Respond to at least 2 of your classmates’ postings.  Do you agree?  Disagree?  Why?

Chapter 15

1. Gary is a seven-year-old child who has been taken into custody for the murder of two schoolmates with the handgun of his mother’s boyfriend. Gary has been diagnosed with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, and his mother is currently a heavy drinker and drug user. The police have been to Gary’s apartment several times because Gary’s mother’s boyfriend is frequently violent toward both of them, and Gary was once removed for over a month to live with his grandmother. Since kindergarten, Gary has shown slow progress and poor social skills. He never does homework, frequently fights with other children, and is known to be a bully. He is old enough to be adjudicated delinquent according to the laws of his state.
   Read the postings of your classmates.  Respond to at least 2 of your classmates’ postings.  Do you agree?  Disagree?  Why?
   • What factors of Gary’s behavior seem to be caused by parental abuse or neglect? Name all that seem to apply.
   • Should Gary be punished or treated for his apparent social and psychological problems? What would be an appropriate disposition for Gary?
   • Should his parents be punished for their role in creating his behavior problems? Why or why not? If you answered yes, to what extent?