More Youth Mentoring Funds
By Benjamin Chambers, May 29 2009
The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) has announced two more grants related to youth mentoring. Their deadlines are almost upon us, so here's the details:
Blog: Youth Engagement
Positive Youth Development: Changing Lives Through Literature
By Benjamin Chambers, May 20 2009
Looking for an alternative sentencing program that doesn't cost a lot of money and which seems to have significant impact on reducing recidivism and violent offenses? I've got one for you.
It's been around since 1991, has been implemented in as many as 12 states and the U.K. and involves reading and discussing books: Changing Lives Through Literature (CLTL). It was created by Professor Robert Waxler of the University of Massachusetts, and Judge Robert Kane of New Bedford, MA, and begun with the help of probation officer Wayne St. Pierre.
Youth at the Reclaiming Futures Leadership Institute
By Benjamin Chambers, May 19 2009
It's getting a little late to post about our Reclaiming Futures Leadership Institute, but I wanted to make sure to mention a great lunchtime performance. In the past, we've sometimes been able to include youth in our conferences; though that wasn't possible this year, we were honored to see a local youth jazz band, the Trendsetters (seen at left) perform -- they even got some of us dancing! (Photo courtesy of Cheryl Reed; click on photo to see larger version.) Though it doesn't do justice to these talented young men, you can also see a video of these teens performing on the streets of New Orleans. (It's a pretty horrible video, actually; unfortunately, they're not yet on YouTube.)
Mentors for Youth of Color in the Justice System
By Benjamin Chambers, May 14 2009
Many jurisdictions want models on how to recruit mentors of color for youth in the justice system, so here's two: the Reclaiming Futures site in Dayton, Ohio site is a great example (I plan to feature them in more detail in the near future), and so is the Seattle Reclaiming Futures site, whose 4C Coalition I featured in December.
Teens Influence UN Resolution on Juvenile Justice + More Great Ideas for Positive Youth Activities
By Benjamin Chambers, April 29 2009
We know that young people in the justice system need constructive activities and positive adults to work with them, right? Treatment's important, but they also need opportunities to learn and practice new skills that will that help them be successful when they leave the justice system, get off probation, and leave treatment.
So here's three inspiring examples of jurisdictions that have taken on the challenge:
Youth Leadership Curriculum - Recommendations?
By Benjamin Chambers, April 03 2009
Kelly Graves has a question for you.
Kelly, who is Associate Director & Research Assistant Professor at the Center for Youth, Family, and Community Partnerships at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, is a Community Fellow associated with the Reclaiming Futures site in Guilford County, NC. Her agency will be offering a youth leadership series for teens in the justice system with alcohol and drug issues and is beginning its planning now.
So: any advice for Kelly on a good (ideally evidence-based) youth leadership curriculum aimed at youth with substance abuse issues who are also in trouble with the law?
Feel free to contact Kelly directly, or leave a comment below.
I'll share anything I learn.
Young Inmates Make a Film
By Benjamin Chambers, March 24 2009
Want to do something positive with teens in the justice system? Give them a camera. Teach them how to use digital media.
Who knows? They might make a movie about the danger of making false assumptions about other people -- passing judgment on themselves, for example.
Don't believe me? Check out the trailer for a film made by nine young inmates in jail in Westchester County, NY (right next door, by the way, to the Reclaiming Futures site in Nassau County, NY). According to The New York Times, their movie, "Judgement," was recently screened before "a packed house." Two of the young men were able to attend in person; several more, still incarcerated, attended by video feed. (UPDATE: the film is available at YouTube in two parts - thanks to Youth Today's blog for the tip!)
Hint to Reclaiming Futures sites: having youth in the justice system tell their stories is a great sustainability tool, and it helps inspire community members to get involved in their lives.
Positive Youth Development: Yoga for Teens in the Justice System
By Benjamin Chambers, March 10 2009
Looking for something positive to do with youth in the justice system that's inexpensive, gives them useful skills, and they can continue doing when they leave detention or a residential program? Consider yoga, as this juvenile justice program in San Mateo, CA did. (The Reclaiming Futures program in Portland, Oregon also invested in yoga for teens in the secure residential alcohol and drug program run by the County, so I can attest to its benefits -- and the teens, after initial grumbling, found they liked it.) By focusing youth on being emotionally and physically aware, yoga provides teens with better skills for managing their emotions and behavior.
Six Tips for Engaging Families in Juvenile Justice System Reform and Advocacy
By Benjamin Chambers, February 09 2009
Families can be one of the most powerful levers for changing how youth in the juvenile justice system access alcohol and drug treatment -- and improving its quality. But involving family members in reform work is difficult.
Fortunately, it's a skill that can be learned. To help you along, we're reprinting below a newsletter column written by Grace Bauer, Community Organizer for the Campaign for Youth Justice. --Ed.
Strategies for Engaging Families in
Advocacy and System Reform Efforts
by Grace Bauer
Building Family Strengths Conference + 2009 National Youth Summit
By Benjamin Chambers, February 03 2009
Implementing Reclaiming Futures means including families and youth in building service plans for individual teens -- and in improving services overall. Need help doing it?
Consider attending the 2009 Building Family Strengths conference on June 23-25, 2009, in Portland, OR - you can even submit a proposal for a presentation, if you do so by this Friday, February 6, 2009.
Mentors for Youth in the Justice System - Seattle's 4C Coalition
By Benjamin Chambers, December 30 2008
Hazel Cameron -- a Reclaiming Futures Community Fellow -- knows a thing or two about recruiting mentors for youth involved in the justice system.
Her 4C Coalition has partnered with the Reclaiming Futures initiative in Seattle for years now, successfully pairing youth with caring adults.
The Coalition just made a splash in the Seattle Times, too. (You can also find a PDF of the story here.) Congratulations to Hazel and all her colleagues!
UPDATE: The 4C Coalition recently joined the National CARES Mentoring Movement, which states that it has "mounted the largest mentor recruitment effort in the history of this nation aimed at securing the lives of our young black boys and girls." CARES has mentor-recruitment circles in 53 communities across the country, including several other Reclaiming Futures sites: Anchorage, Chicago, Dayton, and Greensboro (Guilford County). Is your community part of the movement?
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