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Juvenile Justice Reform

• New juvenile court guidelines to help struggling students
  The San Fernando Valley Sun:
  Los Angeles' Juvenile Court Presiding Judge Michael Nash has issued new guidelines to eliminate fines and unnecessary court time for students who were late to school and for other minor offenses. The court will also direct students who miss school to seek out school- and community-based resources that are shown to improve academic achievement and get struggling students back on track.
• Report: Move mentally ill youth from state lockups CantonRep.com:
  The state should transfer mentally ill juvenile inmates to psychiatric facilities as soon as possible and find money for their treatment, according to a new report on the status of Ohio’s youth prison system.
• Pennsylvania court amending waivers for juveniles
  The Times Leader:
  New statewide rules regarding legal representation of juveniles in court were sparked by the judicial scandals that first rocked Luzerne County three years ago.
• Despite weak economy, crime in Los Angeles County still declines
  LA Times:
  There have been dire warnings that crime would rise since the economy began stalling several years ago. But in Southern California, crime continues its long decline despite the weak economy. Indeed, 2011 brought new worries about a "double dip recession," yet streets in many parts of the region were the safest they've been in decades.
• New California bill goes after parents of truant teens
  Inland Valley Daily Bulletin:
  California Assembly Bill 177, which took effect on January 1st, expands the number of reasons for which parents or guardians can be ordered to take anti-gang parenting classes if their child is convicted of a crime.
• Board of Juvenile Justice retains ban on discrimination based on youths’ sexual orientation
  Washington Post:
  Virginia’s Board of Juvenile Justice again has retained a ban on discrimination based on sexual orientation at its residential centers.
• Richmond Juvenile Detention Center has been placed on state probation
  Richmond Times-Dispatch:
  For the second time in three years, the Richmond Juvenile Detention Center has been placed on state probation because of ongoing safety concerns.
• New Illinois laws include shifts in juvenile sentencing process
  A new state law requires that Illinois judges sentencing minors to state juvenile prison ensure that incarceration is the least restrictive option and that efforts to find alternatives to secure confinement were unsuccessful.
• Alabama’s Lauderdale County shutting down detention center
  Weeks after the Justice Department announced its investigation into Lauderdale County's juvenile justice system, county officials are moving to shut down the youth detention facility a grand jury described as unfit to house dogs.
• After jail, youth with disabilities need special support to stay out
  When young people with disabilities end up in the juvenile justice system, they're less likely to return to youth prisons after their sentence is up if they have jobs or go to school quickly after being released, a new paper says.

Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment

• Pennsylvania Senator calls for closing of loopholes in law on synthetic drugs
  Join Together:
  U.S. Senator Bob Casey of Pennsylvania called on the Senate Judiciary Committee to close loopholes in a synthetic drug law that allows makers of the drugs to slightly alter their ingredients to avoid federal and state bans.

I’m so very proud of the new Miss America, Laura Kaeppeler. First, because she is from my hometown of Kenosha, Wis., and second, because she’s used her own experience to help a lot of hurting kids. If you don’t know Ms. Kaeppeler’s story, it begins when her father, Jeff, was arrested when she was a 14-year-old high-schooler. He went to trial and was sent to serve 18 months in federal prison for mail fraud when she was at Carthage College studying music.
This impacted Laura’s life, much like the other estimated 10 million children who will experience having a parent imprisoned. She started a mentoring nonprofit called Circles of Support to assist children living with a parent behind bars.
According to the United States Bureau of Justice Statistics, more than 3 percent of Americans live either behind bars, under parole supervision or on probation. This means that more than 7.2 million adults in 2009 lived under the shadow of a court sentence. An additional 86,927 juveniles were living in juvenile correctional facilities.
That’s a LOT of kids being impacted. And since most people who are serving time in a prison have a sentence from 3-15 years, it can take a huge chunk out of a childhood spent with a parent. How do we help children with such massive holes in their lives to keep them from following their parents into the juvenile justice or prison systems?

After nearly three years of serving as acting administrator for the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), Jeff Slowikowski has decided to step down. He will now serve as OJJDP's acting deputy administrator for policy. In a press advisory released today, Laurie O. Robinson, Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Justice Programs, announced that Melodee Hanes will step in as acting administrator for the OJJDP.
From the release:

“We have welcomed the expertise and energy that Melodee Hanes has brought to the office in her role as counselor to the acting administrator--and will continue to bring to her new leadership role. Improving the quality of life for children, while ensuring their safety, is a priority for the Attorney General and I look forward to her leadership within the Office of Justice Programs,” said Assistant Attorney General Robinson. “I want to thank Jeff for his exceptional service. Jeff’s leadership has been vital to the important work of OJJDP and to the many successes we have had in the office over the past three years.”
During his tenure as acting administrator, Slowikowski oversaw distribution of more than $1.5 billion in funding to support juvenile programs, including $50 million for the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Forces under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. He revitalized OJJDP’s research program, helped OJJDP launch important work in areas such as school discipline and tribal and military-youth mentoring, and oversaw OJJDP’s national symposium, a meeting of over 3,000 youth professionals.
Before serving as counselor to the acting administrator, Hanes spent 16 years as a deputy county attorney in Des Moines, Iowa, and Billings, Mont., primarily prosecuting child abuse, sexual assault and homicide cases. She has trained child protection investigators and served as an adjunct professor of law at Drake University, where she taught child abuse law, forensic medicine and forensic law. Hanes is a graduate of Drake University Law School.

