Top 5 Juvenile Justice Blog Posts | 2012

And this is it, folks, the end of our countdown! We've already shared the top 25, top 20, top 15, and top 10. And now, here are the top 5 blog posts of 2012!
5. Scared Straight Programs Are All Talk
After "Scared Straight" became popular in the 1970s, a number of research reports evaluated children who went through the program compared to control groups and found that many of the youth who attended “scared straight” programs were actually worse off than the youth who had no intervention.
4. Punishment vs. Rehabilitation and the Effects of Trauma on High-Risk Youth
Studies show that 75 percent of youth in the juvenile justice system have experienced traumatic events; 50 percent have endured post-traumatic stress symptoms.

3. A New Approach to School Discipline in Walla Walla, Washington
The first time that principal Jim Sporleder tried the New Approach to Student Discipline at Lincoln High School in Walla Walla, WA, he was blown away. Because it worked.
2. A Legal View: Why Juvenile Life Without Parole Sentences are a Mistake
A juvenile can’t fully comprehend the weight of a lengthy prison sentence, and the possibility of a harsh sentence will not be deterrent to them due to their inability to perceive the consequences of the sentence itself on their life.
1. This is Your Body on Drugs (infographic)
This infographic looks at the effects of various types of drugs on the body.
Was your favorite blog post included in our countdown?

Liz Wu is a Digital Accounts Manager at Prichard Communications, where she oversees digital outreach for Reclaiming Futures and edits Reclaiming Futures Every Day. Before joining the Prichard team, Liz established the West Coast communications presence for the New America Foundation, where she managed all media relations, event planning and social media outreach for their 6 domestic policy programs. Liz received a B.A. in both Peace and Conflict Studies and German from the University of California at Berkeley. She tweets from @LizSF.
 
 
 
*Photo at top by Flickr user fotofrog