Social Policy Position: JUVENILE NEEDS

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STATEMENT OF POSITION

The League of Women Voters of Alaska supports comprehensive policies and services for youth. These services should be coordinated between all public and private agencies dealing with prevention, education, and treatment of problems for at-risk youth.

Identified goals are prevention oriented and are:

· To reduce the numbers of pregnancies, births, and sexually transmitted diseases among juveniles;

· To reduce the abuse of drugs, alcohol or other substance abuse among juveniles;

· To meet the needs of runaways and/or "throwaways";

· To lower the number of juveniles attempting and completing suicide; and

· To meet the needs of victims of abuse, neglect or sexual assault.

AMPLIFICATION

Both the 1971 and 1988 League of Women Voters studies demonstrated the lack of coordination among agencies. Better communication among agencies would be helpful in the treatment of juveniles. Comprehensive data collection is needed to understand the scope of the problem. A cohesive policy in dealing with all youth and their families should be developed.

Education for the prevention of juvenile problems is a top priority. This could include but not be limited to:

· parenting,

· communication and decision making,

· self-concept building,

· understanding cultural values,

· education about sexuality,

· family violence,

· gender roles and sex stereotyping,

· sexually transmissible diseases and AIDS,

· prevention of rape, sexual abuse and substance abuse,

· dealing with family dissolution, and

· dealing with grief and similar topics.

Prevention education should include a comprehensive health curriculum for all students (K-12).

Among the needs identified throughout the State in the League study are:

· All juveniles need family life education, including parenting skills, taught within the schools and the community.

· Quality child care should be available for teen parents to foster and encourage their continuing education and skill development.

(Continued)

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Social Policy Position: JUVENILE NEEDS- -Page 2

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· Teen residential treatment centers for substance abuses are needed in all the major population centers of the state.

· Enough group homes and/or shelters should be available to meet the needs of youth that cannot live at home.

· Foster parent programs should be instigated, especially in the smaller communities, which will train, encourage, and provide support to foster parents.

· Adequate nursing and counseling staff should be mandatory for elementary and secondary schools. In-service training for all elementary and secondary staff is an imperative element of prevention.

· Positive places and programs need to be available for recreation and/or use of free time.

· Supervision of juveniles should be encouraged by private and public policies which establish school hours that leave young people unsupervised as little as possible. For example, latchkey programs for younger children and job sharing or flextime for parents.

· Funding of local and state agencies responsible for services to juveniles must be adequate.

· Early identification and intervention of potential problems is crucial before school age.

· Adequate birth control information and services should be readily available.

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Adopted 1971?; Revised 1988; Reaffirmed each year since at LWVAK Convention

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