Juvenile Justice Reform

• Behind California’s Governor’s plan to close state’s juvenile justice system
  The Bay Citizen:
  For the second time in one year, Gov. Jerry Brown has proposed permanently closing the Division of Juvenile Justice, a move that would make California the first state in the nation to eliminate its youth prison system and shift responsibility for the most dangerous young offenders to counties.
• Kate Middleton’s new cause: addiction and recovery
  LA Times:
  Eight months after wedding England's Prince William, Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge (formerly Kate Middleton), has revealed she will become a patron of the British charity Action on Addiction, which supports research, prevention and treatment of addiction, support for addicts' families and the education and training of those working in the field.
• Data: OJJDP releases delinquency cases in juvenile court fact sheet
  This new fact sheet from the OJJDP presents statistics on delinquency cases processed between 1985 and 2008 by U.S. courts with juvenile jurisdiction for public order, person and property offenses and drug law violations.
• Funding Award: Everychild gives $1 million to juvenile justice center
  Centinela Youth Services, Inc. has been named the recipient of the $1 million 2012 Everychild Foundation grant. The funds will launch and sustain a restorative justice center across the street from three Los Angeles juvenile courts over a three-year period.
  

• Delayed by months, suicide-proof beds still not in cells at youth prison
  An Illinois youth prison still does not have suicide-proof beds in rooms where kids on suicide watch are held. The installation has been plagued by delays.
• Some juvenile cases to revert to youth court after adult court sets penalty
  A new law in Ohio will send juveniles convicted of a non-mandatory offense in adult court to juvenile court before any adult sentence is served. This will allow the juvenile court another opportunity to determine whether the offender can be rehabilitated in the juvenile system.
• Assaults, crowding plague Maryland’s youth detention facility
  Price George’s County youth detention facility remains plagued by assaults, security lapses, crowding and understaffing, according to a new report.
• Georgia lawmaker makes juvenile justice reform top priority
  Rep. Wendall Willard, R-Sandy Springs, said one of his priorities for the session is to reform the state’s juvenile justice system. “Our juvenile code has not been really updated in 40 years,” Willard said. “I think we maybe lock them up too quickly instead of trying to find ways in the community to address problems they’re facing.”
• Op-ed: Keep teens out of adult criminal court
  Chicago Times: Illinois needs to change the law so that children and teenagers cannot be charged as adults when the only evidence against them is an unreliable, uncorroborated confession. And when DNA evidence is available, it should be tested before any juvenile is transferred to adult court.

Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment

• Scarcity of ADHD drugs points to larger problem
  LA Times:
  In what the National Institute on Drug Abuse calls a "cause for alarm," abuse of prescription stimulants is also becoming more prevalent in high school. An institute survey of 45,000 students found abuse of stimulants had increased among high school seniors, from 6.6% to 8.2%, just in the last two years.

Here are our top 10 stories on juvenile justice and adolescent substance abuse from 2011:

#10. School Superintendent to Governor: Please make my school a prison
A Michigan public school superintendent asked the state's Governor to classify his school as a prison in order to receive additional funding for his students.
#9. School-to-prison pipeline: Why school discipline is the key (video) and what to do about it
We took a look at school disciplinary policies and Connecticut's efforts to disrupt the pipeline and educate its kids.
#8. House Appropriations Committee eliminates most juvenile justice funding
John Kelly took a look at a bill before the House of Representatives that would eliminate most federal spending for juvenile justice activities. 
#7. SAMHSA changes substance abuse and mental health block grants - your comments (still) needed!
SAMHSA revamped its block grant applications for substance abuse and mental health treatment and asked for comments on proposed changes.
#6. Adolescent substance abuse: "bath salts" an emerging risk
We warned about the emerging use of "bath salts" as stimulants and the DEA's reaction against them.

Stay tuned for the TOP FIVE stories of 2011! And in case you missed them, and check out the top 20 and top 15.

