ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the criminal justice reforms and alternative programs are reviewed. To avoid abuses of police discretion, it is important to monitor which groups of juveniles are diverted away from the juvenile justice system as compared with those who are formally processed and do not receive diversion options. The potential exists for abuse of discretion. In other words, discretion may not be applied equitably among all juveniles. Moreover, the use of discretion can be highly subjective as officers consider youths’ deportment. Legislation provides funding and establishes the goals and purpose of a program or services. Implementing reform efforts while simultaneously providing direct services in the criminal justice system is a difficult task. Texas Appleseed is a nonprofit public interest center that maintains a school-to-prison pipeline project established to end the phenomenon. The goals are to help youth remain in school and graduate.
