Some organizations, such as the National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS)
devoted to providing juvenile justice
information and services to the public, will do so in a way that tries to compile as much
information as possible on all topics within the sphere of the welfare of children.
Of course, at least with the NCJRS, it helps that it is a Government-sponsored program.
Meanwhile,
the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice
(CJCJ), arguably limited in its focus and
logistically constrained by the need for charitable donations, nonetheless can
devote itself to a cause that its members truly believe in, and furthermore, is
active on behalf of the community in seeing that its goals are met. Claiming no
political or religious affiliation, the CJCJ is committed to innovative
approaches to protecting the best interests of children implicated in matters
of juvenile law and saving them from delinquency.
Some notes about the Center on Juvenile and Criminal
Justice:
The Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice, which
is based out of San Francisco, is devoted to
directly providing its community (both in terms of geography and the field of
practice) with experimental programs, technical assistance, and program
evaluation services, aiming to promote a sense of fairness in the juvenile
justice system that otherwise would lend itself to juvenile delinquency. In
operation for some 25 years and led by individuals with yet more experience in
legal studies and their practical application, the CJCJ is a professional unit
with all the concerns of the average American and offers its aid to children
and adults alike.
One of the big concerns of the Center on Juvenile and
Criminal Justice regarding prolonged exposure to the courts and detention
facilities is the risk this may present to children in falling into patterns of
delinquency. After all, while detention theoretically is designed to ward off
exposure to conditions that promote juvenile delinquency, much evidence
suggests the opposite effect is realized by this strategy. As much as getting
children away from secure confinement is important to the CJCJ, so is the exact
population it is helping.
The Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice directs its
energies first and foremost at those youths most at risk of delinquency. With
the idea that repeat encounters with the juvenile justice system lead to
increased likelihood of arrests in adulthood, the CJCJ works with multiple
offenders in an attempt to provide them with the care and personal attention they
might otherwise not receive.
