Roundup: Half of all U.S. Kids are Assaulted Each Year; Pitting Pre-Schoolers Against Teens in Budget Fights Is Bad Policy; and More

• Want to do something about juvenile justice reform right now? Then you should know that Act4JJ, a coalition supporting the reauthorization of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA), is now on Facebook. (So is Reclaiming Futures, by the way: come on by and become a fan!)
• Interested in holding a conference on disseminating evidence-based practices in mental health and/or substance abuse? SAMHSA has two $50,000 grants available to help you do it. (Hat tip to the ATTC Network.)

• The United States Attorney General  spoke out on youth violence in Chicago; he visited in the aftermath of  the September beating death of 16-year-old Derrion Albert and announced the release of a national survey from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) showing that almost half of U.S. kids are assaulted each year. (UPDATE: Check out Youth Today for lots more on the OJJDP survey and potential federal responses to the Chicago incident and youth violence generally.)
  • Related post: Curious about youth violence elsewhere? Check out this success story from Boston, where an initiative called Operation Cease Fire (precursor to Chicago's CeaseFire) helped reduce youth violence by two-thirds.

• And good luck generally being a kid in America: 48% of U.S. kids don't have "desks, calculators and other basic tools to do schoolwork at home." A recent international study shows the United States does poorly on these and many other measures of child well-being (hat tip to Policy For Results). To make matters worse, young high school dropouts are far more likely to be in jail or juvenile detention, according to a recent Northeastern University study.

• The two biggest reasons why Americans who need substance abuse treatment don't receive it? (1) Lack of health care coverage (or an insurance policy that covers treatment); and (2) being unready to quit using. 
• Tracy Velázquez of the Justice Policy Institute argues in an editorial published in The Washington Post that investing in adequate mental health and addiction treatment would result in fewer people in prison. (Tip of the hat to the Policy for Results blog.)
• Karen Pittman of the Forum for Youth Investment argues forcefully in Youth Today that policymakers shouldn't pit pre-schoolers against teens when making budget decisions:  "...[T]here is an undeniable value in investing early. But there is something wrongheaded and dangerous about equating prevention with early childhood and intervention with teens. We need to make sustained investments in the 'cognitive, social and emotional' development of all children." She underscores her point with a quote from Nobel Prize-winning economist James Heckman, who knows whereof he speaks: "'Invest early in children – and don’t stop.'"
• I'm seeing more and more news stories about communities doing cold medicine and prescription drug roundups, like this one in Portland, Maine (Facebook log-in required).
• Here's a great summary of the research base behind Twelve-Step programs.  (Not adolescent-focused, but ...)

• Delinquent youth may be at increased risk of Traumatic Brain injuries (TBIs) and related functional impairments, according to information sent to me by Paul Savery, the Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment Co-ordinator at the North Carolina Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities and Substance Abuse Services. Such injuries are among the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in US adolescents, and in one study, researchers reported that "50% of the delinquent youth they studied had experienced a TBI (defined as having ever received a ‘blow to the head’). One-third of delinquents with TBIs were thought by their parents to have suffered adverse, long-term TBI-related effects, which diminished their ability to regulate behaviour and affect, attentional capacity, interpersonal skills, and school performance. Whereas sporting accidents were the leading cause of TBIs in non-delinquent control youth, comparatively large percentages of delinquent youth had suffered a TBI as a result of a fight, motor vehicle accident, or fall (Hux et al., 1998).'"

Conferences, Briefings, and Webinars

• The 13th Annual Search Institute Healthy Communities Healthy Youth (HCHY) Conference, Nov. 5-7, Cincinnati, OH. Sponsored by the Forum for Youth Investment and the Search Institute. 
• America's Youth Councils Network presents "Engaging Youth in Policymaking: Lessons from State & Local Youth Councils," Monday, October 26,  10:30 AM - 12:00 PM, Senate Hart Building, Room 902. 
• Two low-cost, online Motivational Interviewing courses -- one for supervisors and one for clinicians -- are being offered by the Mid-Atlantic ATTC. (Follow the link and click on the Course ID to get details.)
• The Alliance of Youth Movements officially announced its second-annual Summit, to take place on October 14-16 in Mexico City. The event will convene individuals, government officials, academics, and private and public sector leaders from around the world to explore ways to advance grassroots movements seeking positive social change through 21st century technology and tools.