Racial Justice, LGBTQ Advocates Should Partner on School Issues; News Roundup

Every week Reclaiming Futures rounds up the latest news on juvenile justice reform, adolescent substance use treatment, and teen mental health. 

Report: Racial Justice, LGBTQ Advocates Should Partner on School Issues (Juvenile Justice Information Exchange)
National advocacy organizations released a report this past week demonstrating the need for advocates of youth of color and advocates of LGBTQ youth to form stronger relationships in order to more effectively address disparities in school discipline, and to work toward dismantling the school-to-prison pipeline.

Ahmed isn’t alone: Well-behaved minority boys more likely to be imprisoned than white troublemakers (Washington Post)
Ahmed Mohamed, 14, was arrested on Monday in Irving, Texas after bringing a clock he had built to school. Research shows the high rate at which students of color are arrested and imprisoned; white students are more likely to be given the benefit of the doubt. This disparity exists both in juvenile court, as well as in school discipline.

LGBTQ Youth Still Suffer From Abuse, Many Barriers: Advocates (Juvenile Justice Information Exchange)
LGBTQ youth advocacy groups met on Wednesday to discuss lack of equity in juvenile justice and foster care systems for LGBTQ youth, who also suffer from homelessness. Without federal policies to protect LGBTQ incarcerated juveniles from discrimination, advocacy groups currently find hope in city and state policy decisions to train facilities and foster parents on issues specifically effecting LGBTQ youth.

‘Girls Court’ Provides Alternatives to Prison for Delinquent Girls (The Council of State Governments Justice Center)
Girls Court, a court experiment in Florida, focuses on rehabilitation of girls, rather than incarceration. The experiment started a year ago in response to girls committing crimes due to trauma experienced in early life.

Harvard Report Suggests Raising Age for Juvenile Justice to 21, Partly because Human Brain Doesn’t Fully Mature until mid-20s (AllGov)
Research finding that the human brain isn't fully developed until the mid 20s is evidenced in a report from Harvard Kennedy School and the National Institute on Justice, which suggests young people should be treated as juveniles up to age 21, and with gradually diminishing protections up to age 24.

Seattle city council to vote on ending youth detention (Al Jazeera America)
Seattle City Council passed a resolution on Wednesday that would ban youth detention in the city of Seattle, and  develop policies that would eliminate the need for its practice.

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