The Long-Term Effects of Abuse on Incarcerated Teens; News Roundup

Juvenile Justice Reform

• Confronting an Unseen Problem: Abuse and Its Long-Term Effects on Incarcerated Juveniles (Chicago Policy Review)
  Children and adolescents who find themselves in the juvenile justice system often come from backgrounds characterized by abuse. Recent studies indicate that once incarcerated, that trend is appallingly likely to continue.
• Experts Concerned that LA County Youth Not Always Well Served by the Juvenile Justice System (Public CEO)
  Nearly 50 years after the U.S. Supreme Court established the rights of juveniles to have adequate legal representation in a landmark case known as In re Gault, due process rights remain unclear for thousands of indigent juvenile defendants facing felony charges that could lead to years of incarceration.
• Question of Raising Criminal Age in Texas Fraught With Complexity (El Paso Times)
  Texas criminal courts have regarded 17 as the age of adulthood since 1918. But recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions conflict with the law in some ways, prompting Texas and the eight other states to consider making 18 the age at which criminal offenders are sent into the adult legal system.
• Racial Disparity in Juvenile Facilities Increased as Overall Incarceration Plummeted, Report Says (The Chronicle of Social Change)
  Racial disparity in juvenile facilities may have widened as the overall number of youths declined in recent years, according to a report released today by the National Council on Crime and Delinquency.

Jobs, Grants, Events and Webinars

• Please share the Reclaiming Futures Opportunity Board with your colleagues in the juvenile justice, adolescent substance abuse and teen mental health areas. It's free to browse and post!

Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment and Mental Health

• Group Hosts Suicide Prevention Talk in Glendale (Glendale News-Press)
  A Glendale Unified psychologist and a mental health services coordinator offered parents direction Thursday night in recognizing depression in teens in order to better prevent suicide.
• Litchfield Workshop to Tackle Youth Mental Health Awareness (The Register Citizen)
  A public education program will hold a local workshop to instruct the community on adolescent mental issues and how to approach them on April 9 and 10.
• New Helpline in Webster Provides Adolescents With Accurate Substance Abuse Recovery Information (The Bay Area Citizen)
  A new helpline has been established to provide a valuable resource for young adults seeking to overcome their substance abuse issues.
• April is NCADD Alcohol Awareness Month (NCADD)
  NCADD Alcohol Awareness Month, held every April, was founded by and has been sponsored by the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, Inc. (NCADD) since 1987 to increase public awareness and understanding aimed at reducing the stigma associated with alcoholism that too often prevents individuals and families from seeking help.

Ashley Heinonen writes the Friday news roundup, opportunity board roundup, and contributes articles featuring information about juvenile justice reform to ReclaimingFutures.org. She graduated from Loyola Marymount University and is currently an assistant account executive for Prichard Communications.