Blog: Juvenile Justice Reform

Delaware Improves Juvenile Justice System by Integrating Services

By David Backes, July 02 2012

delaware report coverThis month, the Comprehensive Strategy Group released a detailed report on the juvenile justice system in Delaware. Entitled “The Little Engine that Could,” the report focuses on Delaware’s impressive progress overhauling its treatment of youth offenders over the past four years despite the state’s limited resources. From the report:
“More specifically, the primary goal of the restructuring effort is to create a responsive rehabilitative system where youth receive supervision based on objective assessments of their risk to re-offend and the severity of their offense, and are also matched with services based on their needs. The reasonable expectation is that, by ensuring that youth at risk of further delinquency involvement receive needed services early on, [the state] will be able to reduce recidivism while building and promoting life skills and other protective factors which will increase youth success.”
Recognizing a Troubled System
About 10 years ago, Delaware officials noticed a troubling trend following House Bill 210’s adoption:

“The initial stimulus [for reform] was a backlash against House Bill (HB) 210, 'get tough' legislation enacted in 2003 that resulted in the transfer of a large number of juvenile offenders to the criminal justice system. This, in turn, inadvertently resulted in significant overcrowding of juvenile detention facilities while hearings to transfer many of these youth back to the Family Court were pending.”

A New Structure

Topics: Delaware, Juvenile Justice Reform, No bio box

Closing the Business of Incarceration will Require Jobs, Reentry Programs

By Andre Perry, July 02 2012

How do you bankrupt a brimming system of incarceration that is perversely incentivized to grow? According to New Orleans Parish Sheriff Marlin Gusman, “you have to go to the source, and whether the source is education or whether it’s legislation, you really have to go to the source.” Gusman provided an upstream suggestion at the Loyola University New Orleans’ event, Louisiana Incarcerated: An Evening with Cindy Chang on June 26, 2012. However, many of the panelists pointed specifically to job training and employment as essential parts of the solution.
The event was centered around an acclaimed 8-part Times-Picayune series titled “Louisiana Incarcerated,” by reporter Cindy Chang. For the series, Chang talked with the formerly incarcerated and criminal justice reformers to get a complete story of the juvenile and criminal justice systems. The town hall styled symposium provided opportunities for panelists to offer their thoughts on the sources of Louisiana’s incarceration problems as well as potential solutions.
Concurring with Gusman’s perspective of root causes, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Louisiana Jim Letten said, “the most important part of our jobs is education and prevention. I wouldn’t have told you that 13 years ago.” Letten iterated what several panelists expressed during the panel sessions, which took place over the course of two hours.

Topics: Community Engagement, Jobs, Juvenile Justice Reform, Juvenile Reentry, Louisiana, No bio box

Discussion of Supreme Court Ban of Life Without Parole for Juveniles and more; news roundup

By Lori Howell, June 29 2012

Juvenile Justice Reform

  • High court ruling on juvenile life sentences means a chance at freedom (Orlando Sentenial)
    In more than two-dozen states, lawyers can now ask for new sentences. And judges will have discretion to look beyond the crime at other factors such as a prisoner's age at the time of the offense, the person's background and perhaps evidence that an inmate has changed while incarcerated.
  • RExO Grants: Reduce Recidivism and Build Lives (Huffington Post)
    This month, the Department of Labor announced grants of nearly $50 million to 25 organizations under two different grant programs that serve juveniles under our Re-Integration of Ex-Offenders initiative.
  • Juvenile Justice: A Move Away From Detention For Some (NorthEscambia.com)
    Florida law enforcement and criminal justice officials say the use of civil citations for troubled youth, rather than a lock-up, is slashing costs, and giving kids a better chance of a turn-around, and they want the practice to become more widespread.
  • L.A. School Police, District Agree to Rethink Court Citations of Students (Juvenile Justice Information Exchange)
    In the wake of critical news reports, Los Angeles school police and administrators have agreed to rethink enforcement tactics that have led to thousands of court citations yearly for young students in low-income, mostly minority neighborhoods.
  • Officials: Mentally ill children who don't get help can end up in criminal justice system (CrownPointCommunity.com)
    To child welfare advocates, the plights of families with mentally ill children demonstrate the state's failure to protect its most vulnerable children. Parents, judges, prosecutors, and other officials in Indiana say there is a multi-agency failure to provide mental health services to the children who need it most.
  • Juvenile justice changes cutting costs (Herald Tribune Politics)
    Florida law enforcement and criminal justice officials say the use of civil citations for troubled youth, rather than a lock-up, is slashing costs, and giving kids a better chance of a turn-around, and they want the practice to become more widespread.

