Court Inundated With Non-Dangerous Kids Arrested Because They ‘Make Adults Mad’ and More; News Roundup

Juvenile Justice Reform

• State Turns Attention to Juvenile Justice Reforms (AJC.com)
  A special state council in Atlanta will recommend repairs for a juvenile justice system that spends $91,000 a year for each bed in its state detention centers. Council members point to the enormous expense of incarcerating young offenders in a state “youth development campus,” or YDC, while producing poor results, as evidence that the system isn’t working.
• Juvenile Judge: My Court Was Inundated With Non-Dangerous Kids Arrested Because They ‘Make Adults Mad’ (ThinkProgress.org)
  The United States is not just the number one jailer in the world. It also incarcerates juveniles at a rate that eclipses every other country. Evidence has long been building that schools use the correctional system as a misplaced mechanism for discipline, with children being sent to detention facilities for offenses as minor as wearing the wrong color socks to school.
• Arrests, Juvenile Detention, and High School Dropouts in Chicago (ChicagoMag.com)
  Descriptively, our data reveal that of the Chicago public school students who steered clear of the juvenile justice system, 64 percent went on to graduate high school. In contrast, a mere 26 percent of arrested students graduated high school. Of those young adults without a criminal record who graduated high school or obtained a GED, 35 percent enrolled in a 4-year college. Yet for arrestees, 16 percent subsequently enrolled in a 4-year college.
• York Co. South Carolina Juvenile Justice Kids Collecting Food for Hungry (HeraldOnline.com)
  For the first time this year, DJJ is collecting nonperishable canned goods to distribute to four York County, South Carolina charities for the holidays. The drive, which started Nov. 1, ends Friday. Aiming to become part of a “community of givers,” DJJ teamed up with the county solicitor’s office, Coca Cola and Best Buy to find a “creative” way to bolster donations that are common this time of year, said Amahl Bennett, DJJ director.
• Governor Wants To Merge Juvenile Justice & Corrections (KCUR.org)
  Kansas Governor Sam Brownback wants to merge the state's Juvenile Justice Authority with the Department of Corrections. The governor says he’ll propose an executive reorganization order in the coming legislative session to merge the two agencies.
• New Ga. Juvenile Justice Chief Focuses on Problems (SFGate.com)
  When five young men slipped out of a juvenile detention center a month and a half ago in Augusta, stealing a car and leading police on a chase, it was just the latest in a string of setbacks for officials trying to turn around Georgia's system for young criminals.
• Strengthening Florida's Juvenile Justice System (TBO.com)
  There is a lot to like about the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice's new "Roadmap to System Excellence," the topic of town hall meetings last week in Hillsborough and Pinellas Counties. Members of the Florida Juvenile Justice Association, who deliver services across Florida, ranging from prevention through reentry and everything in between, know that with every well-intentioned plan, the devil is often in the details.

Jobs, Grants, Events and Webinars

• Please share the Reclaiming Futures Opportunity Board with your colleagues in the juvenile justice, adolescent substance abuse and teen mental health areas. It's free to browse and post!

Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment

• Children and Teens Who Overeat More Likely to Start Using Marijuana (Drugfree.org)
  A new study finds children and teens who overeat are more likely to start using marijuana and other drugs, compared with their peers who don’t eat too much. The study is based on surveys of almost 17,000 youth, Reuters reports.
• Horrors Of Methamphetamines By Rehabs.com Shows Faces Ravaged By Alleged Drug Abuse (HuffingtonPost.com)
  A new anti-crystal meth campaign featuring the warped mugshots of alleged repeat users is scary, but is it effective at discouraging drug abuse? Not really, say researchers.
• Parents More Important Than School in Preventing Use of Alcohol, Marijuana Use (Drugfree.org)
  A new study concludes that parental involvement is more important than the school environment in preventing or limiting children’s use of alcohol or marijuana.

David Backes writes the Friday news roundup for Reclaiming Futures and contributes articles about juvenile justice reform and adolescent substance abuse treatment to ReclaimingFutures.org. He has a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Santa Clara University. David works as an account executive for Prichard Communications.