Student Learning Outcomes 1. Understand and define important events in the history of the juvenile justice system in the United States.
2. Explain the social theories of juvenile delinquency and how these theories explain both the causes of delinquency and possible solutions to delinquency.
3. Describe the relationships between the institutions of the U.S. juvenile justice system and how this system is different from the adult criminal justice systems in the U.S.
4. Identify the strengths and weaknesses of the current U.S. juvenile justice system in preventing delinquency and examine ways to facilitate changes to make it more effective.Course Description This course is an introduction to sociological theories that explain juvenile delinquency in the United States. The course will explore the history of the juvenile justice in the U.S. and the causes and solutions of juvenile delinquency. The course will also cover how the U.S. juvenile justice system works and how it is different from the adult criminal justice systems in the US. The course will examine policing of juvenile delinquents, juvenile rehabilitation, probation services, and approaches to address limitations of the current U.S. juvenile justice system.