Topics: Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment, Juvenile Justice Reform, No bio box, Supreme Court

The Ultimate Impact of Miller v. Alabama?

By Tamar Birckhead, June 28 2012

As Professor Dan Filler (Drexel) points out so well in a recent post on Miller v. Alabama on the Faculty Lounge, the decision’s direct effect on those currently serving juvenile life-without-parole (JLWOP) may be less dramatic than first imagined. Sentencing rehearings during which mitigating evidence is considered could lead merely to a reimposition of LWOP or a lengthy term of years sentence (40, 50, 60 years) that is the practical equivalent of LWOP. This is not to diminish the value of giving these 2100 prisoners an opportunity for review, reduction of their sentences, and the possibility of eventual release., although as Professor Filler also observed, much will depend there on the quality of defense counsel.
Instead, as I wrote two years ago in regard to Graham v. Florida, which struck down the practice of JLWOP for non-homicides, the ultimate impact of Miller will be seen in its precedential effect:

Topics: JLWOP, Juvenile Justice Reform, Juvenile Life Without Parole, No bio box, Supreme Court

Fewer Teens Being Prosecuted as Adults in Arizona

By David Backes, June 26 2012

The juvenile population in Arizona continues to rise, with projections from the Arizona Department of Economic Security suggesting as much as a 25% increase in the next 10 years. These numbers are in line with what Arizona has seen over the past 5 years--a 10% increase in the juvenile population since 2006.
Despite this increase in overall juvenile population, fewer of Arizona’s youth are entering probation and being sent to adult court. Between fiscal year 2010 and 2011, Arizona sent 15% less juveniles to adult court while the overall juvenile population increased by just over 2%. For the visual learners out there, take a look at this graph:

Topics: Arizona, Juvenile Justice Reform, No bio box

Supreme Court Rules Mandatory Life Without Parole Unconstitutional for Juveniles

By Liz Wu, June 25 2012

In a 5-4 decision, the United States Supreme Court (SCOTUS) today ruled that mandatory life-without-parole sentences for juveniles convicted of murder are unconstitutional. Justice Elena Kegan wrote the majority opinion, which focused on the Eighth Amendment's ban on cruel and unusual punishment.
Writing at the SCOTUSblog, Tejinder Singh elaborates on the decision:

The Court’s opinion brings together two strands of precedent to hold that a mandatory life-without-parole sentence for juveniles violates the Eighth Amendment. The first strand holds that the Eighth Amendment categorically prohibits punishments that enact a mismatch between the culpability of a class of offenders and the severity of the penalty. Citing, among cases, Roper and Graham, the Court explains that juveniles have always been regarded as less culpable because the distinctive attributes of youth diminish the penological justifications for imposing the harshest penalties on juvenile offenders, even when they commit severe crimes. The second line of precedent holds that life without parole shares key characteristics with the death penalty, and thus raises similar Eighth Amendment concerns, most notably that defendants are entitled to individualized consideration when facing such a severe sanction.
Weaving these two lines of precedent together, the Court held that mandatory life without parole violates the Eighth Amendment. Such sentencing regimes, the court explained, “preclude a sentence from taking account of an offender’s age and the wealth of characteristics and circumstances attendant to it,” including “immaturity, impetuosity, and failure to appreciate risks and consequences,” as well as the juvenile’s “family and home environment,” and the circumstances of the offense, including “the extent of his participation in the conduct and the way familial and peer pressures may have affected him.” By eliding these key factors, mandatory life without parole “poses too great a risk of disproportionate punishment.”

