Why Keeping Young Offenders Out of Jail Could Reduce Crime; News Roundup

Juvenile Justice Reform

• Juvenile Justice Reform Bill Moving Forward (Keloland News)
  A plan to change the way South Dakota deals with kids who get in trouble with the law is getting a lot of support in Pierre. The plan, which is similar to the adult justice reform, would keep kids in their own communities rather than sending them to a state facility.

• States see marked drop in juvenile prison populations as reforms take hold (Washington Post)
  A falling crime rate and new reforms to the way juveniles are treated by the criminal justice system have dramatically cut the number of young people in state prisons, according to a new report that highlights the success of some of those reforms.

• Why Keeping Young Offenders Out of Jail Could Reduce Crime (PBS Newshour)
  Juvenile offenders kept under supervision close to home, rather than in secure, state-run facilities, are significantly less likely to be arrested again or commit more serious crimes, according to a new study. Judy Woodruff discusses the findings with Xavier McElrath-Bey of the Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth and Michael Thompson of the Council of State Governments Justice Center.

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Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment and Mental Health

• Income Inequality Hurts Teen Health Around The World As Two Factors Grow Together (Medical Daily)
  A new international study published in The Lancet found that socioeconomic disparities between the richest and the poorest in 34 countries widened over the last decade, and have paralleled a growing inequality gap in health. Overall, poor teenagers were more likely to be less physically active, have higher body mass indexes (BMI), and report more physical and psychological troubles, such as headaches and “feeling low.”

• Dispensing truth and dispelling myths about drugs (MyCentralJersey.com)
  NCADD focused National Drug Facts Week on dispelling common myths related to drugs, drug use and drug abuse for local youth, school groups, clubs and organizations.

• American Academy of Pediatrics Reconsiders Stance on Marijuana (Pierce Pioneer)
  The policy statement describes, “The AAP strongly supports the decriminalization of marijuana use for both minors and young adults and encourages pediatricians to advocate for laws that prevent harsh criminal penalties for possession or use of marijuana. A focus on treatment for adolescents with marijuana use problems should be encouraged, and adolescents with marijuana use problems should be referred to treatment.”

• School-Wide Prevention Program Makes Teens Half As Likely To Feel Suicidal (Huffington Post)
  Suicide is the third leading cause of death between the ages of 10 and 24, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Suicide attempts are even more common, with some research suggesting that 4 to 8 percent of high school students try to kill themselves each year, the CDC says.