A forum on juvenile justice | Napa Valley Register

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A forum on juvenile justice

Saturday, February 23, 2008

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Dear editor, Widespread consensus has it that the juvenile justice system in many places in this country has become a gateway to a criminal career, a ruined life, and a short one.

Does this have to be so? Is there another way of dealing with troubled and wayward young people? The Juvenile Justice Interest Group, which is a subcommittee of the League of Women Voters in Sonoma County, will seek answers to these questions in an interactive forum, “Juvenile Justice in Sonoma County: Looking at Alternatives-Prevention, Intervention, Support Services, Rehabilitation and Education.” They will also address such related questions such as: How do we effectively intervene when a juvenile has offended? When is it necessary to incarcerate an offending youth? What works? What is missing? How do we prevent delinquency and foster positive citizenry?

The event will be from 9 a.m. to noon on March 1 at CHOPS, 509 Adams St., in Santa Rosa. It is co-sponsored by the Sonoma County League of Women Voters and the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Commission of Sonoma County. The keynote speaker, Ms. Jessalyn Nash, is the director of the Restorative Justice Initiative for the American Humane Association (www.americanhumane.org) and the founder of Restorative Resources in Sonoma County.

Residents of Napa County who care about the state of juvenile justice here may find some relevant ideas by participating in this free forum which will be open to all. Info, 836-9822 or 579-5141.

Liz and Bob Stone / Yountville

3 comment(s)

JimClark wrote on Feb 23, 2008 5:20 AM:

" One need only go back into the past where psycho-sociologists had control over the raising of children. Those poor fragile offspring Benjamin Spock saw as on the verge of some emotional crisis. What followed was an entire movement that imposed itself on parents. If one corrected their child, it was some form of "abuse". Reality shows us that since then, our children have become lesser human beings. Apathetic, ignorant, dysfunctional and illiterate. We know who the really good parents are. They may have had to punish their children at times but, they taught them self-discipline. Yes, there is a difference between the two. To avoid punishment a child is taught to discipline themselves.

I don't want to hit this too hard but, I believe Ben Spock, his ilk and LBJ are in the deepest darkest corner of hades. "

XMAN wrote on Feb 23, 2008 5:26 AM:

" What's missing is parental control. The state needs to reign in miscreants because the parents are incapable of giving
sufficient guidance for whatever reason. The kids need to be given academic goals with the expectation they neet those standards. If not, they should be sent to a facility where they will learn artisan and trade skills. They should also be given training in military skills and police recruit preparation. They should not be permitted to enter adult life unprepared and with a load of baggage around their tender young necks. To achieve all of this will take much love and lots of guts. A lot more than just the usual social engineering and high flown fancies about reform. It will require some common sense. "

justnana wrote on Feb 23, 2008 8:25 PM:

" I get the part about the State having to step in when parents don't, but I really don't think it would be wise to train some junior gang-banger in military and police tactics. Are these children to be housed in juvenile hall while training for a better life, or stuck back with the disfunctional family unit they came from? Curious about details. "

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