Caseload Limits a Win in Washington and More; News Roundup

Juvenile Justice Reform

• Caseload Limits a Win for Public Defenders, Clients — and Justice (The Seattle Times)
  The order requires public defenders to certify that they meet certain standards, including caseload limits and experience qualifications. The new standards limit caseloads to 400 misdemeanors or 150 felonies or 250 juvenile cases per lawyer per year.
• Juvenile Hall Camp Alternatives Catch On (SF Gate)
  Camps and community-based programs that rely on group formats and help youths develop new skills and address personal challenges fare much better when it comes to reducing recidivism, studies show.
• DJJ Recognized as the Second Juvenile Justice System to Obtain Golden Eagle Award (SurfKY.com)
  The American Correctional Association (ACA) has presented its highest honor for commitment to excellence, the Golden Eagle Award, to the Kentucky Department of Juvenile Justice (KYDJJ) for its work in achieving ACA accreditation in all of its facilities, the training academy, central office and community and mental health division.
• Federal Money to Help Illinois Change Troubling Youth Prison Statistic(WBEZ 91.5)
  Illinois Governor Pat Quinn's Juvenile Justice Commission says 50 to 60 percent of the kids released from youth prisons end up going back within three years. It’s a troubling statistic, but the state is now hoping to use federal money to change it.
• TJJD Doing Blanket Review of Youths in Facilities (The Texas Tribune)
  The Texas Juvenile Justice Department is in the process of reviewing the histories of all youths in its detention centers to better assess security risks in the facilities.
• Children's Defense Fund conference sparks Cleveland teens to action: Margaret Bernstein (Cleveland.com)
  At its conference this week, speakers ranging from poet Maya Angelou to Federal Reserve Board Chair Ben Bernanke have said the nation needs to do a better job of investing in young lives, not prisons.

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Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment

• Can Exercise Help People Dependent on Both Cocaine and Nicotine? (Drugfree.org)
  Addiction experts are looking at exercise as a potential non-drug treatment for various types of substance abuse. One study at Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) in Houston is examining whether exercise can treat people who are dependent on both cocaine and nicotine.
• Web-Based Recovery Study Seeks Participants (Drugfree.org)
  A study funded by the National Institutes of Health is seeking people in recovery from an alcohol or drug problem to participate in a web-based survey. The researchers hope the study will help dispel the stigma that those in recovery face.
• Parents Key to Teen's Alcohol, Drug Use (UPI.com)
  Some parents assume whatever they say about drugs and alcohol may be drowned out by peer pressure, but U.S. researchers say parents are key.
• Coalition: Marijuana Bigger Problem than Alcohol Among Local Teens (The Weekly Calistogan)
  Napa County police say marijuana use is the county’s largest problem at teen parties, followed by alcohol consumption, according to a study by the Napa County Office of Education’s Catalyst Coalition.
• Alcohol and Drugs: Why Parents Should Talk to Their Teenagers (The Christian Science Monitor)
  Research indicates that teens who are allowed to drink at home are more likely to become substance abusers. This is also true for teens whose parents allow their kids to smoke pot.

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.