Can someone help me with a topic sentence on the Juvenile Justice system for an essay?

Question

I am trying to write an essay on The Juvenile Justice System, which is due tomorrow and I am suffering from writer's block. Please help!

Answer 1

The Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act

The Juvenile Justice System was instituted during the Progressive Era, a period of social reform in the U.S. It was initially designed to assist vagrant youth that were being dealt with within the adult system. Since that time it has been effected by numerous policy and philosophy changes. The landmark policy that established the system we currently operate under was the 1974 Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act.

The Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act called for a "deinstitutionalization" of juvenile delinquents. It required that states holding youth within adult prisons for status offenses remove them within a span of two years (this timeframe was adjusted over time). The act also provided program grants to states, based on their youth populations, and created the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP).

Through reauthorization amendments, additional programs have been added to the original Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act. The following list highlights a few of these additions:

* 1977 - Programs were developed to assist learning disabled children that entered the juvenile justice system.
* 1984 - A new missing and exploited children program was added.
* 1984 - Strong support was given to programs that strengthened families.
* 1988 - Studies on prison conditions within the Indian justice system were called for.
* 1990 - The OJJDP began funding child abuse training programs to instruct judicial personnel and prosecutors.
* 1992 - A juvenile boot camp program was designed to introduce delinquent youth to a lifestyle of structure and discipline.
* 1992 - A community prevention grants program gave start-up money to communities for local juvenile crime prevention plans.

Best of luck to you.

Answer 2

How about this, from my personal experience.

"How the juvenile justice system is useless, and we put kids on probation and put them back out on the street without any consequences for their actions."

Not that I'm bitter or anything...