Instructions:
As provided in the Syllabus, you are required to complete an analysis of a juvenile case (cases
are found under Assignments on Canvas). You may select to analyze either the case of Destiny
Pratt or Nick Marshall.
The critical case analysis will ask you to read the case you have chosen (i.e., Destiny or Nick)
and make determinations about the youth’s needs, based on what you understand about the
young person’s circumstances. Below are guidelines for the paper.
1. Each paper must have four sections
a. Introduction (suggested length: .5 – 1 page)
i. Explain youth violence as a construct and set up how the case analysis
will contribute to understanding these issues
ii. Describe what your paper will seek to achieve and how
b. Case Analysis (suggested length: 2 – 3 pages)
i. Summary of young person’s background and offense history
• Who is this young person, where do they come from, (e.g., family,
neighborhood, etc.), what have they experienced, what have they
been accused of doing?
ii. Factors Contributing to Youth Offending
• Describe your understanding of factors that may have led to the
youth’s offending and why you think this is the case.
• What does research tell us about how/why these factors may
contribute to delinquency and violence among youth?
iii. Protective Factors
• What are some of this young person’s strengths? What is going
well in their life?What factors in their life may help protect them
from future offending?
• How do we know this (what does research tell us)?
iv. Assessment of Violence Risk
• Given their history, do you believe this young person is at risk for
future violent offending? Why or why not?
• Does this young person pose a risk of harm to themselves or
others?
• How do we know this (what do we know from research?)
c. Recommendations (suggested length: 1 – 1.5 pages)
i. Identification of youths’ needs
• What do you see as the major concerns for this young person?
What help or support might the young person need? Why?
• How does research help us understand what this youth’s needs
may be? ii. Identification of how youths’ needs can be met
• Does this young person need intervention? If so, what kind and
why? Should this be offered in the community or through
incarceration? Why? What does research tell us might be best for
a young person like this?
• What are the benefits and risks of the method of intervention
you’ve chosen? What do we know from research?
d. Conclusion – (suggested length: .5 – 1 page)
i. How does the case help us understand youth violence? How does your
analysis contribute to the young person’s likely outcomes?
ii. Does your analysis have implications for how system actors or
practitioners should think about youth and youth violence?
2. Papers should be 4-6 pages in length (double-spaced), exclusive of title and references.
a. Papers shorter than 4 pages likely will not have enough information to meet the
requirements as specified above and will likely miss out on points. Paper content
exceeding 6 pages will not be read.
3. Papers must be written in APA format. This means that the papers should be double-
spaced, have1” margins, and use a 12-pt font. Your paper should include a title page and
references sheet (which do not count toward the page limit). References must also be in
APA format.