Topics: JLWOP, Juvenile Justice Reform, Juvenile Life Without Parole, No bio box, Supreme Court

Cost of addiction on families and more; news roundup

By Lori Howell, June 22 2012

Juvenile Justice Reform

  • $15 million complex 
to open in August, avoids jail-like setting (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)  The new facility is a reflection of a collaborative effort among police, schools and the court that has made Clayton a national model for keeping kids out of jail.
  • Illinois lawmakers raise high school drop out age (wrex.com) Belvidere Superintendent Michael Houselog says he wants to see kids in schools, and that the district is working to accomplish that goal. Guilford High School rising senior Max James says students will pick school over breaking the law.
  • At-risk youths achieve in San Angelo, Texas (gosanangelo.com)  A $154,000 grant was awarded to the Tom Green County Juvenile Justice Department earlier this year to address the needs of children ages 6 through 13. The goal was to identify problems in school or the household before students ended up on juvenile probation.

Topics: Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment, Juvenile Justice Reform, michael houselog, No bio box

Richard Buery: Community Engagement Vital for Juvenile Justice System

By Liz Wu, June 21 2012

Over in The Atlantic Cities, Richard R. Buery Jr. of the Children's Aid Society has a very compelling piece about the importance of community-based rehabilitation centers in working with troubled youth.  
He explains:

Engaging the local community is vital to the rehabilitation process. For young offenders, receiving supportive services in their home communities, where they can remain connected to families and local institutions, offers the most reliable path for ensuring that they do not grow up to become lifelong criminals. For most children convicted of minor infractions, effective services can be provided while they live at home, avoiding the costs and negative impact of institutionalization. Yet for the past few decades we have failed troubled youth--the vast majority of them black and Latino (84 percent of all admissions in 2009) - by shipping them to juvenile detention facilities hundreds of miles away from home, often for minor infractions.
Cutting these children off from their communities threatens their often fragile family relationships. Worse, young people don't learn to become responsible adults at these facilities--on the contrary, they are often neglected and face abuse. And despite how ineffective and unsafe these facilities are, the city and state spend millions of dollars a year to keep them running. Compared to the alternative, the waste is astonishing. Holding a youth offender in a secure facility costs around $260,000 a year; alternative, community-based treatment programs can cost about $20,000 per child per year, and have better results.

Topics: Community Engagement, Family Involvement, Juvenile Justice Reform, New York, No bio box

DOE Asks for Strategies to Improve Outcomes for Disconnected Youth

By Liz Wu, June 20 2012

The Federal Interagency Forum on Disconnected Youth recently put out a request for information on ways to improve outcomes for disconnected youth. Comments and suggestions submitted by July 5 will inform the Administration's development of the "Performance Partnership Pilots" program.
From the request:

This request for information offers States, tribal governments, local entities, community-based and other non-profit organizations, private-sector partners, philanthropic organizations, faith-based organizations, researchers, and other interested individuals and entities the opportunity to provide recommendations on effective approaches for improving outcomes for disconnected youth by working across programs and systems that provide relevant services to them. For the purposes of this RFI, “to improve outcomes for disconnected youth” means to increase the rate at which young people ages 14 to 24 who are homeless, in foster care, involved in the juvenile justice system, or are neither employed nor enrolled in an educational institution achieve success in meeting educational, employment, and other key lifelong development goals.
The public input provided in response to this notice will inform the deliberations of the Interagency Forum on Disconnected Youth about determining the best use of the authority requested in the President's FY 2013 budget for the Performance Partnership Pilots. If legislation provides this authority, these pilots would create innovative and comprehensive reengagement strategies that encourage additional academic and non-academic supports and support multiple pathways to prepare disconnected youth for college and career success. Responses to the RFI will also inform how the Department of Education (ED), the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and the Department of Labor (DOL) could deploy other resources for disconnected youth that have been requested in the FY 2013 budget. In addition, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) are interested in how their programsserving disconnected youth could contribute to Performance Partnership Pilots and other efforts to improve outcomes for this population.

