Last week at the University of Southern California Gould School of Law, I attended the Criminalization of Mental Illness Symposium. National experts shared fourteen presentations in an effort to make sense of hundreds of statistics and research studies on such topics as recidivism, gun violence, juvenile justice, homicide, suicide, Aurora, Tucson, Newtown and VA Tech. Do you think this sounds overwhelming? Actually, it wasn’t.

Over and over, members of this Think Tank who are advising our nation’s leaders on public policy, mental health and criminal justice reform repeated, “We know what to do, we just need to do it.”

So what do we need to do? We need to take a stand for prevention, compassion and love. Doesn’t it make sense to advocate for education, preventative mental health and programming for youth instead of simply waiting until it is too late? Too often in our current system, we are sending those in need straight into the justice system, especially our children who often fall into the “school to prison pipeline.” We all know that the system is broken but the beauty is we can and are fixing it.

I am very fortunate to spend my days at the Flawless Foundation witnessing miracles over and over again. Our grantees and partners are visionary leaders who have created programs that are not just thinking about these issues but they are actively addressing them through relationship, promoting connections and healing on every level: body, mind and soul. We know what to do and we are doing it.

Juvenile Justice Reform

• Nebraska Juvenile Justice Reform Amendments Pass Committee Vote 
  The Nebraska Legislature has pushed forward a proposed piece of juvenile justice reform legislation, following a judiciary committee re-write, the Omaha World-Herald reports. 
• Georgia Deal Signs Second Edition of Criminal Justice Reform
  Legislation creates the Georgia Criminal Justice Reform Commission. The commission will conduct periodic comprehensive reviews of the juvenile justice system and criminal justice system to help ensure that they are effective and efficient in fulfilling their purposes.
• Global Youth Justice Launches 250 Youth Justice Web Sites
  Global Youth Justice, in conjunction with the American Bar Association, is helping local youth courts in 41 states launch 250 Web sites promote their juvenile justice diversion programs.

We're a third of the way through 2013 and found it to be a good time to reflect on stories that caught our readers' eyes. Below you'll find the top five blog posts so far this year, and we're excited to continue to build on our momentum throughout the rest of 2013. 

1. Reclaiming Futures Hiring in Portland, Oregon
   Do you support juvenile justice reform and want to help communities break the cycle of drugs, alchohol and crime? Join our staff in Portland, Oregon, where Reclaiming Futures is improving the experience for teens in the juvenile justice system by providing adolescent substance abuse and mental health treatment in 37 communities around the country.
2. Q&A: Trauma, Young Men of Color and Transformational Healing
   Ahead of the Reclaiming Futures webinar with the National Compadres Network (NCN), I (Liz Wu) had the pleasure of chatting with Jerry Tello and Juan Gomez about trauma, young men of color and transformational healing.
3. The Role and Purpose of Juvenile Detention in the 21st Century
   Across the nation, perspectives on juvenile detention are changing. Several experts share how they believe modern juvenile justice is implementing more rehabilitative models and what the ultimate dividends may be for both young people and U.S. society as a whole.
4. A Community Approach to Juvenile Justice
   This Fall, the Adler School Institute on Public Safety and Social Justice (IPSSJ) and its partner organizations with the Cook County Juvenile Justice Task Force published a concept paper (PDF download) outlining community-based, trauma-informed, restorative solutions to youth crime and conflict in Cook County, Illinois. The report provides guiding thoughts on how the juvenile justice system can better support young people while making communities safer. It also recommends alternatives to existing centralized juvenile detention approaches in Cook County.
5. Affordable Care Act Expands Mental Health and Substance Abuse Benefits for 62 Million Americans
   According to an issue brief released Feb. 20 by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Affordable Care Act will extend mental health and substance use disorder benefits to 32 million and federal parity protections to an additional 30 million Americans.
   
    

The National Juvenile Defender Center released a report that appraises the quality of representation in Missouri’s Juvenile courts. The report: “Missouri: Justice Rationed—An Assessment of Access to Counsel and Quality of Juvenile Defense Representation in Delinquency Proceedings,” examines teens’ access to certified counsel in Missouri and looks at programs that Missouri Juvenile courts could expand.

The report features ten core recommendations:

1. Ensure Timely Appointment of Counsel.
2. Reduce Waiver of Counsel.
3. Afford Representation at All Critical Stages.
4. Allocate Sufficient Resources.
5. Strengthen Monitoring and Oversight.
6. Establish Data Collection.
7. Recognize Juvenile Defense as a Specialized Area of Practice.
8. Reduce Youth in the Adult System.
9. Adopt Standards of Practice.
10. Address the Role of the Deputy Juvenile Officer.