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In a pivotal case this March, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled that Illinois prisoners serving life sentences without parole for crimes committed when they were under 18 will receive new sentence hearings. This case arose after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that life without parole for crimes committed by people under the age of 18 was unconstitutional. The next question in line became whether this ruling would apply only to future cases or to those already serving their sentence. Individual states are now figuring that piece of the equation out.
This decision brings hope to the eighty juveniles in Illinois currently serving life without parole sentences and forces judges to take a closer look at who these young offenders really are as their cases are reopened. There has been significant research leading up to this on the principle that “children are different” from adult offenders and that placing life sentences without parole or imposing the death penalty on juveniles is “cruel and unusual.”
A similar decision was reached in California in August 2012 with the Supreme Court ruling in People vs. Caballero. In this case, the Supreme Court ruled that life without parole was unconstitutional and could be applied retroactively to defendants who were sentenced as juveniles for a non-homicide offense. The Washington Legislature also passed a bill this year that would allow juvenile offenders serving life sentences to be eligible for a chance at release after 20 years.

The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) is accepting applicants for the FY 2014 Second Chance Act Comprehensive Juvenile Reentry Systems Reform Planning Program. This program will support state efforts to reduce recidivism and improve positive outcomes for teens returning to their communities after out of home placement.
The Second Chance Act of 2007 was established to promote community safety through recidivism prevention in response to the increasing number of incarcerated adults and youth released from prison, jail or juvenile facilities.
This new grant program provides funding for state or local-level juvenile justice agencies to assemble a reentry task force and develop and finalize a comprehensive statewide juvenile reentry systems reform strategic plan. Goals of the funding include the following:
•Developing comprehensive, evidence-based plans to reform their juvenile reentry systems
•Improving assessment policies and practices
•Enhancing program/policy monitoring, quality assessments, implementation supports, accountability practices, and youth outcome data collection
•Supporting an integrated approach to prerelease services and planning, and post-release services and supervision to improve youth outcomes

Each year, Reclaiming Futures fellows from each of the 39 sites are invited to convene for two and a half days to share experiences, exchange information and learn from national experts.
In just one week, Father Greg Boyle, known for being the founder and Executive Director of Homeboy Industries, the largest gang intervention, rehabilitation and reentry program in the United States, will speak at the 2014 National Leadership Institute. We couldn’t be more excited!
Father Greg is the author of the New York Times best seller, "Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion." He’s been nationally recognized over the past 25 years for his devotion to our most vulnerable populations. In his words:

There is an idea that has taken root in this world, that is at the root of everything that is wrong with this world, and that idea is that some lives matter more than others. At Homeboy Industries, the most important thing that we do is to say: you matter, you count, you are worth something.

The theme of this year’s Leadership Institute, "Embrace the Vision, Advance the Mission, Leave a Legacy," builds upon Father Greg’s inspiring words. At Reclaiming Futures, we’re looking forward to coming together next week to further advance our mission of helping teens overcome drugs, alcohol and crime.
For those who are unable to attend this year’s Leadership Institute, you can follow along on Twitter using #RFutures14. Also, subscribe to the blog and newsletter to stay up-to-date on presentation materials as they become available.

Below you'll find a selection of the latest grants, jobs, webinars and events posted to our Opportunity Board. 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!
Events

• Forum for Youth Investment - Big Picture Approach: April 4-6
• Juvenile In Justice: Photographs by Richard Ross on Display: Jan. 25-April 13
• 2014 Adolescent Conference: May 13-15
• 2014 Coalition for Juvenile Justice: June 18-21

