Institutionalized Social Reality - Juvenile Offenders and Juvenile Committees in Estonia
Ilona-Evelyn Rannala

Abstract
This article examines how juvenile offenders in Estonia and members of Juvenile Committees, who are assigned to support their socialization and influence them, construct social realities and explain the background of problems which has lead youth to the offences, and possible solutions. By analyzing the viewpoints of Juvenile Committee members through 26 focus group interviews, characterizations given by school or child protection worker (781 cases were analyzed) and individual interviews with youth, I describe how differently social realities are seen and constructed. These differences become an obstacle when sanctions and solutions are negotiated, if they are negotiated at all.

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