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Recently, we posted about the Obama administration's plan to overhaul juvenile justice funding given to states. While the funding plan would have eliminated juvenile justice earmarks (if I remember correctly), it also would have made almost all of the remaining monies available only on a competitive basis.
Further, states would only be eligible to apply for the funds if they were in compliance with the core provisions of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA) -- things like keeping status offenders out of the justice system, keeping teens in lock up out of sight and sound of adult offenders, and making serious efforts to address disproportionate minority contact.  (This was a big change, as states have historically received federal funding to help them comply with the JJDPA. Critics have worried that the amount of funding has gotten small enough that states might soon opt out of the JJDPA in large numbers.) 
The funding proposal came under heavy fire from the Justice Policy Institute, the Coalition for Juvenile Justice, and the Campaign for Youth Justice - all of whom feared the proposal weakened juvenlie justice reform efforts. Another concern was that the administration's adoption of a "Race to the Top" funding competition model was being applied to the bulk of juvenile justice funds, whereas it was used for approxiomately 1% of federal education dollars. 
This morning, I woke up to news from @heatherkellyphd and from the National Council on Crime & Deliquency that the Obama administration had heard the criticisms, and reversed course.  Here's the official word, via JUVJUST:  

When I was at the Joint Meeting on Adolescent Treatment Effectiveness (JMATE) in Washington D.C. in December, I caught up with John Roman, Ph.D., Senior Fellow at The Urban Institute, just before he gave a fantastic presentation on emerging research on juvenile drug courts.  Click on the video above to hear what John has to say. Since the video sound is not ideal, I've also provided a transcript, below:

Below is a pretty interesting graphical representation of some of the 2010 data on teen drug use. (By the way, please note that by reposting it, Reclaiming Futures is not endorsing Home Health Testing, the graphic's creator, or its products.)
Now, what would be great would be an infographic showing things like:

• Ratio of youth who need treatment vs. the number who receive it
• Number of youth who receive evidence-based substance abuse treatment
• Youth leaving treatment with recovery resources ready for them in the community
• Number of youth actually dependent on drugs (vs. experimenting with or abusing them) at different decision points in the justice system -- e.g., intake, detention, secure lock-up

What would you like to see? (And does anyone know somebody willing to work on such an infographic pro-bono?)

NOTE: The graphic below is slightly distorted to fit our space. Here's the original.

 
Piper Kerman, author of Orange is the New Black: My Year in a Women's Prison, has a unique perspective on what teens in prison need to be successful.
Locked up in federal prison at age 34 for a drug crime committed in her early 20s, Kerman spent a year living in close quarters with many women, including 18- and 19-year-old girls.
What were the three things she thought they needed to be successful?

1. Positive attention. She found the teens in particular were incredibly responsive to positive attention, creating significant opportunities for change -- opportunities that were often missed.
2. Continued connection to their families and their own children.
3. Alcohol and drug treatment and mental health services.

But you should really hear it from her own lips. Fortunately, when she was in town earlier this week, Piper graciously agreed to be interviewed (see above).
What impact did the experience have on her?  Among other things, it has turned her into an eloquent advocate for juvenile justice reform, and addressing disproportionate minority contact in the adult and juvenile justice systems. Now that's a great outcome. 

As of March 15, the state of Illinois is cutting its $54 million budget for alcohol and drug treatment and prevention services to zero (full disclosure: I wrote the news summary linked to here).
That's right: zero. 
According to providers, that means many of them will shut down. 
What's left, without state money? According to provider representatives, about 80 percent of their clients (or about 55,000 people) get treatment funded by the state, leaving 20 percent of their clients who are covered by Medicaid -- -- women only, though. The state will reportedly be cutting the amounts it reimburses for Medicaid services by six percent.
What's not precisely clear from news reports is the impact on youth treatment. Prevention services serving about 230,000 youth a year are definitely gone, but children's treatment can be covered by Medicaid - I'm not sure how that's handled in Illinois. However, in my experience, most treatment agencies rely on the volume of their adult treatment programs to support their youth treatment programs. Without the mix, I would guess that many youth programs -- even those billing Medicaid -- might not survive.  

Give teens a microphone or a paintbrush, and they'll often tell you they want to be a music star, become the next Picasso, or produce multi-platinum records.
Maybe they'll achieve that dream and maybe they won't, but I find that giving kids the chance to be creative helps them achieve something even more powerful: healing. And it's lasting, too. 
That's why I think one of the most powerful ways to help youth be successful in (and after) substance abuse treatment is to help them express themselves creatively. 
That's the goal of A.R.T.C., "Achieving Recovery Through Creativity,” a program of Preferred Family Healthcare (PFH), a nonprofit treatment agency based in Missouri. 
A.R.T.C. is a therapeutic creative arts program integrated into our substance abuse and behavioral health programs. It identifies and incorporates the strengths, needs, abilities and preferences of our young clients into their individualized treatment plans.

The Unites States Supreme Court is set to hear a number of cases this month that look at how the Constitution applies to children.  In each of the cases kids were questioned behind closed doors at their schools with no attorneys present and without being read their Miranda rights.
In one of the cases an Oregon family is suing a case worker and deputy sheriff for “badgering” their 9-year old-daughter into accusing her father of molestation. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th District ruled that the girl’s questioning violated the Fourth Amendment’s ban on “unreasonable search and seizure,” according to a story in The Washington Post.
Advocates say that the courts should treat children differently than adults.
[Editor's Update 3/23/11: Youth Today examines the "three key questions" at the heart of one of the cases before the court: (1) Is age an objective or subjective criteria? (2) Does the school setting matter? (3) Do state trends matter?]

Want to serve as a peer reviewer on the U.S. Department of Justice's Coordinated Tribal Assistance Solicitation for fiscal year 2011? 

The U.S. Department of Justice is currently recruiting Indian country professionals to serve as peer reviewers for the FY 2011 Coordinated Tribal Assistance Solicitation. Applicants should be knowledgeable about tribal cultural beliefs, traditions, and practices, and must be able to demonstrate expertise in an issue relevant to the grant applications being reviewed. Topics will include community policing, tribal court development and administration, child sexual abuse, elder abuse, juvenile detention and reentry programming, developing and operating housing programs for victims of violence against women, and more.

Interested individuals already in the OJP Peer Reviewer Database need only make sure their current profile is up to date, reflecting any applicable tribal experience. Individuals new to the peer review process may submit a copy of their curriculum vitae or r—êsum—ê for consideration to Vicky.Tsaparas@usdoj.gov. All non-federal reviewers will be compensated for their work. CTAS will close on April 21, 2011, at 9:00 p.m. E.T.; however, peer reviewer recruitment will continue in support of funding opportunities available in the Office of Justice Programs.

More Information:

>> Tribal justice and safety
>> Peer review requirements
 

When it comes to assessing young people in the juvenile justice system, does the difference between “risk assessment” and “needs assessment” seem overly academic or technical to you?
It's actually very important.
Why? Because the lack of clarity about this distinction, and the tendency to conflate risk of delinquency with treatment need are obstacles to establishing a more strength-based and therapeutically informed attitude and process in juvenile justice systems around the country.