Factors Influencing Recidivism Among Juvenile Offenders
SOCW 5513- Masters Research Project in the Department of Social Work.
Table of Contents
Title Page.
Table of Contents
Abstract ....
Chapter One: Introduction...
Statement of the Problem.............................................................................
Scope of the Problem
Justification of the Proposed Research
Purpose of the Proposed Research...
Chapter Two: Literature Review.
Introduction.
Quality-of-Life Variables Influencing Recidivism..
The role of Unemployment in Fueling Recidivism.
Knowledge Gaps.
Chapter Three: Theoretical Framework...
Social Learning Theory
Application in Research....
Justification .
Chapter Four: Methodology.
Sample Population
Data Collection Method
Conceptualization of Variables
Chapter Five: Conclusion...
Summary
Limitations
Implications for Social Work Practice
References.
Appendices.
Appendix A Questionnaire
Appendix B CITI Results
Abstract
The American Civil Liberties Union reports that every day, nearly 60,000 youth under the age of 18 are incarcerated in the United States. Worryingly, 44 % of offenders are rearrested within the first year of their release, with juveniles making up 55 % of these rearrests. Incarceration negatively impacts the future of juveniles by interrupting their social systems. For this reason, it is prudent to bring more awareness to the issue by educating the public about factors that lead to incarceration and by extension, recidivism, among juvenile offenders. The proposed study seeks to determine the factors that exacerbate the risk of recidivism among juvenile offenders and the therapeutic influences that could help minimize this risk.
Chapter One: Introduction
The American Civil Liberties Union reports that nearly 60,000 youth under the age of 18 are incarcerated in the United States every day. However, what is even more worrying is the number of juveniles who re-offend and are re-incarcerated within five years of their release. It is estimated that approximately 44 % of offenders are rearrested within the first year of their release, with juveniles making up 55 % of these rearrests (Alper, Durose & Markman, 2018). The high recidivism rates of juvenile offenders highlight the need to bring more awareness to the issue.
Studies have already shown that incarceration dramatically impacts juveniles' future by interrupting their social systems (friendships, church) and disrupting their opportunities to receive an education (Chetty & Hendren, 2017; Mallett, 2013). At the macro-level, incarceration burdens the economy. Mukku and colleagues (2012) also found that averting incarceration would reduce the government's expenses by $17 billion annually, mainly for non-violent-related crimes. For these reasons, this study reinforces the need to educate the public about factors that lead to incarceration and, by extension, recidivism, among juvenile offenders.
Statement of the Problem
Recidivism presents a unique challenge for administrators and policymakers in the criminal justice system. In essence, very high recidivism rates signify the systems inability to adequately rehabilitate and reintegrate offenders into their communities. Worryingly, national recidivism rates in the US remain significantly high. Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) data released in 2018 showed that 5 in 6 (representing 83 percent) of offenders released in 2005 across 30 states had been re-arrested at least once between then and 2014 (Alper et al., 2018). Approximately 44 % of offenders are rearrested before the end of their first year after release (Alper et al., 2018).
Approximately 44 % of offenders are rearrested before the end of their first year after release (Alper et al., 2018). According to the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), juveniles make up approximately 55 % of offenders who are rearrested within their first year of release (OJJDP, 2017). National data on juvenile recidivism does not exist as juvenile justice is handled at the state level. All the same, state data points to a worrying trend. A 2018 report from the State of Indiana, for instance, puts juvenile recidivism at a rate of 33.3 % for offenders released in 2015 (Indiana Department of Correction (IDOC), 2018). Of the 688 juveniles released in 2015, 229 had been rearrested at least once by 2017. Also, 145...
…soon juveniles in their facilities reoffended upon release, and the classes of juveniles that were more likely to reoffend.
Primary data will be collected through reviewing state reports detailing the strategies and programs used to rehabilitate juvenile offenders. 2017 data on juvenile re-arrest rates from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) indicates that Louisiana, South Dakota, and Wisconsin have the highest rates of juvenile crime, while Massachusetts, West Virginia, and Vermont have the lowest rates (OJJDP, 2017). The researcher will access and review state reports from the three states with the highest rates and the three with the lowest rates to identify the specific rehabilitation strategies/programs for juveniles, and the extent to which they align with the precepts of the social learning theory. From the data collected from state reports and the secondary data from sample participants, the researcher will develop an intervention manual with best practices for juvenile rehabilitation.
Conceptualization of Variables
The is the risk of recidivism, which will be measured by the likelihood of a juvenile reoffending and getting rearrested within 1 year of their release from a detention facility. The independent variables are the factors that influence the risk of recidivism as identified in the literature review. These include quality-of-life indicators and post-incarceration unemployment. Post-incarceration unemployment may not be a significant factor in the case of juveniles and hence, the researcher will place their entire focus on quality-of-life indicators. Quality-of-life will be measured using neighborhood disorganization (presence or absence of social control structures such as religious organizations, crime rates, rates of substance use), socioeconomic status (whether or not the family is in a position to afford the basic needs), and family dynamics (whether the family is made up of both parents or a single-parent) (Grunwald et al., 2010). Therapeutic influences will be measured by the…
