Roundup: Juvenile Justice Reform Gets New Tool; Adolescent Substance Abuse Grants Available; 15% of Teens Think They'll Die Young; and More

Trainings & Conferences

• The Forum for Youth Investment is sponsoring a webinar exploring online communications tools to help youth advocates. It's scheduled for July 8th from 1pm - 2pm EDT.
• "Young People in Recovery, Recovery Schools, and Other Supports," a teleseminar sponsored by Faces & Voices of Recovery, is scheduled for August 18th. It's part of a series for recovery advocates; on July 28th, there'll be another on "The Recovery Bill of Rights: How to Use it in Your Community."
• The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention's (OJJDP) conference on enforcing underage drinking laws will be held in Texas August 13-14, 2009.

Call for Proposals

• The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) will award grants of up to $200,000 to fund collaborations that aid the translation of research into improved adolescent substance abuse treatment. Applications are due September 1, 2009. 

News

• There's a new tool for juvenile justice reform: a newly-devised litigation strategy designed to force jurisdictions to adopt cheaper, effective alternatives to juvenile detention, and bring disproportionate minority overrepresentation to a " screeching halt." The W. K. Kellogg Foundation and Annie E. Casey Foundation are supporting the effort. 
• Police crackdowns may make illegal drugs cheaper and increase their use, according to economists.
• 15% of American teens think they'll die young, according to an article in USA Today. Researchers see this discovery as a blow to the idea that teenagers think they're "invulnerable"; rather, a significant portion of kids take risks because they have no hope for their future. Sounds familiar -- according the article, the percentage of Native American, African American, and/or low-income teens who feel hopeless is higher than 15%, and one would expect these rates to soar for juveniles in the justice system. At any rate, it underscores the fact that part of the job of the juvenile court is to restore hope in these youth. 
• The American Judicature Society comes out against transferring juveniles to adult courts. 
• New guidelines available from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) on submitting new programs and practices to its evidence-based practices database.
• SAMHSA says any effort to reform health care must prioritize treatment for addictions and mental health care, according to Join Together.