At a time when American society is desperately seeking to create hope for inner city black youth, this study serves as a tool to encourage those responsible for teaching and socializing young African-American males, who may feel they have little chance for success. The study involved 17 African-American male students at a historically black college in Miami, Florida. These students had great desire to achieve and did so despite daunting obstacles such as neighborhoods plagued with drugs, gangs, and crime. Interviewing students at the moment in their lives when they had successfully advanced beyond their environment, the author helps them to analyze their past in an honest manner. The case studies of the individuals reveal that family is the most relevant factor in the student's success; particularly, the presence of one person who cares and encourages the young man is vital. In President Clinton's speech to the NAACP in July 1997, he remarked, I am tired of being told that children cannot succeed because of the difficulties of their circumstances. All we do is consign them to staying in the same circumstances. It is wrong. Through the stories of these students who have overcome their odds, this book can serve as an inspiration for younger African-American males to prevail over their own hardships.

Several million reported and unreported delinquent acts take place each year. In fact, according to the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics, juvenile delinquency, acting-out and oppositional behavior, illegal drugs, guns, and youth violence are pervasive throughout American society. Juvenile Justice Sourcebook is the first comprehensive volume devoted exclusively to the biopsychosocial assessment, police and juvenile court processing, and institutional and community-based treatment and rehabilitation of juvenile offenders. The overriding objective of this sourcebook is to trace the tremendous progress achieved toward resolving juvenile justice issues, dilemmas, and controversies, while providing futuristic visions for the juvenile justice field. Each chapter, authored by preeminent expert practitioners and researchers, explores topics ranging from innovative counseling and multisystemic programs, to restorative justice, to rehabilitation programs such as aggression replacement training, wilderness programs, family treatment, substance abuse treatment, restitution, and aftercare.This volume, grounded in history and exhaustive research, presents the latest evidence-based policies, programs, and innovative treatment alternatives. Examining the entire juvenile justice system, including juvenile law, policies, practices, and research, the Juvenile Justice Sourcebook will be invaluable to all juvenile justice practitioners, policy analysts, researchers, and students.This book has ten special features:1. It provides a comprehensive discussion of the critical issues, controversies, public policies, and intervention strategies and programs of the juvenile justice system.2. It features up-to-date and poignant case studies to illustrate and profile juvenile drug dealers, murderers, burglars, mentally ill offenders, auto thieves, violent gang members, runaways, and youths growing up in violent homes.3. It presents the latest information on prevalence trends and juvenile justice processing and decision-making from arrest to intake, prosecution, adjudication, and case disposition.4. It features the latest research evidence that indicates that putting juvenile offenders into adult jails and secure juvenile institutions leads many juveniles into committing more serious and violent crimes upon release.5. It presents the latest longitudinal research evidence on the 10 model programs most likely to reduce recidivism.6. It provides the latest descriptive information on the types, functions, and legal responsibilities of the various juvenile justice agencies and institutions. 7. It contains a complete discussion ont he landmark U.S. Supreme Court cases on the legal rights of juveniles, including death penalty cases of the past and predictions for the year 2,020.8. It provides an extensive discussion of the strengths and limitations of institutions, residential treatment centers, group homes, probabtion, family counseling, structured wilderness programs, vocational training programs; and conflict resolution programs in schools, skill-based programs in juvenile detention, group therapy with mentally ill and substance abusing juveniles; and restitution, electronic monitoring, and victim offender mediation programs in probation settings.9. It includes a detailed glossary of key terms and definitions.10. It contains 15 photographs.

Maintaining that there is nothing simple about urban education, this work approaches the study of schooling in cities as a complex universe of the poorest students and schools alongside the wealthiest.