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The Center for Juvenile Justice Reform and the Juvenile Law Center are hosting the second Information Sharing Certificate Program in March of 2013.
The Informaion Sharing Certificate Program is designed to enable leaders in the juvenile justice, child welfare, education, behavioral health and other child serving fields to overcome information sharing challenges that prevent the communication and coordination that is necessary to more fully serve youth known across multiple systems of care. Upon completion of the intensive three-day learning experience, participants apply the knowledge they gain through the development and implementation of a Capstone Project—an action agenda they undertake in their organization/community to initiate or enhance information sharing efforts. To accelerate these efforts, it is strongly encouraged that those interested in attending form a team from their jurisdiction to apply to the program.
Applications are due December 20, 2012! 

We welcome Lucas County, Ohio, to Reclaiming Futures!
In the news clip above, Project Director LaTonya Harris, explains how new funding will transform their juvenile drug court by coordinating services so young people have access to better treatment and support beyond treatment.
Lucas County, Ohio, will receive $1.32 million in funding from the Office of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), over the next four years, to improve and enhance their juvenile drug courts by integrating the Reclaiming Futures' model into the court.

Increasingly, multiple federal agencies representing various service sectors have recognized the impact of trauma on the children, adults, and families they serve. In 2011, in its strategic action plan, SAMHSA designated Trauma as one of its key initiatives. This led SAMHSA to revisit its trauma-related concepts and programming and their applicability not only to behavioral health but to other related fields.
In May 2012, after an extensive literature and policy review, SAMHSA convened a group of national experts to assist in the development of a working definition of trauma and trauma-informed approaches, and principles and guidelines for implementing a trauma-informed approach to services. The experts included trauma survivors, practitioners from multiple fields, researchers and policy makers.
SAMHSA is now seeking input from the public and is inviting those interested in this issue to read and provide feedback on the complete concept paper, SAMHSA’s Working Definition of Trauma and Principles and Guidance for a Trauma-Informed Approach.

The Chicago Reporter has a great infographic looking at the juvenile justice system in Illinois. The flowchart explains how teens are charged, sentenced and punished for crimes, depending on their age.
 
Click through to see the full version.

Juvenile Justice Reform

• A Handful of States Lead the Way on Juvenile Crime Prevention (TheCrimeReport.org)
  States are "surprisingly slow" in adopting proven methods to deal with violent or delinquent youth and their families, a national juvenile justice conference was told today. Failure to use the programs has been shown to result in higher crime rates and higher costs.
• Healing Words: Creative Writing Programs as Therapy for Kids in Detention (JJIE.org)
  Many programs incorporating elements of creative writing have been set up across the nation’s juvenile halls and treatment facilities, with the National Endowment for the Arts recognizing creative writing workshops like Massachusetts’ Actors’ Shakespeare Project and the Los Angeles-based InsideOUT Writers.
• St. Clair County Gives Child Court Cases Special Treatment (BND.com)
  Court cases involving children will be handled by a new team at the St. Clair County, Illinois, State's Attorney's Office. St. Clair County State's Attorney Brendan Kelly created the Children's Justice Division, headed by assistant state's attorney and new mother Anna Young.
• Foundation Strives to Create Legacy for Juvenile Justice Reform (JJIE.org)
  The nonprofit MacArthur Foundation has spent more than $100 million since 2004 on developing blueprints for reform within the juvenile justice systems of 16 states. Earlier this week, its reform initiative, Models for Change, brought together nearly 400 judges, advocates, probation officers and other juvenile justice professionals for two days of workshops in Washington, D.C.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) released its annual report on mental health, The 2011 Mental Health Findings Report (PDF download), with new insights about mental disorders of 12 through 17 year olds.
Estimates in the report include major depressive episodes (MDE), treatment for depression (among youths with MDE), and mental health service utilization. The report focuses mainly on trends between 2010 and 2011 and differences across population subgroups in 2011. Major findings from the report are included below.
Teens were mostly likely to seek mental health services for depression. Additional reasons are included in the chart below:

When criminal justice systems reduce prison populations and reinvest a portion of the savings in evidence-based methods of reducing crime, not only are taxpayer dollars saved, but more efficient and effective programs can be fiscally prioritized.
For example, Kentucky is using a portion of the savings from reduced prison populations to fund drug treatment beds that aim to get more Kentucky offenders off drugs—for good. Recent data showed Kentucky policymakers that drug treatment can cut recidivism among otherwise addicted inmates by one-third, and the Kentucky Legislature jumped at the chance to save money and reduce crime in their state.
In Hawaii, crime victims will receive additional attention as some of the justice reinvestment savings are used to fund victim counselors and their support staff. This will permit their victims’ outreach efforts to expand from violent crime victims to violent and property crime victims, and for longer periods of time. Putting the focus on victims in this way not only makes the criminal justice system more responsive to community needs, but also what is necessary to make the harmed party whole after the criminal act.

