Brooke Austin

Professor Santiago
UWRT 1102-027
2/27/2017
Outline
Are Juvenile Delinquency Programs Effective, or are they Harmful?
They are harmful to children psychologically and there isnt really any proof that they help
children to change their behavior or make it worse.
Thesis Statement: Many people know about juvenile programs like Scared Straight and boot
camps, but dont know exactly how harmful it is for the children (and everyone else) involved.
Theyre not just psychologically harmful, they can even be physically harmful as well. Why do
we still have these programs if they are harmful?

1. Introduction/Thesis Statement
A. This is placed at the beginning because it states what the paper is going to be about.
2. Definitions and brief overview/history of boot camps, scared straight, etc.
A. This is placed second so that everyone knows what the key words are and what they
mean so that when they read the rest of the paper they will know what everything
means.
B. https://www.ojjdp.gov/pubs/reform/ch2_g.html Juvenile Boot Camps (no specified
author)
C. https://www.ncjrs.gov/html/ojjdp/news_at_glance/234084/topstory.html Justice
Department Discourages the Use of "Scared Straight" Programs (no specified author)
3. Statistics (rate of recidivism, etc.)
A. This is placed here so that everyone can actually see the results of the programs for
themselves.
B. This is relevant to the paper because we need to look at the statistics to help
determine if the programs are actually doing anything.
C. https://www.crimesolutions.gov/PracticeDetails.aspx?ID=4 Juvenile Awareness
Programs (Scared Straight) [no specified author]
D. http://yvpc.sph.umich.edu/exploring-rehabilitation-programs-juvenile-criminal-
offenders/ Reducing Recidivism for Juvenile Criminal Offenders by Brittany Bostic
4. Psychological harmful risks of the programs
A. This is placed after statistics because the statistics kind of ties in with the
psychological risks but since they are not the same topic, they deserve separate
paragraphs.
B. This is relevant to the paper because we need to know how harmful the programs
could be for the kids and how it could change them and affect them negatively.
C. http://www.unmarriedamerica.org/emancipation/networking/scholars/nmha-fact-
sheet.htm Juvenile Boot Camps (no specified author)
5. Psychologists thoughts
A. This is placed here to kind of get into the setting of the conclusion.
B. This is relevant because a lot of the problems with the programs are more
psychological than anything else, so a psychologist would have the best insight.
C. https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/redirect/201203/scared-crooked Do Scared
Straight programs work? By Timothy D. Wilson
6. Physical risks of the programs
A. This is placed after psychological risks because it is a specific topic under a general
idea (health risks)
B. Physical risks are relevant because the juvenile boot camps are often very physically
demanding.
C. http://www.teenbootcamps.org/boot-camps/could-a-boot-camp-for-teenagers-hurt-
your-child.html Could A Boot Camp for Teenagers Hurt Your Child? (no specified
author)
7. Examples of how the t.v. show (Beyond Scared Straight) could ruin the kids lives
A. Placed here to begin the section about kids
B. I believe its relevant because lots of people watch the show and it has the names of
the kids on there. People could be watching it and recognize the kids in it and it
would give them a bad image, thus effecting how they act once theyre out of the
program.
8. Kids perspectives of the programs (the ones who have been in it)
A. This is placed here to get some insight of the children and how they felt about it
before they grew up.
B. This is relevant because these children have actually been through one or more of the
programs and how they felt and what they thought is related to how they acted once
they got out the program.
9. Examples of what happened to the juveniles while they were in the program
A. This is placed here to see why maybe the adults turned out the way they did in the
next paragraph
B. Relevant because it is related to what happened to the children once they became
adults
10. The grown adults perspectives of the programs (the ones who were in it when they were
children)
A. This is placed here because we just previously talked about the children and need to
know what they thought when they grew up.
B. This is relevant because now that the children have grown up, their opinions on it
have probably changed since they matured.
11. Parents perspective
A. This is placed here because we just talked about the child.
B. This is relevant because they were there before their child went in and was there to
see how their child acted after. They could provide some valuable insight.
12. The inmates perspectives
A. Placed here because were still going off perspectives
 B. They were the ones actually getting into the childrens faces and taunting them. I
think its important to know how they felt about doing it and how the kids were
reacting about it.
13. The perspective of an expert in the criminal justice field
A. This is placed here because it is the last perspective and probably the least important.
B. This is still relevant though because the criminal justice system is still offering these
programs, knowing that its not really going that great.
C. http://jjie.org/2011/01/11/scared-straight-story-2/8693/ Beyond Scared Straight:
Experts Alarmed by New Show and Impact on Kids by Ryan Schill
14. What are the benefits (if any) to the program
A. This was put here because I want to provide suggestions for better programs that
might work and to point out the good parts of the programs as a possibility to use the
good things in the program
B. It is relevant for coming up with suggestions for new and improved programs
15. What else, if anything, has been tried?
A. Placed here to get an idea of what works and doesnt so the next paragraph makes
sense
B. Relevant to the paper for the next paragraph
16. Suggestions for more effective programs
A. Placed here as sort of an introduction to the conclusion
B. Relevant because I want to make some suggestions on what we could do better
17. My answer/conclusion
A. Placed here because this should be at the end (before the actual conclusion though)
B. Relevant for my research
18. Actual conclusion