Mentoring juveniles in adult jail: An example of service learning

This paper describes and evaluates a service learning project whereby students mentored juveniles who had been referred to adult court and were awaiting trial in adult jail. The mentoring project had three learning objectives: 1) to provide students with a deeper understanding of the problems and needs of youthful offenders, 2) to help students learn about the jail as an institution, and to assess its impact on the juveniles detained there, and 3) to evaluate the problems and needs of juvenile offenders in light of various punishment alternatives. A questionnaire and student papers were used to evaluate the project. The authors concluded that learning objectives were substantially achieved and that the project helped students formulate a more thoughtful analysis of the juvenile crime problem and corrections.