In an effort to promote an awareness and understanding of juvenile offenders and at-risk youth, the school of criminal justice at Grand Valley State University has added juvenile justice to its repertoire as a new minor that will officially begin in Fall 2011.

Juvenile justice is a 21-credit interdisciplinary program offered to all students enrolled at GVSU, with four required three-credit criminal justice classes and a variety of three-credit electives to fill in the 21 required credits.

“This minor is great for any position where students will work with adolescents and/or at-risk youth,” said Patrick Gerkin, undergraduate program coordinator and assistant professor in the School of Criminal Justice. “They will benefit from the multidisciplinary approach to understanding youth and also the legal aspects that revolve around the family and the handling of delinquent youth.”

Gerkin also said this minor is a strong way for any student to prepare to work with youth in the future.

“This minor was designed to be a multidisciplinary minor,” he said. “While all required courses are in the School of Criminal Justice, electives draw from five other disciplines. The electives are designed to provide students with discipline-specific knowledge and also allow students to see how these courses intersect and prepare them for work with youth.”

Students can currently declare juvenile justice as a minor, although the minor may not appear in the course catalog until the fall.

For the minor to be added, a prospectus needed to be completed and approved. Besides explaining why the program is needed, other information includes the minor’s mission, purpose, classes for students to take and values of the program.

Carly Hilinski, graduate program coordinator and assistant professor in the School of Criminal Justice, was appointed to lead a team in finalizing the juvenile justice minor.

“Once the final plan was completed, it needed to be approved by various committees and groups on campus,” Hilinski said.

Kathleen Bailey, professor in the School of Criminal Justice, said not only are Michigan programs on the decline, but also national juvenile justice programs are on the decline and have been falling for the past 10 years.

“The current system is not meeting the existing or the emergency needs of the juvenile justice population,” Bailey said. “Although there are a few professional associations that try to address juvenile justice, most fall woefully short to include a multidisciplinary approach.”

It is due to this shortage among other reasons that GVSU decided to add and offer the minor to students. Bailey said she hopes GVSU can “resurrect a strong, deliberate voice for juvenile justice” by setting an example for other universities.

Students seeking more information about the juvenile justice minor should visit the School of Criminal Justice program page at www.gvsu.edu/cj or contact Terry Fisk, the director for the School of Criminal Justice.

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