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Ramifications Of The Juvenile Justice Waiver

Social workers in the court room play an major role in helping to decide whether or not a child should be charged as an adult for committing a crime while a minor. A minor being sent to juvenile court does not necessarily mean that the minor will be tried as an juvenile. It is also the responsibility of the court to determine if the minor should stay in juvenile court of be moved into adult criminal court. A social work assigned to the minor as well as the defense attorney, prosecutor, and judge will argue in court to decide the minors fate. This social policy that is used in the court system is known as the Juvenile Justice Waiver.
The Juvenile Justice Waiver is the practice of transferring jurisdiction over a juvenile from juvenile or family court to adult criminal court( Siegel & Welsh, 323). Once waived, the juvenile is treated in the same manner as an adult. The juvenile can be held in an adult jail and, if found guilty, is subject to the same penalties as an adult.
Juvenile waiver provisions have a tremendous impact on a young person's life. Prosecution in criminal court exposes juveniles to the same penalties as adults. They may face a life or death sentence, incarceration in State prison, and a permanent criminal record. Juveniles adjudicated in juvenile proceedings, on the other hand, generally must be released at age 18, receive rehabilitative treatment in a juvenile facility, and may be permitted to have their juvenile records expunged
One of the ideas behind creating the juvenile court system was that children were unlike adults, they can be easily helped if they were turning delinquent. Children in the juvenile court would not be found guilty and be considered convicts like adults, they were be adjudicated delinquent and helped to get back on to the right path. These adjudicated children would not be branded convicts and would not be considered part of the criminal justice system, they would have no criminal record. However, not all children...