The Teenage Brain on Drugs; News Roundup

Juvenile Justice Reform

• How a book club is helping to keep ex-offenders from going back to jail (WashingtonPost)
  Barksdale was around their age when he chose the streets over school. By 16, he was arrested and convicted on armed robbery charges, the culmination of a series of ill-conceived attempts to be a man. Now, at 25, he is one. But after spending so many of his formative years behind bars, he wondered: What sort of man would he be? Behind him were two former inmates. They hoped they might find the answers together.

• Judicial hypocrisy on juvenile justice? (CNN)
  As Wisconsin prepares to try two children as adults in an attempted murder case allegedly inspired by the mythical Slenderman, the prosecution of two preteens in adult court challenges our faith in the juvenile justice system.

• Proposed juvenile justice reforms discussed (Democrat & Chronicle)
  During a workshop Tuesday at the Center for Youth in Rochester, community advocacy groups learned more about the 38 recommendations made by the Governor’s Commission on Youth, Public Safety, and Justice for juvenile justice reform that Gov. Andrew Cuomo accepted last month.

• Nebraska child advocates say court shackles traumatize kids (The Independent)
  Lawyers and advocates for juveniles say Nebraska children as young as 10 years old are treated more harshly in court than some adult offenders, perpetuating a cycle of shame, humiliation and repeat offenses. State lawmakers heard testimony Wednesday on a bill by Sen. Ernie Chambers of Omaha that would prohibit handcuffs, chains, irons or straitjackets on juveniles during court appearances unless deemed necessary for courtroom security.

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Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment and Mental Health

• The Teenage Brain on Drugs (Psych Central)
  One way to look at addiction is to consider it a form of learning, a type of learning that is extremely effective in its ability to affect the adolescent brain, report researchers working under an NIH grant. The maturation process of the brain may cause teens and young adults to become addicted faster than older adults, because the impulse control centers of the brain are not fully developed in the younger cohort.

• Experts advise parents working to head off mental health issues in teens (WTOP.com)
  “It really takes a lot of open ended questions (and) conversations with our kids. We need to ask them what they’re thinking, what they’re feeling,” Applied psychologist Dr. Heather Tedesco told parents at a Teen-to-Teen Mental Health Summit held in Fairfax County.

• Student-created conference looks at impact of youth substance abuse (Thousand Oaks Acorn)
  The Westlake Village resident— whose story is hardly unique in the Conejo Valley—was among many people who donated time on Saturday to lead breakout sessions at a substance abuse conference for teens that was presented by the Thousand Oaks Youth Commission’s Drugs and Alcohol Prevention Committee.