2011 was quite a year for Reclaiming Futures Every Day. To help jog your memory of all of our great and on-going discussions, I've compiled a list of the top 20 most popular blog posts from the past year. Some of these posts were published in previous years, but continued to be read and discussed and are still relevant today. 
I'm starting off with the first five, in order of reverse popularity:

#20. Juvenile Justice System: How much are evidence-based practices worth?
Program evaluator Linda Wagner used data analysis to explain why investing in evidence-based practices is the best way to achieve significant cuts in crime and their associated costs.
#19. Juvenile Justice reform: Tell the right story & keep going!
This blog's founder, Benjamin Chambers, said farewell and called on readers to continue their important discussions and work in the juvenile justice arena.
#18. Speaking in a loud voice: A juvenile probation officer makes documentary about sex trafficking
We interviewed an Oregon juvenile probation officer about "Your American Teen," his documentary that looks at sex trafficking and American teens.
#17. Dr. Jeffrey Butts on positive youth development in juvenile justice (video interview)
Dr. Jeffrey Butts explained the meaning of "positive youth development" and how it can help youth in the juvenile justice system.
#16. How to raise a drug-free kid: The straight dope for parents
Joseph A. Califano, Jr. explained the importance of speaking with kids about drugs while they are still young and emphasized the role of parents in prevention.

When casual readers of the news media search for stories about juvenile crime and justice today, they find a lot of good news. Other than the perennial media coverage of individual crimes and victimization, an online search about juvenile justice today generates dozens of stories about states uncovering abuses in their youth corrections systems, reducing their rates of juvenile incarceration and increasing their reliance on community-based programs for young offenders.
Many of these stories refer to the ongoing decline in crime and violence as possible proof that these changes in policy and practice are improving public safety. But, a prudent reader will stop to ask about the direction of causality in these explanations. Are we reducing crime by limiting the use of incarceration, or is incarceration down because crime is down? The question is more than a topic for academic study. We need to consider our answer carefully if we hope to sustain these recent improvements over the long term.
The number of juvenile offenders being held in secure correctional institutions has been falling nationwide. Advocates in the juvenile justice field welcome this reform because reductions in the use of secure confinement allow state and local jurisdictions to intervene with young offenders in their own homes and communities, which is less costly and can be more effective than incarceration in reducing recidivism and preventing crime.
My colleague Douglas Evans and I recently reviewed the most prominent juvenile correctional reform models from the past 40 years, and we concluded that some models of reform were likely to be more sustainable than others. Specifically, we recommended the "realignment" approach now being implemented in California and those established in Wayne County (Detroit), Michigan since 2000.

The National Center for Youth in Custody is seeking a Program Director. We usually post job opportunities in the news round-up but the deadline for this position is quickly approaching and we wanted to make sure there was enough time to apply. Good luck!
Job Description
Program Director, National Center for Youth in Custody
Background: The federally-funded National Center for Youth in Custody (NC4YC) is a partnership of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), National Institute of Corrections (NIC), National Partnership for Juvenile Services (NPJS) and Council of Juvenile Correctional Administrators (CJCA). The program director will be hired by CJCA, and be responsible for coordinating the activities of the center in close collaboration with the program director from NPJS.
The goal of NC4YC is to develop and serve as a resource to leaders and practitioners serving youth in custody. The four strategic priorities of NC4YC are:
(1) Promote an effective continuum of services for youth in restricted custody, juvenile detention, corrections and adult facilities;
(2) Develop and promote leadership and capacity to transform organizational cultures to best serve youth;
(3) Ensure safe and healthy conditions of confinement; and
(4) Strengthen family, community and stakeholder engagement and partnership.
Responsibilities: Manage the activities of NC4YC, which include: collaborating and effectively communicating with the above-noted partner organizations, Working Group and volunteer network; working closely with the NPJS co-director to review and respond to requests for training and technical assistance; providing direct technical assistance to local and statewide jurisdictions that have responsibility for youth in confinement; preparing reports on technical assistance provided; promoting the mission, guiding principles, and goals of the NC4YC through national, state and local conferences; maintaining the NC4YC website www.nc4yc.org; organizing and preparing bi-monthly webinars; preparing a monthly newsletter; and preparing monthly and an annual report to partners and funding agency on the previous year’s activities, accomplishments and outcomes.

Tarrant County, Texas (where Fort Worth is located) has developed a new program for juvenile offenders that is aimed at youth charged with family violence involving non-intimate relatives. The program, the Youth Offender Diversion Alternative, or YODA, targets youth 17-25 who are charged with such crimes, and it provides intensive counseling to show participants how to make better choices in stressful situations or arguments. If the juvenile completes the program, the charges are dismissed and erased from his or her record.
The program is currently funded through a private grant from the Amon G. Carter Foundation. Public-private partnerships like this are often well-positioned to experiment with creative policy approaches while also limiting costs to taxpayers.
At this point, the 20 graduates of YODA have not committed another offense, and a preliminary study shows decreased aggression and substance abuse problems among participants. The participants also exhibit improvements in mental health and stability. So far, the program provides a reason to be optimistic.