Topics: Juvenile Justice Reform, No bio box

Department of Justice Releases Results of Ground-Breaking Tennessee Investigation

By Liz Ryan, June 18 2012

The U.S. Department of Justice's (DOJ) Civil Rights Division's recent investigation of the Juvenile Court of Memphis and Shelby County Tennessee is a "must read" for youth justice advocates, especially as it relates to racial and ethnic disparities and the prosecution of youth in adult criminal court.

The DOJ's extensive investigation, which began nearly three years ago, found a failure to provide adequate due process protections for children before transferring them to adult criminal court and racial disparities in the treatment of African-American children. The report shows that an African-American child is twice as likely as a white child to be recommended for transfer to adult court. Of the 390 transfers to adult court in 2010 in Tennessee, approximately one half were from Shelby County, and all but two of the total children transferred were African-American.

“This report is a step toward our goal of improving the juvenile court, increasing the public’s confidence in the juvenile justice system, and maintaining public safety,” said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division at a press conference when the report was released. “Upholding the constitutional rights of children appearing before the court is necessary to achieve these ends. The department will work with Memphis leadership to create a comprehensive blueprint that will create sustainable reforms in the juvenile justice system.”

Topics: Disproportionate Minority Contact, Juvenile Justice Reform, No bio box, Tennessee

The Crime Report Looks into Practice of Trying Teens in Adult Court

By Liz Wu, June 18 2012

Over at The Crime Report, Cara Tabachnick takes a look at the practice of trying teens in adult court. She writes:

Nathan Jordan is serving a 170-year sentence at Sterling Correction Facility in Colorado for aggravated robbery, motor vehicle theft and possession of a weapon.
But most of his crimes, which did not result in anyone’s death or injury, took place in in the late 1990s, before he was 18 . According to Colorado law, he was a juvenile offender.
So how did Jordan end up with the kind of sentence that might be meted out to serial killers or career criminals?
The answer is devastatingly simple: he was tried in adult court.

Topics: Colorado, Juvenile Justice Reform, New York, No bio box, North Carolina, Vermont

What is Denver Juvenile and Family Justice Doing Right? Teamwork

By Susan Richardson, June 15 2012

They were the recipients of the 2012 JMATE Evidence-Based Practice Program Award for demonstrating a consistent commitment and movement towards evidence-based practice in adolescent substance abuse treatment. What is Denver doing right? Turns out it's good old fashioned teamwork.
We recently spoke with Juvenile Court Presiding Judge Karen M. Ashby about what Denver is doing to break the cycle of drugs, alcohol and crime.  

Note: Review criteria for the JMATE reward included evidence of: (1) using evidence-based manuals, protocols, knowledge, and technologies, and using data to improve implementation, management, and fidelity; (2) a sustained commitment to evidence-based practices; and (3) a specific focus on adolescent treatment and recovery.

Topics: Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment, denver, Juvenile Justice Reform, karen ashby, No bio box, Reclaiming Futures, teamwork

Program fosters trust between youth, police and more; news roundup

By Lori Howell, June 15 2012

Juvenile Justice Reform

Topics: Adolescent Mental Health, Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment, Juvenile Justice Reform, k2, No bio box, Reclaiming Futures, spice

Teens Turn Corner with Jury of Peers and More: News Roundup

By Lori Howell, June 08 2012

Juvenile Justice Reform
Teens turn corner with jury of their peers (News Star) The teen court program in Ouachita Parish, Louisiana, in operation since 1986, allows juveniles who have been found guilty of nonviolent misdemeanors to go in front of a group of their peers for a second chance.
Revised court rules protect juveniles (Post-Gazette) Revamped juvenile court procedures in Pennsylvania will prevent schools from taking additional disciplinary measures when a child gets in legal trouble outside of school.

