Hands-On Learning Experience Complements Classroom Discussion
Students in a criminal justice class at Wilmington College gained first-hand knowledge on a rehabilitation-based movement designed to prevent juvenile offenders from becoming career criminals and repeat offenders.
PICTURED: Miami Valley Juvenile Rehabilitation Center Director Mike Higgins (RIGHT) speaks about juvenile offenders and rehabilitation to, from the left, freshmen Kaitlyn Baker, Malachi Shelton and Shelbi Mays. Also featured is Tammy Detty, a court-appointed special advocate.
Katie Wright, assistant professor of criminal justice, took her Juvenile Justice class to Miami Valley Juvenile Rehabilitation Center (MVJRC) in Xenia Feb. 22 as a hands-on learning opportunity that complemented what she’s been teaching in the classroom.
The group learned about court dispositions, alternatives to incarceration and rehabilitation in juvenile delinquency cases during meetings with Magistrate Amy Lewis and MVJRC Director Mike Higgins. They also toured the full juvenile court and detention facility, speaking with staff at various stops on their tour.
Higgins shared information on the past, present and future regarding the state’s juvenile incarceration policy.
“This was a wonderful opportunity for our students to not only see a detention facility for the first time,” Wright said, “but also to witness firsthand what we’ve been talking about in class: Ohio’s slow but steady move away from high youth incarceration and toward a rehabilitative, evidence-based and community-focused model.”
