Strengthen the Involvement of Parents and Communities

Strengthening the role of families and communities in preventing juvenile delinquency is a great way to ensure that youth are supported in their daily lives.  Quality afterschool opportunities, connections to faith based and other cultural communities, and engaged parents ensure that there are a continuum of efforts aimed at preventing delinquency during youths’ out-of school time. Some of the strategies for removing barriers to employment for ex-offenders include:

• Ensure quality afterschool programs. Research has shown that 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. are the peak hours for youth to commit or be victims of crimes and to smoke, drink or do drugs. Afterschool programs can keep youth out of trouble, improve school attitudes and behavior, strengthen social networks, teach new skills and improve self-confidence by offering safety, structure, supportive adults and exposure to new and diverse experiences. Conversely, youth without adult supervision after school are at risk for academic and behavior problems. In low-income communities access to quality out-of-school-time activities is especially limited.[1]    A Maine law established the Center of Excellence for At-Risk Students to provide an on-site course of instruction for at-risk youth failing or dropping out of school, including the development of afterschool programs and educational and physical activities.
• Support the formation of community partnerships for prevention. To effectively support youth and prevent delinquency - schools, youth-serving organizations, faith-based institutions, businesses, and government agencies as well as youth and families must collaborate to share expertise and resources. Strong partnerships with relevant organizations and agencies in your community are critical to preventing delinquency because working together will help in delivering a consistent message while reaching youth through various channels. It also presents valuable opportunities to share resources, develop joint goals and objectives, and learn from each other.[2] The North Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention partners with Juvenile Crime Prevention Councils in each county to bring together community leaders, locally and statewide, to reduce and prevent juvenile crime.
• Support and strengthen vulnerable families. Family support programs and policies are designed to support and strengthen parenting and family cohesion and include diverse programming and supports including, home visiting, parent education, family literacy, income and workforce support, family preservation services, and extended paid family leave. Ensuring that families are strengthened and have the supports they need aids in efforts to prevent youth from becoming delinquent.  Wisconsin passed state legislation to fund the Families and Schools Together Prevention Initiative grants through the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI). FAST’s Building Relationships program targets early childhood risk factors and addresses three areas linked to conduct disorders: high level of parent-child conflict, poor monitoring, and a low level of positive involvement through family-focused interventions. The program involves each family member and encourages positive parent-child interactions along with more child involvement in the home and school. Participants have experienced a reduction in substance abuse and violence, have shown an improvement in positive scholastic behaviors and built resiliency against risks and stressors that contribute to violence and delinquency.
• Implement public outreach campaigns on effective juvenile justice prevention strategies. Initiate a state level campaign to promote accurate delinquency prevention information. When producing these resources ensure that they are both timely and accessible to interested audiences, including the media, elected officials, law enforcement and other agencies, and the general public. The information provided could include risk and protective factors for crime, the structure and purpose of the juvenile justice system, the nature and impact of effective best practices in programming and service-provision for at risk and system-involved youth, the impact of incarceration, current research on causes and responses to crime, issues related to class, race, ethnicity, and immigration, and effective opportunities for preventative services in your state.[3]The Oklahoma State Department of Education launched a media outreach campaign called the “ABC 123 Challenge” to reduce truancy and delinquency among at-risk youth in schools and to increase high school graduation rates.