Juvenile justice systems across the country have come under scrutiny in the past for not trying to help youth offenders stay out of prison as well as their treatment of juveniles after they are sentenced to a juvenile facility.
Advocates for reforming the juvenile justice system have argued that more needs to be done to help juvenile offenders stay out of the state prison system in the future. One challenge many offenders face is finding employment after being convicted of a crime. Adult and juvenile offenders often have difficulties finding a job and can unfortunately lead to some people becoming repeat offenders.
Finding a job with a criminal record can be difficult, especially for juvenile offenders who may not have any work experience to begin with. To help address this issue and to help juvenile offenders get back on the right track, the Department of Juvenile Justice in Georgia has started a program to help youth offenders gain more skills and education.
The Department of Juvenile Justice is working with the Workforce Development for the Re-Entry Skills Preparation and Education Career Training program. This program is designed to help juvenile offenders receive the proper training and education to find a job. The program includes helping juveniles build their resume, offers practice interviews and helps juveniles develop skills they can use in the workplace.
This program could be very helpful for juvenile offenders who are trying to find employment after serving their time in a juvenile facility or state prison. Obtaining the right skills and knowledge to be offered a job is difficult for all young adults right now and juvenile offenders with a criminal record face more obstacles during their job hunt. However, this new program should help juvenile offenders find employment opportunities that can help them stay out of prison as adults.
Source: Access North Ga, “Ga. aims to help young offenders find a job,” Sept. 6, 2013