JUVENILE
JUSTICE ROLE MODEL PROGRAM
Student
Handbook
BACKGROUND
The Juvenile Justice Role Model
Development Program was established in response to state and national concern
about the rapid increase in serious juvenile crime and the growing number of
young people identified as "at-risk".
Courses for the program were first offered in the Fall of 1995.
The Program received initial funding through the Florida Attorney
General's Office and has subsequently been funded by the Florida Legislature and
corporate and private donations. From
its inception, the Program has emphasized cultural and academic diversity and
students are recruited from a broad range of disciplines including: criminal
justice, criminology, sociology, psychology, education, music therapy, theatre
and athletics. Through diversity of
training and perspective, at-risk juveniles and young people already involved
with the juvenile justice system will interface with graduates of a program who
have been specifically trained to provide the one element that has been missing
in the lives of so many of these troubled young people ... a positive role model.
OUR
MISSION
The Juvenile Justice Role Model Program has a twofold
mission. First,
to utilize an interdisciplinary and multicultural curriculum through which
students will obtain professional, academic and practical training and
experience in the field of Juvenile Justice.
Second,
to establish a Human Resource Development Center for Florida, which will
serve as a clearinghouse for employment in public and private sector juvenile
justice agencies throughout the state and nation.
PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS
In order to be eligible for an Internship and a Certificate in Juvenile Justice, Role
Model students are first required to successfully complete 18 hours of core
courses with a letter grade of C or above.
The following core courses may be taken in any order and are offered each
semester:
CCJ
4938-15 Multicultural Perspectives on Adolescence & Adolescent Development
This course is designed to increase the student’s knowledge and
understanding of adolescent behaviors, values and learning and study social
issues involving youth all within a multicultural context.
Also from a multicultural perspective, students study the impact of
culture on adolescent behavior, issues regarding minorities within the juvenile
justice system, and how youth service providers can better meet the needs of
youth. This course includes a 20 hour
community service component.
CCJ
4938-10 Youth Management, Community Organizations & Advocacy
This course is intended
to provide students with practical skills related to working with delinquent
children and youth addressing issues related to one on one interaction,
programming, policy development and implementation.
Students have the opportunity to explore issues related to working in an
inter-agency environment. This
course includes a 20 hour community service component.
CCJ
4664 Minorities, Crime & Social Policy
The
primary purpose and focus of this course is to explore the
different viewpoints and unreconciled positions about the current
influence of racial and ethnic bias on the treatment of
ethnic
minority subgroups within America’s
criminal justice system. Additionally,
this course examines the relationship between stereotypical images of
color and images and realities of crime and punishment.
This course includes a 20 hour community
service component.
CCJ 4520 Juvenile Justice
This
course offers an extensive, systematic, and interdisciplinary examination of
juvenile justice administration in the United States. The origin of juvenile court is discussed as well as the
philosophies underlying the ‘socialized’ and ‘constitutional’
approaches to the administration of justice for juveniles.
Students are introduced to the competing perspectives on the
definition, prediction and explanation of delinquent behavior, the
organization and operating processes of juvenile justice administration in the
United States; and the critical philosophical, theoretical, legal and social
issues in confronting the administration of juvenile justice in the United
States today.
This course includes a 20 hour community
service component.
CCJ 4938-14 Social Problems of Youth
This course is designed to address the array of social
problems which plague our youth. The
issues are explored from an academic as well as practical experience.
Different theoretical perspectives on social problems are also examined
as students critically analyze and offer solutions for shaping a better future
for youth. This course includes a 20 hour community
service component.
CCJ
4700 Introduction to Research Methods
This course is designed to provide an introduction to
social science research methods as applied to Criminology and Criminal
Justice. Students are introduced
to the research process, as well as a variety of
different data collection techniques used in criminological
research. Students also
critically examine current research in the field
as well as develop their own research ideas.
Most of these courses include a volunteer community service
component. These volunteer hours
must be documented and completed before the Juvenile
Justice Certificate will be awarded. Core
course instructors and Role Model Program staff will assist and recommend
service opportunities for students who are unable to locate a suitable agency.
One option is the Juvenile Justice Role Model Mentoring Project, a component of
the Role Model Development Program. This
project is an agreement with Belle Vue Middle School to provide mentors for more
than one hundred of their middle school students.
The purpose of the entire volunteer community service experience is for
students to obtain some practical knowledge of the juvenile justice system in
preparation for their internship.
THE INTERNSHIP
Upon completion of the core courses, students are
eligible for a 12 hour internship at an approved juvenile justice agency.
Students accepted for internship will work approximately 32 hours per
week for an entire semester and will gain valuable direct experience in a
typical juvenile justice setting. As
part of the internship, students are required to submit weekly journals of
approximately two pages detailing their experience.
Students are also required to write a term paper to be turned in towards
the end of the internship. Lastly,
during the course of the internship, students are required to attend bi-weekly
meetings. These meetings are group
meetings with all those who are interning in that session.
The meetings are designed to provide interns with staff support while
also providing the opportunity for all interns to come together to share their
experiences and support each other.
STAFF
SUPPORT
Throughout enrollment in the Program,
students receive continuous support from the Program faculty and staff.
Should you have any question please feel free to contact the Juvenile
Justice Role Model Development Program:
Ray
Collum, Program Manager
634 Call Street
322A
Hecht House
Tallahassee,
FL 32306-1127
Phone:
(850) 644-7113
Fax: (850) 644-4668
rjc5860@garnet.acns.fsu.edu