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Juvenile justice program teaches
boys life lessons and accountability
By Dallas Morning News, adapted by Newsela staff on 04.06.15
Word Count 1,422
A youth from the Diversion Male Court waits with his mother to speak with Judge George Ashford at the
Henry Wade Juvenile Justice Center in Dallas, Texas, March 16, 2015. His journal sits next to him. As part
of the program, he is required to make daily entries. Photo: Rose Baca/Dallas Morning News/TNS
DALLAS — Most judges don't form personal connections with the offenders who
come before the court. Judge George Ashford is different. Each Monday, he
meets with minority boys in Dallas County who have gotten in trouble with the
law to teach, preach and live by example.
Ashford, a black lawyer, is the judge of the Diversion Male Court (DMC), a sixmonth rehabilitation program for minority boys. DMC is staffed by men of color
and was created in response to the racial imbalances in the juvenile justice
system. Many of the young boys and girls who get in trouble with the law are
black or Hispanic, while the lawyers and judges who are tasked with helping
them to reform are often white.
DMC connects minority boys in Dallas to adults with whom they can identify, and
who use a variety of methods to help them improve their behavior. DMC is
unique in Texas, and there are only a handful of programs like it in the
country. Boys who participate in DMC have been accused of everything from
aggravated assault to burglary, and the program is their last chance to avoid a
juvenile record.
Emphasizing Life Lessons
More than simply telling these boys to stay out of trouble, Ashford and his team
teach life lessons about accountability, respect, responsibility and empathy.
According to Dr. Terry Smith, executive director of the Dallas County Juvenile
Department and the woman who started DMC, the program helps boys mature
into adulthood. “These men are teaching them how to be men,” she said.
University of Texas at Dallas criminologist Alex R. Piquero, a nationally
recognized juvenile justice expert, said DMC has an interesting approach to
helping youths who get into trouble with the law. "We should continue to
experiment with new approaches and alternatives to sentencing, treatment and
rehabilitation,” he said.
Piquero also noted, however, that programs like DMC need to be evaluated over
a long period of time in order to ensure that they are as effective as traditional
court when it comes to reforming young offenders.
One mother, a volunteer minister, described DMC as “an answer to prayer.” Her
son is relatively new to the program. “Him getting into trouble was real hard for
me. I need him to learn to follow the rules,” she said. “I wish they had it when my
nephew got in trouble. There wasn’t anyone to show they cared.”
Know Your Manners
DMC does not sentence boys who have committed crimes with terms of
detention or probation. Instead, these boys are enrolled in a multi-level program
that promotes their personal growth.
Boys in DMC have to follow a number of rules that dictate how they behave,
dress and carry themselves. Whether the boys are chubby-cheeked 10-yearolds barely topping 4 feet tall or gangly 16-year-olds sporting wispy chin hair,
they are required to wear pants firmly belted around their hips and collared
shirts that are carefully tucked in.
They are also expected to have excellent manners. “No, no, no,” probation
officer Herman Guerra admonishes when a boy sits down without pulling out the
chair next to him for his mother. Guerra demonstrates: “Stand behind it; with
both hands, pull it out.”
Helping Them To Open Up
Ashford wears a suit and tie instead of a robe when he talks to DMC boys, and
he does not sit on the elevated bench where judges normally command the
court. With one boy, he discusses boxing; with another, auto repair. Every
conversation leads back to a life lesson.
When a small 12-year-old with glasses and a wispy voice sits down, Ashford
asks what he did on the recent snow day. The boy mumbles a short answer, and
Ashford persists, trying to get the boy to open up.
“How are you doing now in science?” he asks.
The boy’s grades are OK. However, James Hill, a probation officer, tells the
judge that other kids at the boy’s school bully him.
Ashford tells the boy that because he has done everything he’s been asked, he
will be promoted to the next stage of the program, where he will learn new
character traits, perform community service and come to court every other
week.
Program's High Expectations
When Smith decided to create DMC, she approached veteran juvenile officer
Mario Love.
“I actually laughed,” Love said, describing his first reaction to the idea.
He was doubtful that the program could work, and so were Ashford, Guerra and
Hill.
