Community-based Juvenile Delinquency Handling in Cisambeng, Majalengka

District: A Social Worker Perspective

Abstract
Handling a juvenile delinquency problem has become a discussion form various disciplines and social
work provide a point of view that may be different from others. Juvenile delincquency in Cisambeng is described
as a problem that has strong relationship with the social environment, si in its resolution social workers bring a
strength perspective, a sociopsychological perspective, and a social system perspective. This study aims to
provide an overview of the solving of juvenile delinquency problems by social worker together with the
community itself and how the social worker’s perspective describes the phenomenon and offers a problem-
solving solution. The approach that used to describe the empowerment process and results is qualitative
approach with descriptive methods. The results that presented in this study are a narrative description of how
social workers carry out the empowerment process and the results. Furthermore, it describes how the strength,
sociopsychological, and social system perspective sees a problem and practice-based solution that has been
done by social workers in handling juvenile delinquency problem in Cisambeng.

Keywords: Empowerment, Juvenile Delinquency, Social Worker’s Perspective

PRELIMINARY
Social problems are problems related to behavior that deviate from social and moral values, against
the law, and destructive (Soekanto 2013). Juvenile delinquency is a form of adolescent failure to make the
transition which results in damaged personal and social adjustments (Hurlock, 2003). The juvenile
delinquency case, which is the subject of this research, is part of the empowerment program carried out by
social workers in Cisambeng Village, Majalengka Regency.
Social workers are activities based on knowledge, skills, and ethics that aim to help individuals, groups,
and communities to achieve social functioning and social welfare (Higham, 2006; Zastrow, 2010). A social
worker views a problem based on the individual's relationship with the social environment (Zastrow and
Kirst-Ashman, 2007).
The initial description obtained by social workers regarding juvenile delinquency that occurred in
Cisambeng Village revealed that juvenile delinquency cases had become a classic problem in the area, such as
murder, theft in residents' shops, consuming addictive substances, such as gluing, cigarettes, and alcoholic
drinks which caused unrest in the community.
The village government has attempted to handle juvenile delinquency problems, but that has not yet
produced satisfactory results. Top-down approaches and perspectives were less effective in addressing youth
issues. When the empowerment program was rolled out in the village, social workers as empowerment
facilitators chose to deal with these problems. The principle of self-determination and the perspective of
power brought by social workers. These perspectives and approaches could be a reference in carrying out
sustainable empowerment.
In practice, social workers prioritize the strength within the individual or the potential of the
community to solve problems (Fahrudin, 2018). The inner strength or potential of the community is an asset
that can be used as a fuel for change. This power can be said to be social asset. Social asset is a feature of
social organization, such as beliefs, norms, and social networks that can increase the efficiency of society by
facilitating coordinated action of the community itself (Putnam, 1993). These strengths are the foundation for
social work practice (Fahrudin, 2018).
There have been many studies showing the handling of juvenile delinquency from various scientific
points of view. Several previous studies, such as research by Bedasari and Djaiz (2018) which concluded five
efforts of the Karimun sector police, namely counseling, patrols, raids, control, and approaches. Furthermore,
the research of Sumara et al. (2017) which provided a developmental psychological point of view and
recommendations for individual treatment. An example of further research is research conducted by
Mumtahanah (2015) which concluded that juvenile delinquency could be overcome by means of preventive,
repressive, curative, and rehabilitative. The three previous studies showed that none stated that the handling
of juvenile delinquency was based on the strengths of the community. Therefore, the point of view of the
social work profession in dealing with juvenile delinquency problems using community resources and efforts
provides an interesting point of view to research.
RESEARCH METHODS
The research approach used in this research is a qualitative approach. This is in line with the
characteristics of qualitative research that presents data descriptively (Taylor, Bogdan, and DeVault, 2016).
The method used is descriptive method, namely research that studies the ongoing process (Trisliatanto,
2020), especially the process of handling juvenile delinquency carried out by social workers in Cisambeng
Village, Majalengka Regency.
Sources of data in this study were explored through interview, observation, and documentation study.
Interviews are used to collect information by means of question and answer to get in-depth information
about the issue or research theme (Hamzah, 2019), namely the perspective of social workers in handling
juvenile delinquency. The interview conducted in the study pays attention to the four stages that were
packaged by Miles and Huberman (1994), namely (1) knowing the condition of the field, (2) characteristics of
potential participants, (3) planned interview, and (4) mature interview strategies. Further data collection used
observation techniques. Observations are made by seeing and hearing to obtain the information needed to
answer research problems (Guba and Lincoln, 1981). Another data source is a documentation study, which is a
study of facts stored in the form of diaries, photo archives, and activity journals, and so on (Hamzah, 2019).
