The Rising Tide Of Crime And Violence - 2120 Words

Multisystemic Therapy and Treating Delinquent Behavior The rising tide of crime and violence in America has caught our youth in it’s ever- expanding wake. American youth are intimately acquainted with violence as both perpetrators and victims. Crime statistics show that adolescents are responsible for approximately 29% of all crime and 17% of violent crime (FBI, 1992). Commensurate with their rates of offending, adolescents also have high rates of victimization. For example, homicide has emerged as the second leading cause of death among adolescents, and those aged 15–34 are at highest risk of non-fatal assault (Henggeler, 1996). The management of violent and chronic juvenile offenders has become an important issue on the nation s†¦show more content†¦To address this issue, mental health professionals and policy makers have justifiably argued for the promotion of childhood programs that may prevent the development of violent behavior (Borduin, 1995). Traditionally, the juvenile justice system has emphasized the goa ls of treatment and rehabilitation of young offenders, while attempting to protect them from punishment, vengeance, and stigmatization (Tate, 1995).Violent juvenile offenders have posed a challenge to this rehabilitative ideal because of mounting public pressure to ensure protection of society. Juveniles who are perceived as risky or persistent in their criminal activity are increasingly transferred to the adult criminal justice system, where they may receive much severer penalties (Tate, 1995). Over the past decade, several treatments, including multisystemic therapy (MST) , functional family therapy and multidimensional treatment foster care, have been identified as promising or effective practices with juvenile offenders by the U. S. Surgeon General , the Blue- prints for Violence Prevention and re- viewers (Mitchell, 2006). Multisystemic therapy (MST), pioneered by Scott Henggeler at the Medical University of South Carolina, is a family- and community-based treatment that has successfully served as a clinical and cost-effective alternative to out-of-home placements (e.g. incarceration, psychiatric hospitalization) for youths presenting serious clinical