Roundup: Another Candidate to Run OJJDP? - and More

 
Juvenile Justice News

• The Juvenile Justice Project of Louisiana put out the video below, "Trash to Triumph: New Orleans Juvenile Justice" showing the significant strides the city has made in reforming its juvenile justice system since Hurricane Katrina, when juveniles were housed with adult prisoners and herded onto a bridge without food or water for days on end.  It's 10 minutes long, but well worth watching.

• Twelve speakers will present at an October 26th congressional briefing on juvenile justice sponsored by the Center for Evidence-Based Crime Policy at George Mason University. Speakers include Shay Bilchik of the Center for Juvenile Justice Reform and Mark Lipsey, the social scientist behind some of the key meta-analyses that underpin the "what works" juvenile justice toolbox. Fingers crossed that the event will be caught on video for later viewing.
• A few weeks ago, Youth Today reported that only one candidate appeared to be in the running for the top job at the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), Judge Kurt Kumli (see item 2, first bullet). Youth Today has the scoop on another candidate, Jane Tewskbury, commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Youth Services.
• OJJDP just released its Report on Sexual Victimization in Juvenile Correctional Facilities, based on survey data and public hearings. It spotlights a total of six institutions -- three with the lowest rates of sexual victimization, and three with the highest -- and comes to some interesting preliminary findings. For example, "some widely accepted recommended practices did not necessarily correspond with an institution’s incidence of sexual victimization." Specifically, "the two facilities with the lowest prevalence of sexual victimization did not have express [Prison Rape Elimination Act ] PREA policies" for training staff, coordinating anti-victimization efforts, or coping with the "aftermath of sexual assault."
• The Vera Institute of Justice released a brief on chronic school absenteeism in New York state. It states that too often, families of teens who are chronically absent are inappropriately referred to the child welfare system, even though the causes of chronic absence for teens are different than for that of younger children.  
• A new restorative justice program in Peoria, IL, funded by the MacArthur Foundation's Models for Change program, will connect youth who've committed minor crimes with victims in an effort to provide alternative resolution -- and better outcomes -- for some juvenile court cases.
• The Forum for Youth Investment is hosting a 10/26 webinar that provides an introduction to the "Ready by 21" strategy, which the Forum describes as "a strategy that helps communities improve the odds that all youth will be ready for college, work, and life." Scheduled for 12 pm PST / 3 pm EST; just follow the link to register. 

Adolesent Substance Abuse - Related News

• Researchers have learned what makes cocaine so addictive - which may open doors to better treatment. (Hat tip to Robert Ackley.)
• Here's a great resource you can give parents: a handy chart of the 40 most-commonly-abused drugs, thanks to the Partnership at Drugfree.org.