“I’m happy to say I was proven wrong,” says Love, who is now a passionate
advocate for the program.
Since DMC began, 258 boys have been referred by the district attorney’s office,
the lawyers who normally argue for probation and detention for offenders. Some
143 enrolled in the program, and 25 more are currently under consideration.
DMC is demanding. Probation officers meet with each boy weekly to see if he is
abiding by the 7 p.m. curfew and how he is doing at school. The officer also
administers random drug tests. Another officer who is in charge of making sure
the boy does not skip school may call the boy each morning to wake him up,
and text him throughout the day to check on his whereabouts. Each boy must
keep up with his school work and is tutored if necessary.
All participants are required to learn “character traits” such as trustworthiness
and respect and to write a half-page journal entry every day documenting how
these traits affect their behavior.
Building Blocks Of Character
Overall, the program focuses on building character. Sometimes this requires
adapting to the needs of each youth. When Love learned that a 17-year-old in
the program had recently become a father, he added parenting classes to the
barber classes the boy was already taking.
“We know you’re here because of an offense, but we need to look at what’s
lacking around you and what services can we put into play to make you a better
person,” Love said.
According to Ashford, the program can help kids who have developed bad
habits and made bad decisions to turn their lives around. He described how a
youth's experience at DMC can lead to a dramatic change. “He gets some
positive influences," he said. "He gets the probation officer who really shows him
they are concerned about him, care about him. They get the right kind of
feedback from the judge, that, you know, we’re really trying to help you. Maybe
some of the services kick in, the counseling addresses some issues in the home
that help both him and the parent."
“Those cases are deeply satisfying," he observed.
Uncomfortable, But Necessary Topic
Race is central to the structure and approach of DMC, and Smith recognizes
that race can be an “uncomfortable topic." "Does that mean we ignore it?" she
asked.
Blacks make up about 22 percent of Dallas County’s juvenile population but
about 44 percent of those in the county’s juvenile justice system, according to
the Juvenile Department. In other words, an unusually large proportion of
African-American youth end up in trouble with the law. Experts call this "overrepresentation." Hispanic youth are slightly underrepresented, meaning that the
proportion of Hispanics who enter the the juvenile justice system is below
average, while white youth are highly underrepresented.
Many experts say that these numbers do not necessarily mean that black and
Hispanic kids commit more crimes than white kids do. Rather, minority boys may
be more likely to be caught and punished for the crimes they commit because
they lack the resources many whites have.
Biases In The System
Darlene Byrne, a state district judge in Travis County who is president-elect of
the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, said that there are
racial biases in how youths are treated in the juvenile justice system.
Experts point to the case of Ethan Couch, a white teenager who killed four
people in Tarrant County two years ago while driving drunk. Couch was 16 at
the time of the crash, and it was his third alcohol-related offense, yet a judge did
not sentence Couch to serve jail time. It would have been very unlikely for a
black teen to receive such a forgiving sentence, the experts say.
Piquero said that it’s hard to know why minorities are overrepresented in the
juvenile justice system, but argued that biases may not be the whole
explanation. “It’s real simple to look at who is in the facilities and say, ‘Oh, well
the system is totally biased,’” he said. “That may be true at some level or to
some extent. We just don’t know how much.”
Quiz
1
2
Which paragraphs from the section "Program's High Expectations" suggest that the
DMC program's approach is unusual?
(A)
paragraphs 1 and 2
(B)
paragraphs 1 and 4
(C)
paragraphs 2 and 3
(D)
paragraphs 2 and 5
Which paragraph shows the importance of giving each participant personal
attention in the DMC program?
(A)
Boys in DMC have to follow a number of rules that dictate how they
behave, dress and carry themselves. Whether the boys are
chubby-cheeked 10-year-olds barely topping 4 feet tall or gangly
16-year-olds sporting wispy chin hair, they are required to wear
pants firmly belted around their hips and collared shirts that are
carefully tucked in.
(B)
Blacks make up about 22 percent of Dallas County’s juvenile
population but about 44 percent of those in the county’s juvenile
justice system, according to the Juvenile Department. In other
words, an unusually large proportion of African-American youth end
up in trouble with the law. Experts call this "over-representation."