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Empowerment Process and Results
The process of community empowerment from the perspective of the social workers profession is as
follows:
1. Social Initiation Stage
Social initiation is the first stage of social work practice. This is done by engaging community leaders or
local society to hold meetings and / or communicate with part or all of the community to make the right
decisions and work towards solving problems (Birkenmaier and Berg-Weger 2017).
The results obtained from the social initiation process were the acceptance of social workers by the
society and the willingness of society leaders, village government leaders, and youth leaders to jointly handle
juvenile delinquency problems. In addition, social workers also got a picture of the characteristics of society,
namely people who transition from rural to urban areas who have an individualistic feeling.
2. Social Organizing Stage
Social organizing stage is the process of identifying the systems to be involved and inviting
representatives from each system to participate (Netting et al. 2012).
The result achieved by social workers at this stage was the growth of collective awareness of juvenile
delinquency issues. Collective awareness is the awareness of a group of people and local institutions as a
medium for developing networks. The local institutions that actively participated including Family Welfare
Development (PKK) and Youth Organization (Karang Taruna).
3. Assessment Stage
Assessment stage is a dynamic and continuous assessment process that focuses on social problems that
are found to be widespread in society (Pierson and Thomas 2010). From a power perspective, social workers
focus on the strengths and resources possessed by society to help them solve their own problems (Zastrow
2010).
The results obtained in the assessment process were the identification of juvenile delinquency
problems, the potential that could be utilized to deal with juvenile delinquency problems, and clear targets.
The description of juvenile delinquency problems showed that juvenile delinquency problems have reached
an alarming level. Types of incidents such as brawls, shop looting, drinking liquor, reckless road trips, and
smoking have become records for Cisambeng Village. Furthermore, the potential identified and used as a
means of solving problems were the participation and willingness of the society to participate, several society
institutions such as PKK and Karang Taruna which were at the forefront, and the characteristics of local
youth who still had cohesiveness to make a better change. Finally, the target of empowerment was the
Cisambeng Village youth who were indicated to have committed juvenile delinquency, amounting to
approximately fifty youths.
4. Intervention Plan Formulation Stage
The results of the assessment present an overview of problems, challenges, and ideas. Intervention
plan formulation stage is the process of sorting the assessment results and prioritizing targets to be able to
solve the problem with an intervention (Birkenmaier and Berg-Weger 2017). The formulation process is
carried out using the Technology of Participation (ToP), which is to assist group or society in participatory
decision making (Cendekia, Sudarno, and Saifullah 2010).
The results achieved by social workers in the formulation process with the community were (1) A youth
empowerment program called GARUDA KENCANA (creative, innovative, intelligent, and useful youth
movement); (2) Program aimed at preventing and reducing juvenile delinquency; (3) A form of activity called
KORSA (parent class for teenage friends) aimed at parents by means of counseling and guiding, MUARA
(music for youth), SABUGA (Saturday healthy and fit), and PELITA (leather processing training for youth )
which aimed to provide positive and productive activities stage for youth; (4) The participant and role system
which contained the behavior change system, the client system, the monitoring system, and the action
system aimed at mapping the tasks and roles of each participant; (5) The strategies, tactics and techniques
used including collaboration between integrated participant system, campaign to target targets, and contest
that provided support by the target system and interested groups; (6) Steps and schedules of activities; (7)
Society Work Team consisting of youths who were concerned about the handling of juvenile delinquency in
their area; (8) Budget plan; and (9) Evaluation design consisting of timeliness, target accuracy, changes that
occured, society acceptance, and perceived program benefits.
5. Intervention Stage
Intervention stage is an action to improve the conditions and quality of life of the society or its
members (Birkenmaier and Berg-Weger 2017). In its implementation, social workers only act as facilitators
and as much as possible the activities to handle juvenile delinquency problems are carried out by the society
and the identified participants system themselves. Because in fact social workers aim "to help people to help
themselves" (Fahrudin 2018).
The results obtained by social workers through pre-designed activities were as follows: (1) KORSA
targeted adolescent parents by providing counseling and guiding so that parents could educate their children
in the right way; (2) MUARA was implemented by providing musical training facilities for adolescents and
providing a stage to express their musical interests; (3) SABUGA was carried out regularly, which was once a
week, and was carried out by Karang Taruna to provide positive activities for youth in the form of activities
such as joint exercise, volleyball, and futsal matches; (4) PELITA targeted youth who wanted to have a
productive business by providing them with training to process leather into a work of productive value.
6. Evaluation Stage
Evaluation stage is the stage of evaluating a program, which means determining the value of something
and is different from monitoring the intervention process (Netting et al. 2012). The evaluation process
contains data that shows information about the process of change in society and the progress of outcomes
desired by individuals, interpersonal, and communities (Birkenmaier and Berg-Weger 2017).
