By now you have probably figured out that very few of the juveniles that enter the juvenile justice system are institutionalized. In Georgia that means they are either sent to a Youth Development Campus (YDC) or to a prison and in some sentences may involve a blended sentence. You will recall that a blended sentence typically occurs when the juvenile starts serving time in a juvenile facility and is later moved to an adult facility after the juvenile reaches a certain age. The type of sentence and where the sentence will be served is influenced by a number of factors that are related to the waivers that were covered earlier in the class. One factor that goes into the decision making process is the resources that are available in the place where the juvenile resides. There are a lot of community and other resources available in some towns and cities but there are fewer choices in rural areas that do not have mentoring organizations such as Big Brothers/Big Sisters, counselors, or other alternative forms of diversion. One of two outcomes is likely to occur. First, with no resources beyond schools and churches, a juvenile in a rural area is released to his or her parent. That may appear to be a good thing but it may do more harm since the juvenile is not getting the assistance that is needed to change. The other option would be at the other extreme. With no other resources, a juvenile may automatically be sent to detention. There is not another option.

Although the estimates vary, tracking the caseflow diagram that was used earlier in the course, only 3 out of 100 juveniles that start the juvenile justice process (starting with contact with the police) are pushed through the system to some type of institutionalization. That is one of the major differences in the juvenile and adult systems-the juvenile system diverts many more offenders than the adult system. Another difference involves education. There are 28 Georgia Preparatory Academies in Georgia that have the responsibility of continuing the education of the juveniles. The Department of Justice (DJJ) is considered a school system just like the more common city and county systems in the state. The Commissioner of DJJ is the Superintendent of Schools and the State Board acts as the Board of Education. CGTC has instructors at the female YDC in Bibb County which means the students taking the classes get college credit as well as high school credit. The areas of instruction are cosmetology and computers.

Look at the profile of juveniles that are in the adult prison system in Georgia. Go to the site below and select Profiles of Juveniles Sentenced as Adults During 2015 and look at the month at the top of the list. You may need to cut/paste the site if it does not open as a hyperlink.

http://www.dcor.state.ga.us/Research/Monthly_Profile_juvs_sent_as_adults.html

ASSIGNMENT

Summarize and analyze the information from the Monthly Profile.