Feds to Audit Solitary Confinement Policy; News Roundup

Juvenile Justice Reform

• Feds to Audit Solitary Confinement Policy (JJIE.org)
  The Federal Bureau of Prisons will hire an independent auditor to review the use of solitary confinement in federal prisons, according to a statement released by the bureau. The move could impact thousands of juveniles in adult facilities who are frequently isolated from adult inmates, sometimes on the pretext of protecting their personal safety.
• Thousands of Student Arrests Alarm Florida Justice Leaders (Orlando Sentinel)
  Thousands of Florida students are arrested in school each year and taken to jail for behavior that once warranted a trip to the principal's office — a trend that troubles juvenile-justice and civil-rights leaders who say children are being traumatized for noncriminal acts.
• Report Calls for Increased Funding for Juvenile Justice Efforts (NOLA.com)
  To sustain and ramp up changes to Louisiana's juvenile justice system there needs to be adequate funding at both the state and local levels, experts recommended in a report released Thursday. At a day-long conference in Baton Rouge, two members of the Louisiana Juvenile Justice Implementation Commission underscored this concern, saying a lack of money could hinder future progress across the state.

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Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment and Mental Health

• Teens with ADHD More Likely to Have Substance Abuse Issues (Drugfree.org)
  Teenagers with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are significantly more likely to have substance abuse issues and to smoke cigarettes, compared with their peers without a history of the disorder, according to a nationwide study.
• Youth-Smoking Prevention Campaign Asks for More Warnings (Winston-Salem Journal)
  Teenagers participating in Virginia's youth-smoking prevention campaign are sending letters and postcards to the top executives of some major retail and convenience stores asking them to place tobacco-prevention awareness signs in their stores.
• Watch Dr. Nora Volkow Explain How Neuroscience Shapes Drug Policy (Whitehouse.gov)
  The National Institute on Drug Abuse and the Office of National Drug Control Policy agree that throughout much of the last century, scientists studying drug abuse labored in the shadows of powerful myths and misconceptions about the nature of addiction. When science began to study addictive behavior in the 1930s, people addicted to drugs were thought to be morally flawed and lacking in willpower.
• Fewer Teens Receiving Substance Abuse Prevention Messages From Media (Drugfree.org)
  The percentage of teenagers who receive substanced abuse prevention messages from the media in the past year dropped from 83.2 percent in 2002, to 75.1 percent in 2011, according to a new government report.
• Data on Substance Abuse Treatment Facilities 2011 (SAMHSA.gov)
  Presents results from the 2011 annual survey of public and private facilities throughout the 50 states providing substance abuse treatment. Reports data on location, facility and client characteristics, and use of alcohol and drug abuse treatment facilities and services.

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.