Juvenile Deliquency

Master of Science in Criminal Justice

CJ 648

Breyer State University
Instructor: Lisa Ratliff-Villerreal, MS

SYLLABUS

COURSE OVERVIEW: Welcome to Juvenile Delinquency, a graduate-level course in the Master of Science in Criminal Justice Degree curriculum.  This course is designed to provide developed theories and understanding as to the causational factors of juvenile delinquency. Currently, our society is overwhelmed with juvenile crime. Many of these criminal acts focus around gangster type behaviors such as drugs, firearms and assaults. This course will explore the many theories behind such juvenile behaviors, in an effort that we can better understand why delinquency occurs and how society has elected to deal the issues at hand.

TIME FRAME: This is a four (4) semester hour course. The course and all exams and/or assignments must be completed within ten weeks. The first day of week one will begin the day that you register for the course or the day that you advise me that your textbooks have arrived and you are ready to begin your studies. Please be cognizant of the time frame as extensions are very rare without special circumstances. Upon successful completion of this course you will be awarded four (4) semester hours of credit. You may accelerate and finish the course prior to the ten-week mark, but not in less than five weeks. There is no mandate to accelerate; it is simply an option if you are able to devote extra time to this course.

TEXTBOOKS: There is one (1) required textbook for this course.

Book 1: Juvenile Justice in America, 5/E Clemens Bartollas, Ph.D., University of Northern Iowa Stuart J. Miller, Ph.D., Washington and Jefferson College Prentice Hall, 2008 Cloth; 464 pp
ISBN-10: 0132256940
ISBN-13: 9780132256940  

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ASSIGNMENTS: By the fifth week of class, you should have read the assigned texts and be prepared for the exams. By the tenth week, you must have completed your paper.

EXAMINATION/FINAL PAPER: There is a midterm (completed by the fifth week) and a final examination (completed during week 9). Both exams are programmed and are located in the classroom for this course.  The examinations are “open book” objective type.  You will have one (1) day to complete your exam, once you access it from the classroom.  To access the exam, you must send me an email and request to have access to the exam.  Upon registration, you will receive your email address.  I will then program your access in.  You will receive an email back from me telling you that you are now authorized to go ahead and to access your exam.  To access, you will come into the classroom, click on testing, and click on the exam you are taking.  You will need your User ID and PASS WORD to access the exam.  The exam will appear on your screen.  Once you access the exam, you have 24 hours to submit your answers.  The program provides me the exact date and time that you accessed the exam.  The program also notifies me of the exact date and time that you submitted your answers.  Thus, the program is timing you.  When you are ready, go back into the classroom and click in your responses and then click submit.  Shortly, you will receive the exam in your email box with your computed score.  You will also know what questions, if any, that you missed, and what the correct answer is.  I also receive a copy of your exam and your score.

Additionally, an eight-ten (8-10) page final paper will be written in which you select a topic of interest to you regarding juvenile delinquency i.e. gangs, violence, etc…  Email me your topic by the end of WEEK 3 for approval. 
The grading sheet for all written papers is as follows:

CONTENT: Weight 48%.
1.  Content is comprehensive, accurate and/or persuasive.
2.  Major points are stated clearly, and are supported by specific details, examples, and/or analysis.
3.  Research is adequate for the topic.
4.  The context and purpose of the writing is clear.

ORGANIZATION: Weight 28%.
1.  The introduction provides sufficient background on the topic and previews major points.
2.  The structure of the paper is clear and easy to follow.
3.  The paper’s organization emphasizes the central theme or purpose and is directed.
4.  The conclusion reviews the major points.

FORMAT/GRAMMAR: Weight 12%.
1.  Spelling is correct.
2.  Word usage is correct.
3.  Punctuation is correct.

READABILITY/STYLE: Weight 12%.
1.  Sentences are complete, clear, and concise.
2.  The tone is appropriate to the content and assignment.
3.  Development of each paragraph provides one idea per paragraph and provides consistency and flow. 

GRADING: Final grades for this course will be computed as follows:
90-100%    - A
80-89%      - B
70-79%      - C
Below 70% - Fail

Midterm Exam (25% of final grade)
Final Exam       (25% of final grade)
Final Paper      (50% of final grade)

ABOUT YOUR INSTRUCTOR: In addition to teaching in the program at Breyer State University, I,  Lisa Ratliff-Villarreal am a  Professor of Criminal Justice at several other online higher learning institutions as well.  I hold a B.A. (Social Sciences with concentration in Criminal Justice) from Colorado State University & M.S. (Criminology) from Indiana State University and am planning to begin my pursuit of my PhD in Criminal Justice program in January 2009.  I have been facilitating online courses for a little over 5 years.  I have been married for 24 years and am the mother of 3 children ages 23, 17, and 11 years old.  My 23 year old is in graduate school currently and will be graduating in Dec of 2008 with her Masters in Management with concentration in Criminal Justice. When I am not responding to emails, phone calls, or grading assignments I enjoy spending time with my kids and am very involved in their extra curricula activities.  We love traveling the Caribbean and spending time together. 

COMMUNICATION: You are encouraged to communicate with me.  I am available as a teacher, coach, and mentor to assist you in meeting your goals for this course.  Primarily, communication is through email.  However, I am also available for conversation by telephone if you would like.  My contact number is listed at the top of this document. Our classroom for this course has a “chat” room.  I am also very willing to meet with you one-on-one in the chat room at your request.  From time to time, depending on how many students are enrolled in this course at a particular time, we will have some scheduled group chats.  You will receive more detailed information at the time such chat sessions are scheduled.  Please keep my email address handy so that you can contact me whenever necessary.   If at any time during this course you change your email address, please be sure to notify me right away.

COURSE OBJECTIVES: The objectives for this course are an understanding of:

 1) The construction of delinquency.
 2) The indifference of Children to the discovery of childhood.
 3) The invention of delinquency.
 4) The extent and distribution of delinquent behavior.
 5) Explanations and theories surrounding causational factors of delinquency.
 6) The juvenile justice system.
 7) The court proceedings and limitations.
 8) Child rights.
 9) Nature verses Nurture.
10) Methods for rehabilitation of delinquents.
11) Drug Abuse.
12) The skills needed to communicate with troubled juveniles.

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