Reducing Juvenile Delinquency in Children

Juvenile delinquency is a growing problem in our communities. Many children are forced to rely on their own devices to find things to occupy their time after school. Families struggle to feed, shelter, and entertain their children in this weak economy. Left to their own devices many children fall prey to delinquency. Children that have somewhere to go and something to do after school that promotes healthy living, education, and an active lifestyle can make a difference in a child’s life and help keep them from falling into delinquency.

In a study by authors Vandell, D. L., Reisner, E. R., & Pierce, K. M. they found “that regular participation in high-quality after school programs is linked to significant gains in standardized test scores and work habits as well as reductions in behavior problems among disadvantaged students. These gains help offset the negative impact of a lack of supervision after school.” Vandell, D. L., Reisner, E. R., & Pierce, K. M. (2007). This study strongly supports my opinion of the importance of after school programs helping to reduce delinquency. Although the study focused on low income children the results should be universal among all children. But it is known that the greatest number of delinquencies is from low income families.

In a report by Paul Glasser in The State Journal, he talks about risk factors for juvenile delinquency. Of those factors he mentions things like disengagement from school, and low levels of commitment to schooling, but most importantly a lack of parental supervision after school. His research shows that in the Richmond area that 30% of elementary kids, 50% of middle school kids and 60% of high school kids come home to no supervision at least one day a week. In his research he finds that the majority of delinquent acts occur between the hours of 3pm and dinner time in his county. His research also looks at violence in video games and other forms of media but those problems can also be resolved...