Deck 5: Critical Challenges in Hearing the Voice of Youth in the Youth Justice System

Question 1

The law that regulates criminal conduct for children and youth is based on a ________.

A) legislative system
B) binary system
C) bifurcated system
D) closed system
E) ambiguous system

Answer 1

B

Question 2

The punitive stance, which in recent years appears to have been increasingly adopted toward young people, is reflected in policies such as ________.

A) zero tolerance
B) anti-social behaviour orders
C) curfews
D) All of the above
E) Both b and c

Answer 2

D

Question 3

There are now provisions in juvenile criminal statutes throughout the world that provide for the transfer of youth to the adult system for ________.

A) adjudication or punishment
B) assessment or treatment
C) safety or security
D) education or sentence
E) All of the above

Answer 3

A

Question 4

In 1985, the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Youth Justice, known as the ________, recognized the special needs of young people and promote diversion from court proceedings.

A) Kyoto Rules
B) Rome Agreement
C) Beijing Rules
D) Riyadh Agreement
E) Berlin Rules

Question 5

The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) ________.

A) has been ratified in nearly 180 countries
B) reiterates that children have a right to be protected from degrading and cruel punishment and to receive special treatment in the justice system
C) states that children below a minimum age shall be presumed to lack the capacity to infringe the penal law
D) All of the above
E) Both b and c

Question 6

The 2005 Nunn Commission on the administration of youth justice in Nova Scotia recommended ________.

A) mental health facilities for at-risk youth
B) additional training and funding for assessment and early intervention
C) tougher sentences for youth convicted of criminal negligence causing death
D) All of the above
E) a and b only

Question 7

According to the text, the ________ is the most ratified of all human rights instruments but also perhaps the most violated of the human rights treaties.

A) UN Declaration on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC)
B) Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA)
C) Safe Streets and Communities Act
D) Young Offenders Act (YOA)
E) Restorative Justice Act (RJA)

Question 8

Information was presented to the 2005 Nunn Commission on the administration of youth justice in Nova Scotia, showing that approximately ________ of repeat young offenders are living with disabilities, including mental health disabilities.

A) 90 per cent
B) 80 per cent
C) 70 per cent
D) 60 per cent
E) 50 per cent

Question 9

________ are examples of courts or programs that apply the theory of therapeutic jurisprudence.

A) Mental health courts
B) Mental health diversion programs
C) Teen courts
D) All of the above
E) Both a and b

Question 10

Skowyra and Cocozza's (2007) Blueprint for Change: A comprehensive model for the identification and treatment of youth with mental health needs in contact with the youth justice system includes which of the following principles?

A) Youth should not have to enter the juvenile justice system solely in order to access mental health services or because of their mental illness.
B) If diversion out of the juvenile justice system is not possible, youth should be placed in secure institutions that protect both the youth and the general public.
C) Mental health services should meet the developmental realities of youth.
D) Both a and b
E) Both a and c

Question 11

The case of Ashley Smith (discussed in Box 5.1) is an example of ________.

A) the inappropriate use of closed custody and segregation
B) the high quality of mental health services in youth detention centres, despite difficult cases
C) a death that could probably not have been prevented
D) Both a and b
E) Both a and c

Question 12

________ is not listed as a main predictor of criminal behaviour and violence.

A) Criminal history
B) Anti-social personality
C) Anti-social cognition
D) Mental health illness
E) Anti-social peers

Question 13

Of the following risk factors associated with youth crime and delinquency, ________ is more difficult to change.

A) impulsivity
B) boredom
C) status with peers
D) drug misuse
E) frustration

Question 14

The findings of research conducted by Andrews and Bonta (1997) indicate that effective youth crime prevention outcomes are possible if programs target such intermediate factors as ________.

A) individual characteristics
B) situational factors
C) criminogenic needs
D) family risk factors
E) genetic factors

Question 15

Latessa, Cullen, and Gendreau (2002) use the term ________ to refer to the failure of programs that focus on punishment without producing a rehabilitative benefit.

A) "correctional quackery"
B) "medical fraudulency"
C) "biased treatment"
D) "juvenile pretense"
E) "honest delinquency"

Question 16

The literature on resiliency among children and young people shows that ________.

A) not all children and young people exposed to multiple risk factors become offenders
B) not all children and young people who offend grow up in low socio-economic classes
C) most children and young people can overcome adversity and thrive
D) All of the above
E) Both a and b

Question 17

Effective crime prevention programs used with at-risk youth are ________.

