Juvenile Justice, Child Welfare Proceedings on Film for Research and Training, and More: A Roundup

• Filmed Proceedings from Child Welfare, Juvenile Justice to Be Offered for Research, Training
  The Institute for Juvenile Court and Corrections Research (IJCCR), a partnership of the Indiana University Research and Technology Corp. (IURTC) and Calamari Productions of Austin, Texas, plans to offer thousands of hours of film from juvenile court and child welfare proceedings to researchers -- and to train probation officers, child welfare case workers, lawyers, and judges.  The film will be made available on a subscription basis. (Calamari Productions also created the six-episode documentary, "Lockup," about youth in the juvenile justice system in Lake County, Indiana, which aired on MSNBC.)

  >>Check out sample footage of juvenile corrections, child welfare case work and more from the new institute.

• Without A Smoking Gun: Chicago Hammers Kids with Adult Court, Adult Time 
  In an attempt to get a handle on rising gun violence, Chicago cracked down on youth found possessing guns, and automatically transferring them to adult court.  But an investigation by a Chicago paper (and passed on via The Crime Report) of 90 cases from 2009 (or 57 percent of the cases) showed that about 25% of the youth were never shown to have a gun at all; and police recovered weapons less than half the time. Yet 87 percent of the teens --overwhelmingly black -- pled guilty and were sentenced to a combined total exceeding 4,606 years in prison. 

• Missouri Bans Synthetic Drugs Marketed as "Bath Salts"
  Missouri legislators have banned a chemical concoction said to mimic the effects of cocaine, ecstasy and/or methamphetamines that is marketed (legally in many places) as "bath salts" or "plant food," and used by teens and adults. 
• Trauma Informed Services Part 2 - Assessment and Interventions
  Part 2 of this series from the Addiction Technology Transfer Center (ATTC) Network lists numerous trauma screening instruments (with web links) and provides links to and brief summaries of a number of trauma-focused interventions. You can find part 1 of the series here.
• Juvenile Drug Court in New Bedford, MA Celebrates 10 Years
  Great article about the juvenile drug court run by our Reclaiming Futures-Bristol County site. (Note: the article mentions that a participant was sent to a women's jail - but this was not done by the juvenile drug court.)
• Battle Prescription Drug Abuse: Stop Over-Medicating Kids in Foster Care
  An op-ed in the Huffington Post points out the irony of tackling illicit use of prescription painkillers without also tackling the over-medication of children and teens in foster care. See also: resources on what other states are doing about improving oversight of psychotropic medication for kids in foster care. (Hat tip to Karen Worthington in the LinkedIn group for the National Council on Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ).) And see the next item ...
• Comments Needed: Feds Review Instrument Used to Review State Child Welfare Systems
  According to Youth Today, "The Department of Health and Human Services is taking suggestions on how to redesign the Child and Family Services Review, the main instrument by which the federal government measures the performance of state child welfare systems." Deadline for comments is May 20, 2011.

 
Events - Conference and Webinars

•  Save the Date: National Council on Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ) Conference
  NCJFCJ will host its 74th annual conference July 24-27, 2011, in New York City. The conference will focus on a wide range of juvenile and family law topics including child abuse and neglect, trauma, custody and visitation, high conflict divorce, juvenile justice, domestic violence, substance abuse, and more.
• Webinar: Introduction to Screening, Brief Interventions, & Referral to Treatment (SBIRT)
  On May 19, 2011, from 2pm - 3:30 (EST), the Addiction Technology Transfer Center (ATTC) Network will host a webinar that wil cover the research and rationale for widespread implementation of SBIRT, describe and demonstrate a brief intervention model, explore protocols for referral to treatment, and discuss the potential role of substance abuse providers in SBIRT protocols.
• Trends and Challenges in Juvenile Justice Reform: Experiences of Three States
  This audio webcast, held June 3, 2011, 12:30 pm - 2 pm EST and sponsored by the Children's Law Center, will focus on the experience of California, Connecticut, and Texas with major juvenile justice reform and share lessons learned. Questions? Email Lauren Litton.