Elementary-Schoolers' Arrests Alarm Justice Officials and More; News Roundup

Juvenile Justice Reform

• [Video] Fresno Local Conservation Corps Re-Entry Program Highlighted by Local News (The Corps Network)
  Earlier this week several staff members from the Fresno Local Conservation Corps joined KSEE24 local news to talk about their re-entry program for formerly incarcerated youth.
• New Push to Help Juvenile Offenders (WCTV.TV)
  The Florida Department of Juvenile Justice is pushing a proposed plan it says will help keep youthful offenders out of jail and revamp the juvenile justice system.
• Juvenile Justice: Mass. Formulating New Sentencing Policies (WBUR.org)
  In June, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that mandatory life sentences without parole for juveniles convicted of murder was unconstitutional. The court declared life without parole for juveniles was “cruel and unusual punishment,” thereby in violation of the 8th Amendment.
• Elementary-Schoolers' Arrests Alarm Justice Officials (Orlando Sentinel)
  Circuit Judge Alicia Latimore, one of three judges who handles juvenile-delinquency cases in Orange, was so concerned about the kids' arrests that she visited Cherokee's campus this fall. The arrests at Cherokee outnumber the arrests of students at Orange's 121 other public elementary schools combined.

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Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment

• Five Percent of Teens Use Steroids to Increase Muscle (Drugfree.org)
  About one in 20 teenagers have used steroids to increase their muscle mass, a new study suggests. In addition, more than one-third of boys and one-fifth of girls said they had used protein shakes or powders to increase their muscles, while between five and 10 percent used non-steroid substances to bulk up.
• Growing Up With Toxic Stress or Addiction and Its Long-Term Impact (HuffingtonPost.com)
  If we grow up with toxic stress in childhood, does it change us? Does growing up with parental addiction, abuse or neglect affect out physical, mental and emotional health? Are we making it up? Researchers tells an interesting story.
• Alcohol Taxes Can Reduce Young People’s Drinking (Drugfree.org)
  Raising alcohol excise taxes can help deter young people from drinking, according to a leading expert on preventing drinking in youth. “These taxes prevent and reduce drinking and death among young people, as well as among heavy drinkers,” says David H. Jernigan, PhD, Associate Professor and Director, Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth (CAMY), Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, who has conducted research on the effect of the taxes.

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.