Criminal justice podcast with David Onek (Berkeley Law) Probation Officer Scott MacDonald discusses reducing racial disparities in the juvenile justice system, partnering with the community, using data to drive decision-making, sustaining reforms through leadership transitions, and more.
Five questions for Wansley Walters, head of Florida’s Department of Juvenile Justice (FlaglerLive.com) In Miami-Dade, Walters spear-headed the use of civil citations and other diversion programs with generally applauded results. From 1998 to 2008, juvenile arrests dropped by 51 percent there, juvenile detention by 66 percent and re-arrests by 80 percent. It’s estimated that Miami-Dade saved more than $20 million as a result.

Topics: Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment, Juvenile Justice Reform, No bio box, tobacco, Wansley Walters, Wisconsin State Bar

Punishment vs. Rehabilitation and the Effects of Trauma on High-Risk Youth

By Shannon Kluss, June 07 2012

Studies show that 75 percent of youth in the juvenile justice system have experienced traumatic events; 50 percent have endured post-traumatic stress symptoms. Additionally, system-involved youth who have been exposed to trauma are more likely to face overt behavioral and academic challenges.
Exposure to child trauma can lead to high-risk behaviors such as fighting, running away, and substance abuse, as well as the inability to focus in class, overreacting, and poor self-regulation. These behaviors ultimately increase their chances of entering the juvenile justice system or returning to juvenile courts for a repeated time. This vicious cycle has many officials within the juvenile and education systems concerned about how to handle these troubled and vulnerable adolescents. 
The National Leadership Summit on School-Justice Partnerships examines this critical issue in their recent report Responding to Students Affected by Trauma: Collaborating Across Public Systems. The report examines the long-term effects child trauma, particularly for those served by public agencies.
 

Topics: Juvenile Justice Reform, No bio box, reports, Trauma

PODCAST: Larry Henry and Susan Richardson Have a Heart-to-Heart

By Lori Howell, June 06 2012

Larry Henry of Substance Abuse 411 talks with National Executive Director Susan Richardson about how Reclaiming Futures can help in your community.

In this podcast, Larry asks Susan Richardson about the Reclaiming Futures model and how it unites juvenile courts, probation, adolescent substance abuse treatment, and the community to reclaim youth.
Substance Abuse 411 was created because of Larry's personal family experience with substance abuse and the search for answers to so many unanswered questions.
Together, they discuss ways to improve drug and alcohol treatment and connect teens to positive activities and caring adults.
  
 

Topics: Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment, Juvenile Justice Reform, larry henry, No bio box, podcast, Reclaiming Futures, substance abuse 411, susan richardson

Juvenile Justice Reform: A Blueprint From the Youth Transition Funders Group

By Shannon Kluss, June 05 2012

YTFG Blueprint 2012Detaining Youth Instead of Confining the Problem
The Juvenile Justice Work Group of the Youth Transition Funders Group recently released the third edition of “Juvenile Justice Reform: A Blueprint.” According to the report, 2.2 million juveniles are arrested and 400,000 youth cycle through juvenile detention centers each year. Noting that “50 to 70 percent of youth released from juvenile correctional facilities are rearrested within two to three years,” the report suggests a critical problem exists within the juvenile justice system nationwide.
As part of a movement to view youth incarceration as an option of last resort, The Blueprint outlines this framework:
The Blueprint
1.Divert youth from the justice system
2.Reduce institutionalization
3.Eliminate racial and ethnic disparity
4.Ensure access to quality counsel
5.Create a range of effective community-based programs
6.Recognize ad serve youth with specialized needs
7.Build small rehabilitative facilities
8.Improve aftercare and reentry
9.Engage youth, family and community
10.Keep youth out of adult courts, jails and prisons
Reclaiming Futures is highlighted in the report as a successful initiative that has helped divert troubled youth from confinement in juvenile correctional facilities. Founded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Reclaiming Futures model helps communities systematically identify and address youth with specialized needs, by connecting them to the proper resources and support needed to address underlying mental health and/or substance abuse issues.
The Blueprints for Violence Prevention project identified other successful models including Multisystemic Therapy (MST), Functional Family Therapy (FFT) and Multidimensional Treatment Foster Care (MTFC). Each of these models emphasizes the important role of family, is cost-effective and has shown promising results.

