Juvenile facilities across the nation are filled with youthful offenders.
Juvenile offenders are often violent, angry, and unable to resolve conflict
in any other manner. This can lead to not only pain and suffering for the
victims of these offenders but also for the offender and his or her family.
While the news continues to pump information to the public about juvenile
offenders, experts and program directors continues to scramble for ways to
resolve the issue. Many juvenile offenders who are released at the age of
21, find themselves unequipped to deal with conflict and eventually their
reactions to conflict lead them right back into the system, this time as
adults in prisons. The effort to rehabilitate youthful offenders must begin
with basic conflict resolution training. If the juvenile learns how to
address and resolve conflict he or she stands a better chance at leading a
productive and fruitful life once released, which benefits society as a
"The National Center for Juvenile Justice recently completed a study
documenting changes in state laws targeting juvenile violence. The U.S.
Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency
Prevention, released the center's eight-month study in a report entitled
"State Responses to Serious, Violent Juvenile Crime(Violent, 1996)."
The study details the problem of juvenile violence and the impact that it
"Just as the cost of college is cheaper than the cost of prison, money
spent early on preventing crime is an effective, humane way to avoid
spending more money on courts and jail cells later on - not to mention
preventing the waste of lives. Treating youthful offenders properly is
good; keeping them from becoming offenders is far better(Crime, 1995)."
Using a pre-developed program geared to teaching juveniles how to handle
conflicts at school and at home is an important goal to any rehab
...