(C)
Many experts say that these numbers do not necessarily mean that
black and Hispanic kids commit more crimes than white kids do.
Rather, minority boys may be more likely to be caught and
punished for the crimes they commit because they lack the
resources many whites have.
(D)
Overall, the program focuses on building character. Sometimes this
requires adapting to the needs of each youth. When Love learned
that a 17-year-old in the program had recently become a father, he
added parenting classes to the barber classes the boy was already
taking.
3
Read the claim from the section "Emphasizing Life Lessons."
More than simply telling these boys to stay out of trouble,
Ashford and his team teach life lessons about accountability,
respect, responsibility and empathy.
Each selection supports this claim EXCEPT:
4
(A)
“These men are teaching them how to be men,” she said.
(B)
"He gets the probation officer who really shows him they are
concerned about him, care about him."
(C)
“I wish they had it when my nephew got in trouble. There wasn’t
anyone to show they cared.”
(D)
Instead, these boys are enrolled in a multi-level program that
promotes their personal growth.
Read the claim from the section "Biases In The System."
...there are racial biases in how youths are treated in the
juvenile justice system.
Which sentence provides the strongest evidence for the claim above?
(A)
Many experts say that these numbers do not necessarily mean that
black and Hispanic kids commit more crimes than white kids do.
(B)
Rather, minority boys may be more likely to be caught and
punished for the crimes they commit because they lack the
resources many whites have.
(C)
Experts point to the case of Ethan Couch, a white teenager who
killed four people in Tarrant County two years ago while driving
drunk.
(D)
It would have been very unlikely for a black teen to receive such a
forgiving sentence, the experts say.
Answer Key
1
2
Which paragraphs from the section "Program's High Expectations" suggest that the
DMC program's approach is unusual?
(A)
paragraphs 1 and 2
(B)
paragraphs 1 and 4
(C)
paragraphs 2 and 3
(D)
paragraphs 2 and 5
Which paragraph shows the importance of giving each participant personal
attention in the DMC program?
(A)
Boys in DMC have to follow a number of rules that dictate how they
behave, dress and carry themselves. Whether the boys are
chubby-cheeked 10-year-olds barely topping 4 feet tall or gangly
16-year-olds sporting wispy chin hair, they are required to wear
pants firmly belted around their hips and collared shirts that are
carefully tucked in.
(B)
Blacks make up about 22 percent of Dallas County’s juvenile
population but about 44 percent of those in the county’s juvenile
justice system, according to the Juvenile Department. In other
words, an unusually large proportion of African-American youth end
up in trouble with the law. Experts call this "over-representation."
(C)
Many experts say that these numbers do not necessarily mean that
black and Hispanic kids commit more crimes than white kids do.
Rather, minority boys may be more likely to be caught and
punished for the crimes they commit because they lack the
resources many whites have.
(D)
Overall, the program focuses on building character. Sometimes
this requires adapting to the needs of each youth. When Love
learned that a 17-year-old in the program had recently become
a father, he added parenting classes to the barber classes the
boy was already taking.
3
Read the claim from the section "Emphasizing Life Lessons."
More than simply telling these boys to stay out of trouble,
Ashford and his team teach life lessons about accountability,
respect, responsibility and empathy.
Each selection supports this claim EXCEPT:
4
(A)
“These men are teaching them how to be men,” she said.
(B)
"He gets the probation officer who really shows him they are
concerned about him, care about him."
(C)
“I wish they had it when my nephew got in trouble. There wasn’t
anyone to show they cared.”
(D)
Instead, these boys are enrolled in a multi-level program that
promotes their personal growth.
Read the claim from the section "Biases In The System."
...there are racial biases in how youths are treated in the
juvenile justice system.
Which sentence provides the strongest evidence for the claim above?
(A)
Many experts say that these numbers do not necessarily mean that
black and Hispanic kids commit more crimes than white kids do.
(B)
Rather, minority boys may be more likely to be caught and
punished for the crimes they commit because they lack the
resources many whites have.
(C)
Experts point to the case of Ethan Couch, a white teenager who
killed four people in Tarrant County two years ago while driving
drunk.
(D)
It would have been very unlikely for a black teen to receive such a
forgiving sentence, the experts say.