Blog: Juvenile Justice Reform

 
 Juvenile Justice News

• It was a week of scathing editorials on juveniles in the justice system:
  • A Huffington Post column quotes a Maryland study that shows that 68% of the time, youth sent to adult court are sent back to juvenile court -- but only after time spent either mixed in with adult prisoners or in 23-hour/day lockdown. (Hat tip to the Connecticut Juvenile Justice Alliance.)

Juvenile Justice System News and Speculation

For sheer breadth of coverage in the juvenile justice arena this week, you couldn't beat John Kelly of Youth Today.

1. First, Kelly covered a year-long, national survey on the use of psychotropic meds in juvenile justice facilities. Sixteen states participated; 17 didn't reply; the remainder did not comply for a variety of reasons, although it appeared that  many states did not track the drugs, or the diagnoses for which they were prescribed. Youth Today's coverage offered useful background on several of the most commonly-used drugs, and a point/counterpoint on whether they should be used as a first resort for behavior management, or whether their use helps make youth "treatment-ready."

Juvenile Justice News and Related News

• Raising alcohol taxes helps reduce crime, according to a new meta-analysis. I'm curious: would this also apply to crimes committed by teens? 
• This probation officer was once a juvenile offender herself -- a touching story of transformation, coincidentally set in Chicago, one of the original Reclaiming Futures sites. (Hat tip to @piper.)
• Social media is beginning to play a bigger role in the court room. Here's an article aimed at defense attorneys that gives examples (including at least one juvenile case) where what defendants share online is used against them; and where defendants have actively used Facebook and other media as a way to generate support for themselves. One implication: already overburdened defense attorneys must now monitor their clients' social media profiles for evidence that might be used against them. What's been your experience? Share a comment below. (Hat tip to Adriennce C. Barr via National Council of Juvenile and Famliy Court Judges.)

Sometimes, it seems as though public attitudes about youth in the juvenile justice system haven't moved on since 1950, when the book pictured at right was published. But the next time you talk to policy makers about the need for more treatment options and positive activities for youth in the juvenile justice system, wouldn't it be great to be able to tell them that the majority of Americans:

• believe that rehabilitation and treatment can reduce crime AND are willing to pay extra taxes to provide those services;
• support rehabilitation even for young people who commit violent crimes;
• oppose young offenders being sent to adult criminal court without an individual determination made in each case;
• agree that non-white youth are more likely than white youth to be prosecuted as adults; and
• believe strongly in a separate juvenile justice system?

"Dream on," I can hear you saying. But it's no dream.

Since suspensions and expulsions are correlated with involvement in the juvenile justice system, I posted yesterday about a new research report that showed that suspension is overused for middle school students and has a disparate impact on youth of color -- African American students in particular.
One solution: mediation. And here's evidence from two Connecticut schools that mediation lowers suspension and expulsion rates. (Hat tip to Abby Anderson of the Connecticut Juvenile Justice Alliance.)
If that's not convincing enough, check out this international report (see photo) showing that restorative justice and mediation in the schools has a significant positive impact on student behavior. When these techniques were implemented in 10 schools in the U.S. and Canada, large drops occurred in suspensions and "behavioral incidents."
Has your school district used restorative justice? What's been your experience?

Reclaiming Futures is featured in, "Models to Guide System Reform for At-Risk Youth," which appeared online July 4 in Child and Youth Care Forum. (Sorry -- I can only link to the abstract.)
The authors, Susan A. McCarter, Mason G. Haber, and Donna Kazemi, ransacked the research literature for reform models that could help policy makers. They noted that although youth in the juvenile justice and adult criminal justice systems have complex issues -- and coordinating multiple services to provide appropriate care for them is difficult -- there's actually very little guidance on how to do it well. They found five promising models, however, and I'm pleased to say that Reclaiming Futures (ahem) was one of them.

Events - Juvenile Justice and Adolescent Substance Abuse

• September is National Youth Court Month, and the National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS) has posted resources about them to celebrate. Also called "teen courts" and "peer courts," youth courts are an alternative disposition for youth who've committed low-level, first-time offenses in which teens hold each other accountable. (Hat tip to OJJDP.) UPDATED: Global Youth Justice is hosting a conference titled, "Establish or Enhance a local Teen Court/Youth Court Diversion Program," December 7-9, 2010, in Las Vegas. (H/t to John Kelly at Youth Today.)
• Don't miss out on the National Take Back Initiative, sponsored by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Held on September 25, 2010, 10am-2pm (local time, I believe), law enforcement agencies are collaborating with the DEA to collect unused prescription drugs.  Find a collection site near you. (H/t to @SPHEREproject.)

James Bell on Juvenile Justice Reform

• In the brief video below, James Bell, director of the W. Haywood Burns Institute, sounds off on youth incarceration:

I am still, at 51, propelled by outrage. I am just p***d off that the greatest country in the world -- that the only way they can figure out to socially control teenagers is to put them in cages... But we don't do that to White people. That is the bottom line.
It's worth watching all 10 minutes of this video, because Bell is passionate, entertaining, and motivating. My only caveat (which I'm sure Mr. Bell would agree with) has to do with his urgent call to people of color to put pressure on vested interests and the White community to reform the justice system. It can't just be on people of color to change the system -- allies from all communities are needed so that the effort is not pigeonholed by skeptics. (Hat tip to the W. Haywood Burns Institute on Facebook.) 

Hello, I’m person behind the Reclaiming Futures Twitter account. As you know, Twitter is a free service where people post very short updates and links.
If you’re like many professionals in the fields of juvenile justice and adolescent substance abuse, you might think that Twitter has nothing to offer you. And while that might once have been true, nothing could be further from the truth now.
 
What are some of the ways you can use Twitter and to support your work?

• Exchange ideas about juvenile justice and substance abuse treatment. 
• Many people post links, so use it like a search engine. 
• Show support for others by following them. 
• Demonstrate the good work of your organization.