Juvenile Court Comparison

Over the past few years we as a nation have had problems as far as juveniles go. The only thing is, is each state has different laws and regulations as far as punishing their juveniles. Some how we need to figure out a way to get every state on the same page. Some states have the same justice system or similarities as others. Other states tend to have their own laws. Two states that is going to be looked at here is the commonwealth of Virginia, and Ohio. We are going to look at these two states and figure out exactly what their differences and what their similarities are.

First off let’s look at Virginia and see how their juvenile justice system works. In Virginia the juvenile justice court system is called the “Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court.” This court handles cases in reference to delinquents, abandonment of children, and children in need of services. The juvenile and domestic relations court differ from other courts in their duty to protect the confidentiality and privacy of juveniles coming before the court, and their commitment to rehabilitate those who come before the court, in addition to protecting the public and holding juvenile offenders accountable for their actions. In the state of Virginia the juvenile court is able to implement punishment and penalties to judicate cases for juveniles for work release programs, fines and cost. They also divert cases to probation officers as well to help the juveniles in their cases.

In the state of Ohio their juvenile court system is called “The Ohio Department of Youth Services.” Their goal is to make sure that the youths get the proper help they need to be able to change their lives, by sending them to academic interventions that support the public safety to help prepare the youth to have a more productive life. They are willing to help the children and give them a second chance. In Ohio the juvenile court system is really no different than the regular criminal court system. The one thing about Ohio as far as the age range goes, they are willing to help the juveniles from as young as age 10 up until they are 21 instead of 18 such as other states, and Virginia being one of those states that is 18. Ohio’s Department of Youth Services provides a means to apply for and receive grants that fund over 600 diversion type programs.

Now that we have a base set for each of the two states we have discussed, let’s look into what similarities they have with each other and what the differences are. The one thing that is the same that is a big deal is the fact that both states try their best to help defend each juvenile and possibly give them a second chance