Child Welfare

Final Project

Angela Markus

Kaplan University

Child Welfare and Family

Professor Hildebrandt

May 24, 2010

There are many services offered to juvenile offenders and at risk youth in the area I live in. There are mediation services which can help resolve situations that may lead into the legal system. The Mediation Program in Philadelphia sees everyone, regardless of ability to pay. The program has juvenile mediators that help friends and family members settle their disputes more effectively and peacefully. There is also a similar service available in Bucks County. Another service is a diversion option in certain cases of juvenile crime that work with the juvenile, the family, and the victims, and together they decide how to fix the damage that was caused by the action. But only if the juvenile takes responsibility for what he or she did. Community Service Foundation and the Buxmont Academy offer day schooling to children who are at risk for ending up in the justice system ("Csf/buxmont academy,"). Their mission is to help these juveniles get their lives back on track.

When a juvenile is charged with delinquency for violating the criminal law the bucks county juvenile court steps. The Court is responsible for providing custodial services and treatment; these include probation supervision and placement to children under the jurisdiction of this agency (Bucks County). They may be put on probation which means they are assigned to a probation officer who sets up guidelines for the juvenile as mandated by the judge who put them on probation in the first place. This could include home visits, drug tests, required counseling, mandatory attendance at school, and a curfew. If they fail to do what they are supposed to do while on probation they will go in front of the judge again and may then be placed out of the home. This is where another service for juvenile offenders comes in, Bucks County Youth Center. It serves as a secure detention center and offers community...