A) designed to target crime-related characteristics that can be changed and that are predictive of future criminal activities
B) delivered locally by volunteers assisted by trained staff
C) delivered to those at the highest risk of re-offending and are individualized as much as possible
D) Both a and b
E) Both a and c

Question 18

The ________ model suggests that programs should be delivered in a manner that addresses the specific risk level of the offender, targets his or her specific criminogenic needs, and takes into account the unique learning styles and capabilities of those involved in the program.

A) risk-need-responsivity
B) one-size-fits-all
C) youth justice
D) cultivation hypothesis
E) frame analysis

Question 19

We know from the ________ literature that not all young people exposed to multiple risk factors become offenders, nor do all young people who often grow up in low socio-economic classes.

A) control balance
B) social constructionism
C) resiliency
D) functionalism
E) Marxist

Question 20

The Quantum Opportunities Program attempts to reduce the risk factors for youth crime and delinquency through intervening in the field of ________.

A) educational activities
B) developmental activities
C) motivational incentives
D) All of the above
E) Both a and c

Question 21

________ operate as a diversionary program for first-time minor offenders, which determine a restorative sentence for the youth that is fair and proportionate.

A) Teen courts
B) Mental health courts
C) Adult courts
D) Closed courts
E) Trial courts

Question 22

Brank and Lane's (2008) study of incarcerated youth found that, when they were asked, ________.

A) more than 75 per cent said that their parents were not at all responsible for their criminal behaviour
B) more than 50 per cent said that their parents were completely involved in their lives before they were committed to a young offender facility
C) more than 35 per cent said that their parents either always or usually knew where they were
D) All of the above
E) Both b and c

Question 23

When there is full adherence to the risk-needs-responsivity (RNR) model presented by Andrews and Bonta (2010), recidivism reduces by ________.

A) 50 per cent
B) 30 per cent
C) 20 per cent
D) 45 per cent
E) 65 per cent

Question 24

The principles governing the group Youth Matters include which of the following?

A) Inclusive
B) Safe and meaningful
C) Non-judgemental
D) Every voice heard
E) All of the above

Question 25

________ refers to the dismantling of a distinct system of criminal justice for youth and the re-merging with systems of justice for adults.

A) Adulteration
B) Youth justice
C) Custodial sanctions
D) Reintegration
E) Convergence

Question 26

Petrosino et al. (2013) in their meta-analysis of 29 studies that assessed the impact of juvenile justice system processing of 7,300 juvenile offenders found that low risk youth referred to a caution program were ________ to reoffend than the same low risk youth referred to an intervention program.

A) more likely
B) less likely
C) equally likely
D) No differences were found
E) None of the above

Question 27

Across Canada, the Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA) has had the effect of reducing the number of young people whom ________.

A) have been transferred to adult court
B) have been sentenced to probation
C) have been granted participation in extrajudicial sanctions
D) have been sentenced to custody
E) have been sentenced to parole

Question 28

Which of the following age categories was accused of crime at higher rates than any other age group?

A) 12-17
B) 18-24
C) 25-30
D) 31-35
E) 36-40

Question 29

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child article 12 respects which of the following?

A) The views of the child
B) The presumption of innocence
C) The right to retain legal council
D) The right to child welfare services
E) None of the above

Question 30

Which of the following are the main priorities of the Cannabis Act?

A) Preventing youth from accessing cannabis
B) Protecting public health and public safety
C) Eliminating the illegal cannabis market through serious criminal penalties for those operating outside the legal framework
D) None of the above
E) All of the above

Question 31

Prior to the age of majority, children and youth receive protection from the state in the form of restrictions on their freedom and investment in their development.

Question 32

Treating a youth like an adult for the purposes of criminal responsibility is a reflection of societal values.

Question 33

The increased criminal justice processing of youth is important for the reduction of youth crime.

Question 34

The best interests of the child doctrine, which is a key principle of the United Nations Declaraion on the Rights of the Child, is consistent with the increasing trend toward the adulteration of youth crime throughout the world.

Question 35

Canada's international obligations to all children who have committed offences support a preumption that juvenile offenders are not to be treated like adults.

Question 36

The Youth Criminal Justice Act was the first youth justice statute passed in Canada to expressly state that the criminal justice system for young persons must be separate from that of adults.

Question 37

The Youth Criminal Justice Act is based on research that shows that incarcerating young people can do more good than harm.

Question 38

Across Canada, the Youth Criminal Justice Act has had the effect of reducing the number of young people who have been sentenced to custody by focusing on alternatives to the formal system and reserving youth court for serious and persistent offenders.

Question 39

Empirical evidence has shown that mental health treatment reduces subsequent detention rates among foster-care children.