Topics: Juvenile Justice Reform, No bio box, Reclaiming Futures, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Youth Transition Funders Group

Children’s Law Center Releases Two Publications on Ohio Youth in the Criminal Justice System

By Brooke Preston, June 04 2012

The Children’s Law Center (CLC) recently released a report titled “Falling Through the Cracks: A New Look at Ohio Youth in the Adult Criminal Justice System” and an accompanying publication called “In Their Own Words.” The report focuses on youth in Ohio who are transferred to the adult court system or held in adult jails and prisons, while the second document highlights the stories and experiences of eight individuals – four family members and four youth – who have been personally affected by Ohio’s policy of transferring (or binding over) youth to the adult system.
In recent decades, changing Ohio laws have caused more youth to come into contact with the adult criminal justice system. Although the state has more recently taken steps to change this, the current process has resulted in over 300 youth placed in adult courts or adult jails and prisons each year throughout Ohio.

Topics: Juvenile Justice Reform, No bio box, Ohio

New York Prepares New Group Homes for Young Lawbreakers

By Liz Wu, June 01 2012

In and around New York City, the Bloomberg administration is setting up new group homes for young people aged 15 and under who have been sentenced for crimes. The group homes will be operated by 11 nonprofit providers, with some homes opening as soon as September.
Each group home will house 4 to 24 young people, allowing more than 300 troubled kids to serve their time in the city instead of in upstate juvenile facilities. This will make it easier for them to stay in contact with their families and support networks, which will reduce the likelihood of recidivism. 
Residents will live in the group homes for an average of seven months and will attend Department of Education schools during the day. As they get close to completing their sentence, many will return to their former public schools. 
From Child Welfare Watch:

Topics: Juvenile Justice Reform, New York, No bio box

Juvenile Justice Reform and Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment News Roundup

By Lori Howell, June 01 2012

Juvenile Justice Reform

  • Mentally ill children who don't get help can end up in criminal justice system (Northwest Indiana Times)  Parents, judges, prosecutors, and other officials in Indiana say there is a multi-agency failure to provide mental health services to the children who need it most.
  • Are too many kids being sent to court for minor offenses? (Southern California Public Radio)  A growing wave of juvenile justice experts say school districts send too many students to court for minor offenses. Usually those kids are African American or Latino. A nonprofit’s effort to track school citations within Los Angeles Unified School District indicates that the district is following that pattern.
  • Director of troubled youth agency to retire (Texas Tribune)  Cherie Townsend, the executive director of the Texas Juvenile Justice Department, announced Tuesday that she will retire at the end of June after nearly four years leading the state's institutions for youth offenders.

Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment

  • New report: Health care costs drop if adolescent substance abusers use 12-step programs (University of Wisconsin-Madison) The use of 12-step programs, such as Alcoholics Anonymous, by adolescents with a history of drug and alcohol abuse not only reduces the risk of relapse but also leads to lower health care costs, according to research by the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health.
  • Spotting depression in kids is essential (Albert Lea Tribune) There is a common misconception that many of the symptoms of depression, such as irritability and mood swings, are a normal part of adolescence. This is not the case and should be taken into account if there are other symptoms.
  • A vaccination for depression (Chicago Tribune) Dr. Benjamin Van Voorhees, who is chief of general pediatrics at Children's Hospital University of Illinois, and his team identify kids at risk and then use a combination of traditional counseling and Internet-based learning to stave off mental disorders so they don't fall into substance abuse.

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!

Topics: Adolescent Mental Health, Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment, Juvenile Justice Reform, No bio box, Rep. Marilyn Avila, Sen. Fletcher Hartsell

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