Introduction, Session 5, Activity 1

Alternative Education Overview:
Juvenile Justice Institutions
(Short-term Locked Facilities)

Lou Denti, Ph.D.
Special Education Program
California State University, Monterey Bay

~ Introduction, Session 5~
Activity 1

• Identify services to delinquent youth in your Local County or region. Write a one or two page summary of the most restrictive (i.e., juvenile hall to the least restrictive (i.e., group home) and any program in between. Be sure to visit the institution’s website, if they have one.

• You just read an article in the newspaper that a ward at juvenile hall was treated harshly. During the course of a month, a young 15-year-old male was “four pointed” (hands and feet spread and tied to the bedpost) five times for disruptive behavior. You were disturbed by what you read. Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper as well as a letter to the judicial officer of the juvenile hall.

• Obtain a copy of gang suppression information from your local police department. Also, identify gang names, attire and signals from gangs that may be from your surrounding area or the biggest city in your state. Summarize the results of your research in a 1-2 page paper.