Yelling, Threatening Parents Harm Teens' Mental Health; News Roundup

Juvenile Justice Reform

• OP-ED: U.S. Must Increase Juvenile Justice Protections for Children (JJIE.org)
  "Chicago, my hometown, was the home of the world’s first juvenile court. We are very proud of our history in the pioneering of a separate and more rehabilitative court for children in the United States. And so it comes as a shock to realize that children in the United States have fewer – significantly fewer – legal protections than children in other nations."
• Gov. Mead of Wyoming Seeks to Collect Juvenile Justice Data (GreenwichTime.com)
  Gov. Matt Mead is asking state lawmakers to budget $500,000 for a system that would allow officials to track information about juvenile offenders in the state. Tony Young, Mead's deputy chief of staff, said Thursday that the money would cover installation of the system to track data about young offenders at the five juvenile detention centers in the state, as well as the Wyoming Boys School and Wyoming Girls School.
• Juvenile Detention Alternative Initiative Expands Across Indiana (IndianaNewsCenter.com)
  Indiana’s Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI) will include nineteen counties as the initiative expands across the state. Eleven counties will join the eight current JDAI counties thanks to a partnership of all three branches of government.
• OP-ED: Diagnosis: Adolescence, Not Otherwise Specified (JJIE.org)
  "Think back to your teenage years for a moment. Were you ever impulsive? Was it important to fit in? Did you make poor decisions? Did you ever do something that (if you had been caught) could have led to serious consequences? Don’t worry if you answered yes to any or all of these questions: you are not alone. For those working with teenagers, the good news is that we now know more than ever about why adolescents tend to have these characteristics or behaviors."

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Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment and Mental Health

• Commentary: Medication-Assisted Treatment for Opioid Dependence (Drugfree.org)
  Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) for opioid dependence is a science-based and proven-effective option for teens and young adults. It should be administered with age appropriate psychosocial therapy and drug testing. Unfortunately, it has been subject to controversy and stigma. Yet the neuroscience of addiction and cravings helps explain why MAT, when properly used and overseen, can be truly life saving for adolescents, young adults, and their families.
• Yelling, Threatening Parents Harm Teens' Mental Health (Reuters.com)
  Threatening or screaming at teenagers may put them at higher risk for depression and disruptive behaviors such as rule-breaking, a new study suggests. "The take home point is that the verbal behaviors matter," Annette Mahoney, who worked on the study, said. She's a professor of psychology at Bowling Green State University in Ohio.
• Cyber-Bullying, Stress, Concerns Among Teens (MetroWestDailyNews.com)
  More students than ever are harassing each other via smartphone and other electronic devices, according to results of a teen survey. The 2012 MetroWest Adolescent Health Survey, which asked questions of 95 percent of local middle and high school students, found that female students are more often cyber-bullying others.

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.