Kids in juvenile justice need to see that there is a future down the road for them. That often has nothing to do with the juvenile justice system, or the justice system as a whole. A world of opportunity includes opportunity for everyone. I think we get too interested in how many social programs we have, versus how much opportunity there is for everyone in our society.
I have been a defendant in juvenile court, admittedly for violent felonies. None of those folks got to ever meet me again because I saw that I could do something with myself and go to college. It wasn’t some special program that reached down and saved me, I just lived in a world that had a lot of opportunities that I needed to take advantage of. I don’t plan on ever being referred to as “defendant” again while in court, if you meet me in court these days you have to call me your honor.
We need to make sure there are plenty of opportunities, and then leave it to the juveniles to go out and get theirs. 100 altruistic social workers are completely ineffectual if the kid does not want to change.