Episode 88: On the Ground in Juvenile Corrections w/ Melinda Sonnen, CDAC

Melinda Sonnen, CADC, is with the Idaho Department of Juvenile Corrections and recently was a featured presenter at the NW Justice Forum, an annual event held in the Northwestern U.S. Her interactive session descriptions are (and will be part of what we cover in this broadcast): Offender Victim Awareness Competency Development: Workshop participants will learn about Idaho Department of Juvenile Corrections Victim Awareness Offender Competency Development Curriculum. One essential component of rehabilitation is for juveniles to understand the effects their behaviors and choices have on others, and then to care enough about those effects to alter their behavior. Without victim awareness, we find that adjusting behavior for juveniles is difficult and short lived. As part of the Victim Empathy Curriculum at JCC-L, juveniles are required to complete the Idaho Department of Juvenile Corrections - Victim Awareness Journal (created for Idaho Department of Juvenile Corrections by The Change Company). Juveniles at JCC-L also participate in the "Victim Impact Listen and Learn" curriculum from U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs. Developing Community Support Systems for Juvenile Justice Youth in Transition from Correctional Confinement: Individuals that are released back into the community after confinement will need support in: setting appropriate goals; creating structure in their lives; making healthy decisions; staying away from risky situations and people; and, learning to ask for help and then accepting the help that is provided. Support Networks assist in reconnecting youth to the community and may provide them with community services opportunities, job placement, assistance in creating means for positive structure in their lives, and provide means for improving the reputation of these juveniles.