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Socio-legal Response: A New Approach to Juvenile Justice in the '90s

NCJ Number
162963
Journal
Corrections Today Dated: (February 1996) Pages: 72,74,76-77
Author(s)
J G Zaslaw; G S Ballance
Date Published
1996
Length
4 pages
Annotation
The sociolegal response to juvenile justice in the 1990s expands on the balanced approach and restorative justice models by addressing community risk, accountability to the victim and the community, services designed to help juveniles become productive and law-abiding, and efforts that pave the way for juveniles to reenter society.
Abstract
The sociolegal response embraces the belief that children are responsible to themselves, their families, and the community. It recognizes the relationship between the social needs arena and the legal domain. Inherent in this response are the abilities of service providers and legal representatives to work together in a cooperative and collaborative venture. The first step in their approach is to assess each case and provide a level of supervision by the court. Next, the assessment process identifies children's service needs and develops a plan to help them become productive and law-abiding. Components of the plan include family, drug abuse, and anger management counseling as well as life-skill education and cognitive development. Children must also perform restitution and community service work. The tangible result of the many aspects of the socio-legal response is community programming through avenues such as media projects, education, sponsorships in sports leagues, and arts programs. Photograph and figure

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