Question 40

Many youth with significant mental health issues are in the juvenile justice system for serious violent offences.

Question 41

There is a growing and diverse body of research that has concluded that youth who are involved in the youth justice system have significantly more mental health and substance abuse problems compared to other youth.

Question 42

Recent studies indicated that most young offenders are diagnosed as having mental health problems before they are put into some form of juvenile detention.

Question 43

It is common that youth will have multiple risk factors that increase the chances of their becoming involved in the youth justice system.

Question 44

Cumulative risk factors sometimes make it difficult to untangle the effects of individual risk factors on the likelihood of a youth becoming involved in the youth justice system.

Question 45

Individual characteristics, such as boredom, frustration, and alcohol or drug misuse, are often long-term problems and not easily changed.

Question 46

The most effective programs used with at-risk youth are delivered locally by volunteers assisted by trained staff.

Question 47

We have sufficient evidence to date to tell us that equal effort should be made to implement treatment programs for all youth who come into the youth justice system.

Question 48

It has been argued that the problem with current discussions about youth policy is that adult policy-makers try to imagine what young people want or what they believe they ought to want or need.

Question 49

Recent studies have confirmed that parents are frequently responsible for the criminal behaviour of their children.

Question 50

Youth themselves can potentially be an important source of information for informing youth policy.

Question 51

According to the research, low risk youth referred to caution programs were more likely to reoffend as opposed to the same low risk youth that were referred to an intervention program.

Question 52

During the years of the JDA, we saw more youths being incarcerated than under the years of the YOA.

Question 53

Across Canada, the Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA) has had the effect of reducing the number of young people who have been sentenced to custody.

Question 54

Looking at crime statistics, Allen (2016) points out that youth, aged 12 to 17 years and young adults aged 18 to 24 years, accounted for over one-third of individuals accused in the police-reported crime.

Question 55

The UNCRC in Article 1 defines a child as "every human being below the age of 18 years unless, under the law applicable to the child, the majority is attained earlier".

Question 56

What is the problem with the binary system where the state focuses on the protection of children until they cross the threshold, known as the age of majority, to adulthood?

Question 57

What is the "best interests of the child" doctrine?

Question 58

What are the key provisions included in the United Nations Declaraion on the Rights of the Child regarding the legal rights of children and youth?

Question 59

What arguments have been made in support of the use of diversion as an intervention approach for young people who come in conflict with the law?

Question 60

Why is the continued success of the Youth Criminal Justice Act vulnerable from a number of perspectives?

Question 61

What was one of the key recommendations of the Nunn Commission?

Question 62

Why is it wrong to infer that there is a direct causal relationship between mental health disorders and youth crime?

Question 63

What are mental health courts?

Question 64

What did the findings of the study carried by Skowyra and Powell (2006) suggest about the identification of mental health needs of youth held in juvenile detention?

Question 65

Why is it often difficult to determine how best to address the needs of young people who become involved with the criminal justice system?

Question 66

What is the basic difference between individual and situational factors linked to youth crime and delinquency? Provide examples of each.

Question 67

What are criminogenic needs? How can they be targeted in a way that results in effective outcomes?

Question 68

What is youth resiliency and why is this concept important in understanding the causes and prevention of youth crime and delinquency?

Question 69

Why is it ill-advised to implement treatment programs for the majority of young people who come in contact with the youth justice system?

Question 70

What is the Quantum Opportunities Program?

Question 71

How has the Quantum Opportunities Program been implemented in Canada?

Question 72

According to Bessant (2005), what is problematic about the way in which discussions about youth policy are currently formulated and played out?

Question 73

In what direction do the chapter authors suggest we should move in order to improve on youth policy as it affects young people both within and outside of the youth justice system?

Question 74

According to the authors of Chapter 5, what is the value of strong youth-adult partnerships?

Question 75

What new approach marked the Juvenile Delinquents Act of 1908?

Question 76

What are the international obligations Canada has agreed to regarding the treatment of children and youth in the criminal justice system? How successful has it been to date in meeting these obligations?

Question 77

What have studies found regarding the extent to which youth involved in the criminal justice system suffer from mental health and substance abuse problems? What are some of the approaches and theories that are being applied in the effort to help young offenders who have these problems?

Question 78

Discuss the case of Ashley Smith in light of Skowyra and Cocozza's (2007) Blueprint for Change: A comprehensive model for the identification and treatment of youth with mental health needs in contact with the youth justice system. Could her death have been prevented?

Question 79

What are the characteristic features of intervention programs for at-risk youth that appear to work versus those that appear not to work?

Question 80

Should youth be given a voice in the development of youth policy? Why?