Blog: Juvenile Justice Reform

I'm a huge fan of the Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring (ADAM) program, now run by the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP). The program tracks, as you might imagine from its name, drug use among arrestees. Because data is taken from multiple cities around the U.S. -- and variations from city to city can be quite large -- the data's used to track and predict drug use trends over time.
The program was axed in 2003 because of budget constraints, so I was pleased to learn today that ADAM was reinstated in 2007, this time as ADAM II.

Increasingly, I find myself representing “youth development” and “youth services” in education discussions where the primary focus is on improving high school and college graduation rates. The singular focus on preparing kids academically tends to ignore supports that are critical for many children in the education “pipeline” -- those in the juvenile justice system, for example. So I’ve honed a simple but effective way to get my minority views inserted into deep “education system” focused conversations about improving the education pipeline. Building on plumbing analogies, I’ve begun to talk about the importance of good insulation.

• Interested in what restorative justice looks like when it's implemented in juvenile court? Here's a long article about two restorative justice programs in Oakland: one uses a peer court to address low-level offenders; the other works with kids leaving detention after many months.
• Want data on the well-being of kids in your state? Want to know how your state ranks compared with others? Check out the KIDS COUNT Data Center just launched by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, which also released its KIDS COUNT Databook for 2009.

The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) has released a new, fourth edition of its Disproportionate Minority Contact Technical Assistance Manual. In it, you can find:

It's remarkable how suddenly the debate over marijuana legalization has moved from the fringes to mainstream.
Decriminalizing possession of small amounts of pot (but not its cultivation and sale) has been implemented in Massachusetts, and is being considered in Chicago, Rhode Island, and other communities.

When I think about the many people and organizations who support juvenile justice reform, I confess I don't usually think of doctors as being among them. Not because doctors would have any reason to oppose it; it's just that I haven't run across them in advocacy circles. 

Drastic cuts to the juvenile justice system in South Carolina are reversing significant gains made by reforms there, according to a New York Times story (see left for a still from the accompanying video, "Beyond the Fence.")
The Center for the Study of Social Policy's blog calls cuts to juvenile justice programs like these "shortsighted," because they avoid future costs and keep the community safer.
(UPDATE: Interestingly enough, budget woes seem to be driving states to adopt alternatives to incarceration -- including drug courts -- in the adult justice system.)
But what do you think? Leave a comment. 

The juvenile justice field has been one of the last to accept a strength-based or asset-based community development approach to working with young people and to working with communities to reduce juvenile crime.
However, based on pioneering work on a strength-based bill of rights for juvenile offenders developed by Laura Nissen, Executive Director of Reclaiming Futures and many other asset-based practitioners, the idea of a community development approach to juvenile justice has been slowly taking hold.  

About six weeks ago, I noted that MSNBC was going to air six episodes on the Lake County, Indiana juvenile justice system on its show, "Lockup."
In an unusual move, the judge in Lake County gave MSNBC full access to film the youth. I haven't seen the show, but here's a local review [removed because of dead link]. You can catch a riveting -- and heartbreaking -- 5-minute trailer for "Lake County Juvenile Justice here.
Has anyone had a chance to see the actual show? Leave a comment and let us know what you thought.