Vocational Training in Juvenile Detention: A Call for Action, Outline Example

I. Introduction – a call to action

1. • Problem: 80,000 American youth are serving time behind bars
   • Youth commit crimes because they suffer from lack of opportunities
   • If detained youth are not included in vocational development literature and programs, they will forever be disconnected and criminalized.

II. Juvenile Detention statistics and background information

1. • What is juvenile detention?

III. Who gets detained

1. • Predominantly male, violent offenders, black, white, and Hispanic population, abuse, psychiatric disorders

IV. Vocational Training

• • provide former inmates with marketable skills, fewer disciplinary problems, lower recidivism, fewer parole violations, greater postdetention employment, and reduced correctional costs through public–private partnerships

V. Existing Programs and Standards

• • No uniformity in career development curricula or outcomes.

VI. Heuristics for Vocational Training in Juvenile Detention

1. • Six types of occupations
     1. Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, Conventional
   • three theoretical considerations in career development
     1. Emerging adulthood, sociopolitical development, social cognitive career theory

VII. Considerations for Successful Implementation

VIII. Conclusion

Questions for discussion:

1. What kinds of jobs/positions would teens train for?
2. Would it be better and more efficient to provide teens with schooling instead of vocational training?
3. What types of transitions would be appropriate with this plan?
4. How will vocational training reduce the percentage of re-incarceration?