The increasing socio-political and technology transformations have increased potential challenges within the juvenile rehabilitative centers. The present juvenile systems have numerous pitfalls that have immensely compromised the wellbeing and development of the young offenders admitted within these institutions. The welfare of these young offenders is an example of a potential contemporary area of great concern within juvenile forensic psychology (MFRN, nd). The mandate of most juvenile courts to punish or to guard, rehabilitate and treat juvenile offenders currently remains under doubt. Ideally, young offenders require adequate attention and treatment during their rehabilitation process.
The fear of the rising violent juvenile offenses has made the general society react exceedingly. Consequently, the existent juvenile centers have largely been viewed as soft and ineffective without proper rehabilitative procedures (Gudjonsson, 2008). The general observation is that these juvenile systems have grossly failed to deliver their rehabilitative as well as treatment roles to the youth. Instead, these juveniles have turned into centers of confining the young generation within prison-like amenities that lack adequate rehabilitative services. Consequently, the juveniles have been grossly denied the liberties given to other adult offenders. The delinquents have poor access to education as well as mental support services. Instead, they have come to adopt more detrimental habits and engage more in drugs and other criminal practices.
The reason for this concern is that it is the same persons who get released back to society to commit dangerous offenses and crimes (Needs & Towl, 2008). For instance, there are several instances where the media has shown many youths released from the juvenile centers engage in criminal activities. To change this trend, it is clear that both the State as well as the Federal agencies have critical roles to play. Effective policy formulation and active research on best practices for transforming the juvenile systems are important initiatives. Most state including Georgia has started redefining their juvenile forensic psychology codes to enhance the efficiency of their state juvenile systems. Such initiatives should gain indulgence and support from the federal state. There also remains much work and initiatives to be put in place to discover exactly the kind of programs that can support the kids gain and developing their individuality.
The professionals within the fields of forensic psychology also have an active role in conducting empirical research on the best ways to handle juveniles (Rich, 2011). Corrective and rehabilitative procedures must be coupled with knowledge engagement and education to enhance the future competencies of the kids. The harmonization of the rehabilitative undertakings and correctional procedures within the juvenile systems present in each state will be necessary for benchmarking as well as monitoring purposes. Generally, there should be a great focus on transforming the lives of these young offenders into productive citizens. This is unlike the presently notable objective that seeks to punish the offenders severely than it is done even for the adult offenders within state penitentiaries. Indeed, the juvenile system needs a positive transformation for the better lives of young offenders.
References
Gudjonsson, G. H. (2008). The Psychology of Interrogations and Confessions: A Handbook. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons.
Macarthur Foundation Research Network, MFRN, (nd). Adolescent Development and Juvenile Justice. 2012. Web.
Needs, A. & Towl, G. (2008). Applying Psychology to Forensic Practice. Blackwell Publishing Ltd, vol. 10: 1002-1035.
Rich, P. (2011). Understanding, Assessing, and Rehabilitating Juvenile Sexual Offenders, Second Edition. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., vol 10: 1-67.