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Lack Of Education In Jdc

Juvenile Incarceration Perpetuates Deviancy
Lacking Educational Standards and Negative Environment
In Today's Juvenile Detention Facilities
Diomira A. Birch
College Composition CM220-16
Sarah Kate Stephenson
October 2, 2005

It is the middle of the second quarter in high school. Classes have been in session for over a month. An unfamiliar face walks in the door, his first attendance of the year. He is able to scrape by and figure out what is going on in his English class, but is desperately trying to grasp the concepts in math. He had spent the last 120 days in a juvenile detention center. He is so far behind that he will most likely have to repeat his junior year.
Sadly, this is not a unique situation. Many youths that are incarcerated face similar homecomings upon their release from juvenile detention facilities. Incarceration is counterproductive to rehabilitating youth offenders because it denies them proper basic education, fails to address special education needs as well as prevents vital social skills from being developed.
Educational programs in detention facilities do not have to meet the same standards as public education. According to the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, "State and federal regulations do not speak directly to the obligations of public agencies to provide services to students incarcerated in local county or city jails."
This is completely unacceptable. Regardless of where a student is attending school, be it public, private or incarceration, it is a right to have the education need to be a vital member of society. If there are no specific standards set to these institutions, then the youths will be even more hard pressed to successfully re-enter society.
The state of Wyoming, in its executive summary of Juvenile Detention Standards, clearly states, "a juvenile detention facility under the management of local or country government is exempt from state certification." Also, only three hours of...