Core Principles for Reducing Recidivism and Improving Other Outcomes for Youth in the Juvenile Justice System; and more - News Roundup

Juvenile Justice Reform

• Juvenile Justice White Paper: Core Principles for Reducing Recidivism and Improving Other Outcomes for Youth in the Juvenile Justice System (The Council of State Governments Justice Center)
  
  This white paper was written to guide leaders across all branches of government; juvenile justice system administrators, managers, and front-line staff; and researchers, advocates, and other stakeholders on how to better leverage existing research and resources to facilitate system improvements that reduce recidivism and improve other outcomes for youth involved in the juvenile justice system. The focus of the white paper is to promote what works to support successful reentry for youth who are under juvenile justice system supervision. To help advance this goal, this white paper does the following:

  Part One distills and synthesizes the research on what works to reduce recidivism and improve outcomes for youth in the juvenile justice system into four core principles. The discussion of each principle includes the latest research supporting the importance of the principle accompanied by specific policy, practice, and resource-allocation recommendations, which when taken together, offers the potential for significant recidivism reductions and improvements in other youth outcomes. It also provides examples illustrating how state and local juvenile justice officials have established particular policies and system interventions to implement these principles.
  Recognizing that improved outcomes are possible only when research on what works is implemented with fidelity, Part Two details lessons learned from research and practice on how to implement the principles effectively, and provides examples of how state and local juvenile justice systems have operationalized the principles in practice.

• Double Charged: The True Cost of Juvenile Justice (Youth Radio)  An interactive resource exploring the true cost of the juvenile justice system. Each year, almost 1.5 million teens, many of them low-income, are arrested in the United States. Compared to ten years ago, fewer of these young people end up incarcerated due to cost-saving measures at the county level, but what impact do those measures have on minors and their families? In a yearlong investigation, Youth Radio tracked two new trends – teen GPS ankle monitoring and making parents pay for their kids’ jail time and probation.

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

• National Study: Teens Report Higher Use of Performance Enhancing Substances (PR News Wire) According to the latest Partnership Attitude Tracking Study (PATS), sponsored by MetLife Foundation,11 percent of teens in grades 9-12 reported "ever having used" synthetic human growth hormone without a prescription, up dramatically from just 5 percent in 2012. These findings underscore teens' growing interest in performance enhancing substances, as well as the need for tighter regulation and more accurate labeling of "fitness-enhancing" over-the-counter products implying they contain synthetic hGH.

• Physicians to be Trained on Teen Mental Care (magicvalley.com) TWIN FALLS • St. Luke’s will start training primary care physicians to better diagnose and treat children’s mental and behavioral health problems to combat the Magic Valley’s “staggering need” for such services.

• CADCA Responds to New York Times Editorial Board's Call for Marijuana Legalization (prweb.com) “CADCA is disappointed in the New York Times Editorial Board for their very public call for national marijuana legalization. The move is shortsighted and completely disregards the science showing the harmful effects of marijuana legalization on the adolescent brain. Left out of the New York Times article are the many detrimental effects marijuana use has on teens and public safety.