Fact Pattern
You’re employed by a private consulting firm, Juvenile Administration, which specializes in the field of juvenile justice in all its applications. Your firm is often retained by school districts and municipalities to advise them on the law and to suggest solutions for specific issues and problems in this most important and complex area.
Juvenile Administration has been retained by your local school district, which is interested in revamping many of the procedures that it currently has in place concerning its administration of various juvenile justice issues. For this project, you don’t have to research the procedures being used by your local school district. Assume that the district wants to operate from a clean slate and is interested in a wide array of information you must supply, even if it’s already employing some of the methods and procedures included in your information.
The managing partner in your firm assigns you as the chief project manager for this client. After many weeks of meetings with the members of the school district’s administrative board, you’ve been able to catalog their concerns into four major categories.
Assignment 1: Juvenile Crime Problem
Issues
The school district wants information on the nature of the juvenile crime problem in your community. It wants to know the prevalence of the various types of crime. It also wants to know how the district’s juvenile crime rates compare with other communities throughout the nation.
Also, the district wants to learn about the latest studies and findings on the factors that contribute to juvenile crime and violence, including the economic, social, and familiar influences.
Finally, some of the school administrators have heard that other school districts are working with the National Crime Prevention Council. They want to find out more about this agency, its methods of operation, the programs it administers, and whether it can be a valuable tool for them to use in addressing some of their problems.
Assignment
As the chief project manager, you must respond to these issues in a comprehensive, relevant written research analysis. You’re free to use all available research tools, including the FBI UCR, which should be used to gather details related to crime information in your community.
Assignment 2: Safe Schools
Issues
The school district would like to take all the necessary steps to promote safe schools. In this regard, it’s willing to work with law enforcement, community groups, private concerns, and federal and state agencies.
The district also wants to target at-risk students who have the potential to commit violence in their schools. It wants you to advise of the possible warning signs and the most current methodology for conducting a detailed threat assessment.
Finally, the school district is aware of a growing gang problem in the community. It’s interested in understanding the causative factors that drive juveniles to join gangs, the nature and conduct of the gang culture, and any anti-gang programs and measures it might put into place.
Assignment
As the chief project manager, you must respond to these issues in a comprehensive, relevant written research analysis. You’re free to use all available research tools. In your report, include information on the following:
Safe Kids/Safe Streets, Safe Start, and Safe Future Programs
School Safety Pyramid
Four-pronged threat assessment
Gang Resistance Education and Training
Teens, Crime, and the Community
Assignment 3: Traumatic Events
Issues
The school district has many students who experienced or are experiencing traumatic events. These events involve physical, sexual, and mental abuse, as well as abandonment issues. The district wants your help in identifying such children by learning more about the common indicators of these abuses and the link they play in juvenile delinquency and crime. It specifically wants direction concerning federal laws and your state’s laws applicable to this problem and the options available to help address this most serious threat.
Your school district, like many other districts, has a problem with student substance abuse. It’s interested in targeting these students and applying the latest methods of intervention, prevention, and treatment. These methods include community education, after-school programs, counseling, and detoxification programs.
Finally, the school district wants to receive information on the problem of youth suicide, including warning signs to watch for and proactive plans to put into place.
Assignment
As the chief project manager, you must respond to these issues in a comprehensive, relevant written research analysis. You’re free to use all available research tools. In your report, include, among other relevant responses, the following:
Federal Child Abuse Prevention and Enforcement Act
DARE programs
Life skills training for youths
Parental training
Assignment 4: Law and Procedures
Issues
The school district wants to ascertain the applicable law and procedures that govern juvenile crime and the courts. You must research and inform the district officials about both federal and state laws. They’re interested in the types of courts used, the differences in procedures for juveniles and adults, as well as the juvenile sentencing options. They also want to learn the circumstances that would lead a juvenile offender to be treated as an adult.
Finally, the district officials want to know if the teachers in their school district can search the students and their lockers any time they wish or if there are restrictions on doing so. They want to know both federal and state laws related to this concern.
Assignment
As the chief project manager, you must respond to these issues in a comprehensive, relevant written research analysis. Your research, as previously stated, must focus on the federal law and your state law. In addition to other relevant responses, your report should include:
Juvenile courts
Juvenile trials and hearings
Juvenile sentencing laws
Incarceration alternatives
Youthful offender treatment
Community corrections
Confidentiality issues
School sanctions
The Fourth Amendment
