Urban Teaching and Juvenile Justice; News Roundup

Juvenile Justice Reform

• Urban Teaching and Juvenile Justice OR Why I Have 8 Probation Officers’ Numbers in my Phone (Philly Teacher Man Blog)
  "When I started teaching, I had no interest or background in the juvenile justice system. The fact that it might one day be incredibly relevant to my work in education was not even on my radar, but here I sit nearly 5 years later with no fewer than 8 probation officers in my cell phone."
• Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice Prepares for Transformation (JJIE.org)
  Georgia’s DJJ boss tells state lawmakers that his department must be transformed to handle the burdens a class of inmates that’s older and more violent, and high employee turnover and low morale, just as the governor pushes a large package of reforms.
• Florida Tightening Juvenile Justice Monitoring (Bradenton.com)
  State officials on Friday announced plans for quality improvements and tighter monitoring of juvenile justice residential and detention facilities following the arrest last month of a staff member accused of battering a 15-year-old girl in the Florida Panhandle.
• Senator Proposes Moving Toughest Juvenile Offenders to Adult Prisons (Statesman.com)
  In a move that would change decades of state policy, the chairman of the Senate’s criminal justice committee suggested Monday that 17- and 18-year-olds who commit violent crimes should do their time in a new system of youth prisons rather than in Texas’ juvenile lockups.

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Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment and Mental Health

• Teens’ Decision to Have First Drink Influenced by Best Friends, Study Suggests (Drugfree.org)
  Teenagers’ decision to have a first alcoholic drink may be influenced by their best friends, a new study suggests. Researchers found having friends who drink and who have access to alcohol is the most important factor in predicting when a teen starts drinking.
• Be Cautious of Boot Camps and Wilderness Programs for Your Addicted Teen (Intervene)
  Earlier this month a few of us attended a Lunch ‘n’ Learn event at CASAColumbia with Maia Szalavitz, a neuroscience journalist who covers health, science and public policy. She discussed the theme of her book, Help at Any Cost: How the Troubled-Teen Industry Cons Parents and Hurts Kids (Riverhead, 2006), an exposé of the “tough love” business. The talk prompted us to revisit and share what we at The Partnership at Drugfree.org know about boot camps and wilderness programs for troubled and/or addicted teens.
• TV Liquor Ads May Promote Drinking in Young Teens, Study Suggests (Drugfree.org)
  Young teens appear to be susceptible to the persuasive messages in television alcohol ads, a new study suggests. The ads influence some young teens to drink more and experience drinking-related problems later in adolescence, the researchers found.

David Backes writes the Friday news roundup for Reclaiming Futures and contributes articles about juvenile justice reform and adolescent substance abuse treatment to ReclaimingFutures.org. He has a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Santa Clara University. David works as an account executive for Prichard Communications.