The results obtained at the evaluation stage included: (1) Increased understanding and knowledge of
parents in educating their children so as to prevent and overcome juvenile delinquency at the family level; (2)
Adolescents who have committed juvenile delinquency actions were aware to reduce their behavior which
could harm others and themselves; (3) Youth who were involved in development programs could develop
their potential and hobbies as well as productive skills; and (4) Youth felt appreciation from their
environment.
7. Termination and Referral Stage
Termination stage is the stage of terminating the practice of social workers and terminating the
employment of social workers from the community (Birkenmaier and Berg-Weger 2017). In ending the
practice, social workers can also make a reference to ensure the continuity of the program which may
continue without social workers.
The results achieved in the termination stage were of course the end of society empowerment practices.
The objectives achieved in this stage included: (1) Facilitating the group to carry out termination activities
along with the implementation of termination activities; (2) Notifying the related parties of the practice
termination activities; and (3) Providing various recommendations to interested groups to continue the
ongoing change efforts.
Empowerment in Social Workers Perspective
Social workers see empowerment as a process of increasing personal, interpersonal, or political strength
so that individual, group, and society can take action to improve the situation or problems they experience
(Gutierrez dalam Fahrudin 2018). Empowerment has two dimensions, namely subjective and objective
dimensions (Fahrudin 2018). This subjective aspect is self-efficacy, where a person has the ability to produce
and organize events in their own life (Bandura dalam Fahrudin 2018). The process of handling juvenile
delinquency problems carried out by social workers together with the community showed how
empowerment was carried out based on the strengths possessed by the community.
Strength Perspective
The perspective on strength and not on the problem is one element of empowerment according to
social workers. The elements that mark empowerment in the perspective of social workers according to
DuBois and Miley (dalam Fahrudin 2018) are: (1) Focusing on the strengths possessed by individual, group,
and society; (2) Social workers work collaboratively and prioritize society participation in an integrated
manner in the change process; (3) Distribution of power and authority, and access to a system of equal
resources and opportunities; and (4) Connecting personal strengths with political strenghts.
The process of handling juvenile delinquency problems in Cisambeng Village has shown an
extraordinary collaborative process. The participation shown by youth in solving their own problems needed
more attention. An empowerment system that was bottom-up and implemented integrally across sectors and
ages would certainly show significant changes.
Psychosocial Perspective
Psychosocial perspective on empowerment explains that a community is involved in the same feelings
among its members and how they interact with each other (Martinez-Brawley dalam Zastrow and Kirst-
Ashman 2007). People's feelings about their relationship with community are important (Zastrow and Kirst-
Ashman 2007). As an illustration of the juvenile delinquency problem in Cisambeng Village, which showed
that youth who were involved in juvenile delinquency got less attention from their small social environment,
namely the family, or even the larger social environment, namely the society.
The involvement of youth in handling juvenile delinquency certainly brought an interesting point of
view. We could see that cohesiveness was an excellent opportunity to deal with juvenile delinquency. The
same feelings between one youth and another youth became a catalyst for youth involved in juvenile
delinquency to transform for better.
Social Systems Perspective
Social systems perspective emphasizes the analysis of various social subsystems in society interacting
with each other (Zastrow and Kirst-Ashman 2007). In other words, every organism in a community, both at
the broad level to the individual level, is a system that requires "nutrition" from other systems (Homan dalam
Zastrow and Kirst-Ashman 2007).
This perspective sees the power possessed by the community or subsystem within it from the
interconnection between the systems therein. As with the juvenile delinquency case, it can be seen from the
description of the problem and how to handle it. The description of the juvenile delinquency problem in
Cisambeng Village showed that youths who were classified as “naughty” made one connection and
interaction, thus created collective problems. The way of handling juvenile delinquency seen from the
perspective of social workers also brought connection and interaction between youth but in a positive
context. So that the social systems perspective provides a perspective on a problem and its solution.
CONCLUSION
Many of the handling of juvenile delinquency problems have been carried out based on other
disciplines, but social work provides different perspectives. In the process, the empowerment that has been
carried out by social workers has gone through many stages and the key phrase that best describes this
process is social workers working with the society. Various perspectives of social workers in carrying out
empowerment can be a reference in conducting society empowerment. Strengths perspective, psychosocial
perspective, and social systems perspective are some perspectives that can be used as tools to see a problem
and solve a solution. The similarity of the three perspectives used by social workers, namely social workers
tend to see strengths rather than problems and see the phenomena that occur and the behavior that appears
are parts of the influence of the social environment. So that in the end focusing on the resources and assets
owned by individual, group, family, organization, and society can bring them to face challenges and solve
their problems.