enile offenders in the most constructive ways possible. Through both research and practical experience in the field, DOJ programs help to identify effective strategies and approaches for working with juveniles who are at risk of delinquency or who are in the juvenile justice system. Law enforcement efforts and court interventions are essentials to our ability to respond swiftly and appropriately to teens who commit serious, violent crimes. But so is work in the area of prevention. There are prevention programs that work to keep those not currently involved in the juvenile justice system out of the criminal justice system. They are on solid research and sound principals. They reflect the Administration’s belief that prevention requires systematic efforts to reduce the opportunities and incentives for responsible behavior. Research shows that many delinquency prevention programs are effective. Other programs show evidence of success, but they have not been evaluated. Some delinquency prevention programs are not effective or require support from multiple systems to be truly effective, and if implemented inappropriately, they can be counterproductive. Prevention involves a continuum of care that starts at the beginning of a child’s life and continues through late adolescence. The most dramatic of these prevention programs are early interventions targeting children and their families in the first 5 years of life (Mendel). Research suggests that predatory and psychopathological violence may be more effectively treated by early interventions and that the family-focused interventions are among the most promising to date (Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, 1995). Since the family is the central unit responsible for the primary socialization of children, efforts should be made to preserve the integrity of the family and extended family, including adequate day care facilities. Families should be provided with necessary assistance in resolving conditions of instability or conflict. When a settled family environment is lacking and efforts of the community and extended family to assist parents have failed, foster care and adoption should be considered. Such placements should replicate, to the extent possible, a stable family environment and avoid the problem of “foster drift”. Special attention should be given to children affected by rapid and uneven economic, social and cultural change; in particular the children of migrant and refugee families, and innovation and socially constructive modalities for the socialization of children should be designed. Measures should be taken to help families learn about personal obligations and encourage their involvement in family and community based activities (Mendel 1995). Effective delinquency prevention interrupts the processes that produce youthful deviant and delinquent behavior and encourages those processes that support healthy development of children of children. Understanding the roles of risk and protective factors help us understand how we can prevent delinquency. The greater a child’s exposure to risk factors, the greater his or her chances are of becoming delinquent. However, even a child exposed to multiple risk factors can avoid delinquency if he or she is shielded by enough protective factors. Our challenge is to help communities recognize both types of factors and to aid them in establishing programs that reduce risk and help youth become productive, law-abiding adults. Community based risk factors as well as the media are known to influence children throughout child. Community based services, which respond to the interests of young persons, including community development centers and recreational facilities, should be developed and strengthened. Adequate shelter should be provided for young persons who are no longer able to live at home or have no homes. Services should be provided to deal with the difficult transition of young persons to adulthood, includi

Some topics in this essay:
Delinquency Prevention, OJJDP Howell, Guardian Angels’, Justice Programs, Crime Institute, Hawkins Prevention, United Nations, Psychological Association, Girls America, Crime Reports, juvenile justice, delinquency prevention, risk factors, hawkins 1995, justice system, prevention programs, juvenile justice system, serious violent, prevention strategies, law enforcement, juvenile offenders, delinquency prevention programs, criminal juvenile justice, serious violent juvenile, juvenile justice delinquency,