Roundup: Is Brain Science Bad for Juvenile Justice? And More

Juvenile Justice Policy

• Insights from brain science on adolescent development have significantly impacted juvenile law and policy in the juvenile justice system. But Alexandra Cox makes a persuasive argument that brain science may be bad for juvenile justice. (Hat tip to policy4results.)
• What's wrong with victims' rights in juvenile court? Law professor Kristin Henning argues in the California Law Review that the victims' rights movement has shifted the focus of the juvenile court too far away from its original mission. (Hat tip to ACrimEnterprise.)

• Liberals oppose the U.S. trend of "overcriminalization" -- and so do conservatives. (Hat tip, again, to ACrimEnterprise.)
• Need to arm yourself with the research behind restorative justice? Restorative Justice Online has a database of over 9,600 citations. (Hat tip to parkerlauralyne).

 
Better Treatment, and Beyond Treatment

• 14 points from NIATx for managing your way to better treatment outcomes.
• Former D.A. likes his "bleeding heart book group" with teens.  (You guessed it: he participates in a Changing Lives Through Literature program in our Reclaiming Futures site in Bristol County, Massachusetts.) He observes, "...[V]irtually every kid says he 'hates to read' at the outset and is happy he or she took the course by the time they graduate."

 
For Parents

• 5 Ways I Cope with my Young Adult's Drug and Alcohol Addictions.
• "Embrace, not Brace," is the advice a teen gives parents of adolescents in a perceptive post on a blog written by teens for parents. Also contains an excellent script on how to handle your teen's rants. (Hat tip to the Partnership for a Drug-Free America).

 
Relevant Toolkits/Tutorials

• New toolkit for child welfare about working with immigrant families.
• Check out SAMHSA's National Center on Substance Abuse and Child Welfare website. (Thanks to the ATTC Network for flagging it.) The site is focused on dependency court, not delinquency court, but has some online tutorials that should be of interest. Just scroll to the bottom of the site's main page to find, for example:
  • A tutorial for substance abuse professionals called, "Understanding Child Welfare and the Dependency Court: A Guide for Substance Abuse Treatment Professionals."
  • Another for court professionals titled: Understanding Substance Use Disorders, Treatment, and Family Recovery: A Guide for Legal Professionals.