Here are the top ten most read blog posts from November 2012. Did we miss your favorite? Let us know in the comments below.
10. Real-World Solutions for Crossover Youth: Coordinating Care in Practice and Policy
Georgetown Public Policy Review speaks with Shay Bilchik about a multi-systems approach to care for crossover youth and reform options.
9. How to Use Language in Court that Youth Understand: Get the New Models for Change Guide 
A new guide from TeamChild, helps courts implement colloquies to bridge the gap between what is said in court and what kids understand.
8. Why Missing School Matters
Research shows that missing school lowers outcomes for youth, says the Media Awareness Project. But why do kids miss school in the first place?
7. Crossover Youth: Intersection of Child Welfare & Juvenile Justice 
The Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice looks at how best to meet the needs of crossover youth, those who are in both the child welfare and juvenile justice systems.

Juvenile Justice Reform

• Viewpoint: Localizing Juvenile Justice Spurs National Reforms (American City & County)
  Across the country, jurisdictions are moving away from centralized juvenile justice systems and toward smaller, local programs. Local systems are less expensive and are proving to be highly effective.
• New Report: Minors in ‘Solitary’ Hallucinate, Harm Themselves (JJIE.org)
  A new report on solitary confinement of minors includes harrowing descriptions of the psychological and physical impact ‘solitary’ has on young people, as well as surprising revelations about why some authorities resort to isolating juveniles.
• Juvenile Courts were Created to Get Kids on Track (DesMoinesRegister.com)
  Experts believe teenage brains are not fully developed. Society knows they should not be judged and punished in the same way as adults. So like other states, Iowa created a juvenile justice system to ensure that young offenders are given the help to get their lives moving in the right direction.
• Opinion: Juvenile Justice (Tallahassee.com)
  The state Department of Juvenile Justice’s new Roadmap to System Excellence is indeed an exercise in common sense. The Roadmap, which was discussed Thursday in Tallahassee in the first of a series of town hall meetings to hear from citizens and stakeholders, has the lofty goal of making Florida a leader in juvenile justice.
• Avery D. Niles Sworn In As New Georgia Department Of Juvenile Justice Commissioner (WJBF.com)
  Avery D. Niles, of Clermont, Georgia was sworn in Friday as the new Commissioner of the Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ).
• States Mull Ohio-Style Juvenile Justice Reform (JJIE.org)
  Georgia has room to make its juvenile justice system more regular, cheaper and better, according to preliminary suggestions from a blue-ribbon panel charged with drafting an overhaul. States including Texas and Ohio have gone down the same path, which, say experts, is not completely smooth.
• The Shocking Details of a Mississippi School-to-Prison Pipeline (COLORLINES.com)
  Cedrico Green can’t exactly remember how many times he went back and forth to juvenile. When asked to venture a guess he says, “Maybe 30.” He was put on probation by a youth court judge for getting into a fight when he was in eighth grade. Thereafter, any of Green’s school-based infractions, from being a few minutes late for class to breaking the school dress code by wearing the wrong color socks, counted as violations of his probation and led to his immediate suspension and incarceration in the local juvenile detention center.
• First Court of Appeals Hears Case Challenging Transfer of Juvenile to Adult Court (ChildrenAndTheLawBlog.com)
  Children in Texas can be tried in adult criminal court under a waiver statute that permits the transfer of a juvenile to adult court after a hearing is conducted by a juvenile judge. On October 31, 2012 the First Court of Appeals in Houston heard a case challenging the transfer of a child, C.M. The decision of the Court is pending.
• EDITORIAL: Juvenile Injustice (The New York Times)
  Step by step, the Supreme Court has been trying to reshape the way the American criminal justice system deals with those under the age of 18. In Miller v. Alabama this June, it ruled that a mandatory life sentence without parole for a juvenile is cruel and unusual punishment, even when the crime is homicide.
• Marijuana Decriminalization Law Brings Down Juvenile Arrests in California (PublicIntegrity.org)
  Marijuana — it’s one of the primary reasons why California experienced a stunning 20 percent drop in juvenile arrests in just one year, between 2010 and 2011, according to provocative new research.
• For the Newly-Elected Judge, a Different View of Juvenile Court (YouthToday.org)
  Dozens of lawyers won their first elections as judges this month, and they will soon experience the sensation of viewing the courtroom from the other side of the bench and hearing the words “your honor” directed at them.