By Benjamin Chambers, April 16 2009
In an editorial last week, The New York Times supported the reauthorization of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA).- The Times also pointed out the critical necessity of drug treatment for prisoners in the interests of public health and cutting crime. (In related news, the number of black offenders in U.S. state prisons for drug charges dropped 21.6% between 1999-2005, whereas the number of white drug offenders shot up 42.6%. Even so, blacks are still drastically overrepresented in state prisons. Meanwhile, the number of people in federal prison for drug offenses -- blacks, whites and Latinos -- increased over the same time period.)
- The Washington Post Magazine carried an in-depth article on an innovative school inside the Oak Hill juvenile detention center in Washington D.C., similar to D.C.'s successful "Maya Angelou" schools (93% of their graduates last year were accepted into college, although 40% of their students have passed through detention). By profiling a bright but troubled student, the article gives a sense of the challenges -- and the possibilities -- that come with working with teens in the justice system.
- A woman from Delaware recently completed "Justice for All: the Documentary," about the nation's juvenile justice system; please write in if you've had a chance to see it.
- A couple of positive programs for youth got attention this week: first, Redeploy Illinois, a successful pilot program supported by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation that's been diverting teens from training schools and prison, which apparently has now been taken statewide; meanwhile, low-income youth are being recruited for summer jobs in one Arizona county, in a program funded by federal stimulus dollars.
- As expected, A. Thomas McClellan, Director of the Treatment Research Intitute, got the nod from the Obama Administration to be the new Deputy Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP). McClellan has received high praise and has great credentials.
- Twenty years of drug courts ... a critical take on The Real Cost of Prisons blog.
- States that are very good at signing up eligible kids for Medicaid can get a "performance bonus." Click through to find out more.
Updated: February 08 2018