Jobs

• Program Attorney | Nevada

Juvenile Justice Reform

• Juvenile Justice Bill Clears Ky. Senate (Kentucky.com)
  Legislation aimed at having fewer children locked up in juvenile detention centers passed the Kentucky Senate by a wide margin Thursday, providing momentum for some of the biggest proposed changes in decades to the justice system for minors.
• JJIE Releases New Digital Magazine Telling Stories of Justice In US (JJIE.org)
  In 10 articles, the Juvenile Justice Information Exchange’s new digital magazine explores many of the key issues that come to play in youth justice, including mental health, substance abuse and the overrepresentation of kids of color in the system.
• ACLU Wants Supreme Court to Review Shackling of Juveniles (JJIE.org)
  The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio is asking the state’s highest court to stop the indiscriminate restraint of children in juvenile courts.
• Nominate a White House Champion of Change for Expanding Reentry Employment Opportunities (Whitehouse.gov)
  Stable employment – like stable housing, family and community support, and access to substance abuse and mental health treatment – is critical to the rehabilitation, stability and successful reentry of individuals who have been incarcerated and are returning to our communities.

In a report by the Discipline Disparities Research-to-Practice Collaborative, discrepancies in school discipline are found to be a serious problem that result in a wide range of negative student outcomes, including lowered academic achievement, increased risk of dropout, and increased likelihood of contact with the juvenile justice system.
Funded by the Atlantic Philanthropies and Open Societies Foundations, the Collaborative consists of 26 researches, educators, advocates, and policy analysts that spent nearly three years working to develop and support a policy agenda for reform to improve students outcomes in school discipline and encourage effective interventions.
Some of the key points discussed in the briefing papers include:

• Removal from school for minor rule breaking happens too often and increases dropout risks, juvenile justice involvement, and can severely impair the economy.
• Excessive disciplinary exclusion harms some groups more than others, including black males and Latinos.
• There are effective and promising alternatives to exclusionary discipline and interventions, which can improve learning conditions for all students.

Find the full briefing papers from the Discipline Disparities Series here >>
 

The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) has announced the fiscal year 2014 funding opportunity, Investigator-Initiated Research: The Comprehensive School Safety Initiative. The goals of this initiative are to improve the knowledge and understanding of school safety and violence, and enhance school safety programs through social and behavioral science research.
Under the Comprehensive School Safety Initiative, NIJ will allocate approximately $15 million for multiple grants to fund research that will address school safety issues directly and strive to achieve the following:

• Examine the root causes of school violence
• Develop new technologies
• Apply evidence-based practices
• Test pilot programs to enhance school safety

As a starting point, Congress has identified a number of factors and issues related to school safety programs that investigators might consider for research and evaluation:

• The school-to-prison pipeline
• Gaps in the nation’s mental health system
• Exposure to violence in the media
• Bullying prevention programs or other violence prevention programs/initiatives
• Crisis/emergency management
• Efforts to address disparate treatment of students (based on race, disability, sex, etc.)
• School discipline alternatives and restorative justice

Last year, we reported about a new poetry initiative designed to introduce young people involved with the juvenile justice system to the therapeutic power of writing, give them hope, and inspire them to persevere in overcoming challenges posed by addiction and crime. Developed by the Center for Educational Excellence in Alternative Settings (CEEAS), Words Unlocked is a month-long poetry curriculum culminating in a nationwide competition open only to incarcerated teens.
We’re excited to see that Words Unlocked is happening again this April, this year with the theme “Boundaries.” Via Words Unlocked:

Boundaries exist in all shapes and forms; boundaries can be physical, social, emotional, or personal. Through Words Unlocked we hope to encourage thousands of students who are locked up to explore this theme and not let the boundaries prescribed by their locked rooms or the razor wire that they see every day limit their creativity, seriousness, or passion for writing and expression.
Far too many young people are locked up around the country. Through this initiative, we intend to ensure that their words are not.

Below you'll find a selection of the latest grants, jobs, webinars and events posted to our Opportunity Board. 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!
Webinars

• Show Policymakers How Your Court Helps Your Community: Five Steps for Building Relationships that Last: March 19

Events

• Forum for Youth Investment - Big Picture Approach: April 4-6
• Juvenile In Justice: Photographs by Richard Ross on Display: Jan. 25-March 13
• 2014 Adolescent Conference: May 13-15
• 2014 Coalition for Juvenile Justice: June 18-21

Jobs

• Program Attorney | Nevada
• Director of Development | Louisiana
• Director, Juvenile Justice Strategy Group | Maryland