Problem: Create a positive feedback with this discussion post and make it a paragraph long:
What does diversion mean? What is the purpose of diversion programs? Are there any pitfalls associated with these types of programs? If so, what are they?
Diversion redirects offenders from the juvenile justice system, but instead of putting them in custody, they go through programming, supervision, and support. The purpose of these programs are to get rid of juvenile justice processing and instead focus in favor of release or alternate services for the juveniles besides serving time, which is known as secondary diversion. Pure diversion is diversionary activities that involve referrals to programs that are not in the criminal justice system, and this occurs prior to the juvenile entering the system. There are a couple problems with diversion, net widening and territorial jealousy. Net widening is bringing attention to juvenile authorities children who would not have originally been labeled, which then increases their risk of stigmatization. In doing this a juvenile that is going through a diversion program could be brought to the attention of authorities which then causes the authorities to label that juvenile and begin to watch them more closely, which in turn can affect the juvenile. Another pitfall is territorial jealousy which is the belief commonly held by agency personnel that attempts to coordinate efforts to help the juvenile but, instead, are actual attempts to invade the territory that they have made out for themselves. This occurs when a staff member feels as though they are experts at a certain job or field, so they then resent suggestions that others make. This then causes problems within an agency since these staff members will keep secrets from others and reject attempts to provide services (Cox 153). Altogether while diversion is a good thing for juveniles there are a few things that could impact the juveniles when going through a diversion program.
Discuss the different types of treatment modalities. What are they? What do they focus on or what issues do they address? Do you think some types of treatments are more successful than others? Why or why not? Need Assignment Help?
There are a few different types of treatment modalities that are spoken about in the textbook. This includes family therapy interventions, art therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy. Family therapy focuses on addressing issues that are behavioral problems, mental health issues, and other behaviors associated with youth in the criminal justice system. This type of therapy tends to be put on families who have youth with behavior or emotional problems. This also tends to occur in families where abuse has been experienced or, the parents or other family members have dealt with substance abuse. Family therapy focuses on decreasing risk factors and increasing protective factors, emphasizing on the family (Cox 171). Art therapy is where the goal is to use art to create a therapeutic relationship between a mental health worker and the youth in treatment. This therapy allows youth to express themselves without outwardly speaking about what they are going through. This provides alternate means to expressing their feelings, insecurities, instead of participating in bad behaviors. However, this therapy requires expertise in some type of art, otherwise it is not super beneficial to the youth. Finally, cognitive behavioral therapy is a problem focused approach to aid youth in identifying and changing their dysfunctional beliefs, thoughts, and patterns of behavior that contribute to certain problems that they have. This therapy focuses on thoughts, assumptions and beliefs that the youth has. Focusing on teaching how to recognize and change faulty thinking patterns. This therapy also helps youth get control over their bad perceptions of themselves. Such as saying they can't do something and instead, choosing to ask for help instead of giving up (Cox 173). I do think that all of these therapies are good options for treatment. However, I do think that cognitive behavioral therapy is the most successful since it helps youth with academic challenges and then they can be applied to other parts of their lives as well. It helps youth develop a good self-efficacy compared to other forms of therapy that focuses on dealing with feelings, or family issues. Instead, this one focuses on the mentality of the youth.