Topics Related to Juvenile Justice

A teacher is someone that not only teaches her students but inspires, transforms, prepares and encourages them to do more, be more.

That’s why Janet Dalton, math teacher at Stonewall Jackson Youth Development Center, was inspired to enter the profession. She had a third grade teacher who made everyone in her class work together as a team and contribute accordingly.

One teacher at Cabarrus Juvenile Detention Center in Concord has developed a unique way to work with the juveniles who pass through the center’s doors during their encounters with North Carolina’s juvenile justice system. To foster his students’ growth and development, Steven Hailey offers them the opportunity to nurture distressed plants he has procured at discount from a local home improvement store.

Illness, family vacation and emergencies may keep children out of school from time to time, and are a common occurrence in North Carolina classrooms. Excessive, repeated and unexcused school absences – known as truancy – negatively affect a child’s ability to learn, grow and eventually graduate, which may lead to unemployment and other negative outcomes as an adult.

Out of 72 Juvenile Justice Section instructors, three were recognized as instructors of the year in the categories overall achievement, Court Services and Facility Operations on Tuesday, Feb. 28, at a ceremony in Raleigh.

“All three instructors have worked so hard to equip Juvenile Justice staff with the training needed to effectively complete their duties,” said Kimberly Quintus, director of juvenile justice policy, training and strategic planning.

“Treatment” is one of the key aspects of the juvenile justice system. Though youth development centers are the most restrictive, intensive dispositional option available to North Carolina’s juvenile courts, YDCs by definition are secure facilities aimed at providing education and treatment services to prepare committed youth to successfully transition to a community setting. Rehabilitative services in a youth development center are offered within a programming approach called the Model of Care.