Effective Practice in Juvenile Justice - and More: Roundup

 
Teens in Lockup - a Documentary and a Photo Project about Juveniles in the Justice System

• Click on the screen shot at right to check out four short clips from "Juvies," an award-winning documentary from 2004 focusing on youth in California's juvenile justice system who were tried as adults and received extremely harsh sentences (photo at right is of "Sandra). You might also be interested in the "syllabus" assembled by the filmmakers in response to frequent requests for additional classroom resources to supplement the film. 

• Photographer Ara Oshagan, who shot the B-roll for "Juvies," recently produced a documentary photo project called, "Juvies: a Collaborative Portrait of Juvenile Offenders," featuring youth in Los Angeles County Juvenile Hall, along with text written by the youth. You can learn more about Oshagan and how his experiences awakened an interest in juvenile justice reform here.

 
Effective Juvenile Justice Policy

• Here's a link to a succinct but comprehensive international review of "Effective Practice in Juvenile Justice?" It was brought to my attention by Graham West, formerly Minister of Juvenile Justice and Member of Parliament in Australia. He did so by posting it to our LinkedIn discussion group on Juvenile Justice Reform and Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment, requesting comment. Since his recommendations were evidence-based, I was sorry to see that West resigned from the Ministry a few weeks later.  One interviewer speculated that he was resigning because his proposals to divert youth -- especially youth of color -- from the juvenile justice system were not getting traction. (West denied this, but says he believes he can be more effective advocating for juvenile justice reform if he's no longer a politician.)
• The National Juvenile Justice Network has released its policy platform on Disproportionate Minority Contact. It joins several others, such as its policy platform on "Girls in the Juvenile Justice System," and "Approaching Juvenile Justice with a Focus on Positive Youth Development."

 
Opportunities to Advocate for Juvenile Justice Reform, Improve Rural Behavioral Healthcare, or Set Addiction Recovery Policy

• Join the Campaign for Youth Justice and family members from around the country for their National Parent Caucus (NPC) call on July 1, 2010, at 5:00 EST, 4:00 CST and 2:00 PST. To join, call 866-524-0621 and use code 7831935097. Everyone is welcome - feel free to invite other parents to join, as everyone is welcome. Questions? Want to add something to the agenda? Email Grace Bauer.
• The National Technical Assistance Center for Children's Mental Health will be hosting the 2010 Rural Behavioral Health Symposium September 21-23, 2010, in Glendale, AZ.  Registration is now open, and proposals for 90-minute workshops are also being accepted. The focus will be on "practical strategies to address the behavioral health needs of children and families in rural America." (Hat tip to Christa Myers, Project Director for Reclaiming Futures Hocking County, OH.)
• The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) is hiring a Senior Policy Analyst. Application deadline: June 30, 2010.

 
Related Post

• The Reclaiming Futures Fellowships have learned about teens in the juvenile justice system. See this post for useful reports for any community trying to improve practices within the justice system.