It's not news that teens in the juvenile justice system often have trouble in school. But you might be interested in this issue brief from NDTAC*, which summarizes the relevant research on the link between low literacy and delinquency -- and on the probable positive impact that literacy programs have on reducing recidivism. (The research to date, unfortunately, is more suggestive than conclusive.) The brief makes a forceful case for addressing the educational needs of youth in the justice system.

You might also be interested in NDTAC's Transition Toolkit 2.0. Here's what NDTAC says about it:

[The] second edition of NDTAC’s Transition Toolkit brings together strategies, existing practices, and updated resources and documents on transition to enable administrators and service providers to deliver high-quality transition services for children and youth moving into, through, and out of education programs within the juvenile justice system.

Simple communication efforts and the implementation of basic transition processes, such as timely records transfer, can have a dramatic impact on a student’s engagement in school and avoidance of further incarceration. As such, the focus of the Toolkit is on the administrative processes, coordination efforts, and communication practices within the juvenile justice system. The Toolkit offers ideas and tools that administrators can use to improve the basic functioning of their treatment and institution-based programs, with a primary focus on programs related to the educational needs of youth and those who directly provide education services. 

News - Juvenile Justice System and Alcohol and Drugs

• Teens trapped in prison: "Nearly 10 percent of the inmates in Illinois' juvenile prisons have essentially completed their sentences — in some cases more than a year ago — but are stuck behind bars because they have no place to go, state records show." (Hat tip to the Campaign for Youth Justice.)
• Are teens in the criminal and juvenile justice systems getting younger? No, according to an analysis performed by the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice. The lead author of the study also teamed up with a professor of womens' studies at the University of Hawai'i to author an op-ed in The New York Times called "The Myth of Mean Girls." (The title says it all.)

Juvenile Justice Reform and Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment News

• Remember the Canadian study last year that followed youth for 20 years and found that youth who came into contact with the juvenile justice system were seven times more likely to commit crimes as adults? One reason for that was labeling. Now, here's more research that labeling kids as "juvenile delinquents" contributes to additional crime.  (Hat tip to @cjny.) Nevertheless, MD legislators are working hard to make sure that law enforcement and juvenile justice officials share information about kids with school administrators.
• The New York Times noted in an editorial that the Governor's budget for the coming year practically ignores the recommendations contained in the report of the Governor's task force on juvenile justice. In a separate editorial, the paper encouraged Congress to sponsor a proposed blue ribbon panel on the nation's criminal justice system.

Juvenile Justice Reform and Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment News

• The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) may soon have a nominee to be its top administrator. According to Youth Today, there's a new frontrunner: former juvenile court judge Karen Baynes, who's currently at the Carl  Vinson Institute for Government at the University of Georgia.
• The Annie E. Casey Foundation recently released a report on its Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI), entitled:  Two Decades of JDAI: From Demonstration Project to National Standard - you can find it on the National Juvenile Justice Network (NJJN) website.