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For those in the Portland, Oregon area: We're joining PSU's School of Social Work in hosting Shay Bilchik for a lecture and discussion on the juvenile justice system. He'll address ways to improve systemic coordination and outcomes for youth involved in the juvenile justice system. A local panel of experts will react to Shay's remarks and Dr. David Springer (incoming Dean of the School of Social Work) will moderate.
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
4:30 - 6:00 pm (doors open at 4)
Smith Memorial Student Union, Room 327/328
Portland State University
Shay is the founder and Director of the Center for Juvenile Justice Reform at Georgetown University's Public Policy Institute.  Prior to joining the Institute in 2007, he was the President and CEO of the Child Welfare League of America. Previously, he headed up the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) in the U.S. Department of Justice, where he advocated for and supported a balanced and multi-systems approach to attacking juvenile crime and addressing child victimization. Before coming to the nation's capital, Shay was an Assistant State Attorney in Miami, Florida from 1977-1993, where he served as a trial lawyer, juvenile division chief and Chief Assistant State Attorney. Shay earned his B.S. and J.D. degrees from the University of Florida.
RSVP here and let me know if you're going. I hope to see you there!

Last week I had the pleasure of visiting the Reclaiming Futures Cherokee Nation site in Oklahoma. I am especially impressed by how committed the team members are to not only serving the youth of the Cherokee Nation, but also to helping them connect with their cultural heritage.
I had a couple of key takeaways:

• Cultural sensitivity is key: As Treatment Fellow Lori Medina mentions in her video, the Cherokee Nation site has unique cultural challenges in working with local teens. Being able to fully understand and relate to Native American culture has allowed the site to truly connect with troubled kids and make sure they are on the path to rehabilitation and success. There is a particular focus on learning how to make Native American crafts and participating in cultural events, which not only teaches the kids a marketable trade, but also helps them to connect to their heritage and community.
   
• Evidence-based practices are crucial: Project Director Jennifer Kirby is a big supporter of using evidence-based practices to improve treatment for troubled teens. As Jennifer explains in her video, the Reclaiming Futures model provides them with the tools to better assess troubled youth at intake. This allows them to make better-informed recommendations for treatment and services, which leads to stronger outcomes.

One the most valuable lessons I've learned in my first year as national executive director of Reclaiming Futures, is who really runs this office. As anyone who calls or visits our office knows, Chery Reed is a quiet and powerful force, who makes certain that our work is always done to the highest standard.
Cheryl came to the position of administrative manager for Reclaiming Futures from the impressive job of marketing and public information at Portland State University. Cheryl has always worked in education and the arts. She taught in public school and served as education director for a regional arts council in Oregon. Her graduate degree is from the University of Oregon School of Architecture and Allied Arts.
Please join me in celebrating Cheryl's impressive 20 years of service to Portland State University.
 

Next week, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in two separate cases regarding juvenile life without parole (JLWOP) sentences. The internet's been ablaze with legal briefs, searing critiques, compelling videos and strongly worded opinions.
Here's a few you may have missed:

• The ACLU urges the Court to reaffirm its belief in the redemption and rehabilitation of children.
• NYU Law School Dean Randy Hertz explains the legal case against juvenile life without parole sentences.
• Child psychiatrist David Fassler clarifies the differences between teen and adult brains.
• The Yale Undergraduate Law Review looks at the legal history of JLWOP.
• A former Massachusettes juvenile court judges says that young people don't deserve life without parole.
• Equal Justice Initiative's Bryan Stevenson urges us to talk about an injustice.
• The Sentencing Project releases a report looking at the lives of teen sentenced to life without parole.
• MSNBC asks whether 14 is too young to receive a JLWOP sentence and receives thousands of comments.
• Children's Defense Fund President Marian Wright Edelman asks for a second chance for kids with JLWOP sentences.
• For those visually inclined, Amnesty International has an infographic on JLWOP.

About 80 percent of girls accused of misdemeanors in Maryland were committed to residential treatment centers compared to 50 percent of boys, according to statistics from Maryland’s Department of Juvenile Services (DJS).
The statistics, part of the Female Offenders Report, show more than two-thirds of girls sent to residential treatment centers were committed for offenses such as fighting and shoplifting or for drug offenses.
“That disparity between boys and girls is troubling and quite large,” Juvenile Services Secretary Sam Abed told Capital News Service. “It’s something I’m concerned about. It’s a very complicated question, but it’s something that merits explanation.”
The Maryland Legislature in 2011 passed a law requiring DJS to provide statistics breaking down services for boys and girls. Lawmakers grew concerned because DJS has the authority to make decisions about how youth committed to the juvenile justice system are treated.

After the recent passage of House Bill 2707 that allows youth to be held in juvenile detention centers rather than adult jails while awaiting trial, the Campaign for Youth Justice and the Partnership for Safety and Justice released a report outlining the reasons Oregon should reassess its policies relating to Measure 11.
Measure 11 was originally marketed to Oregon voters as a way to deal with the state’s most serious youth offenders, but according to the report, the law hasn’t made Oregon any safer and has proven to have a detrimental impact on kids who commit less serious crimes. The study shows us that there are better ways to curb delinquency and increase the likelihood of young offenders becoming productive members of society.
In November of 1994, Oregon voters created new mandatory minimum sentences for a total of 16 crimes and required that teens charged with those crimes be tried as adults in the form of Measure 11. Those crimes included assault, arson, rape, kidnapping, manslaughter, robbery, sexual abuse, and murder. The state’s legislature followed suit and added even more crimes to the list. Today, the law requires youth who are 15 and older and charged with one of 21 crimes to be prosecuted automatically in the adult criminal justice system. If convicted of that crime, they are required to serve mandatory sentences usually reserved for adults. For instance, a conviction of robbery carries a minimum sentence of 70 months, regardless of age.

Juvenile Justice Reform

• Study shows youth law project “bridges gaps” for children in need
  Fosters
  An evaluation study recently completed by the University of New Hampshire reveals that services provided by the New Hampshire Legal Assistance's Youth Law Project result in an overall reduction of recidivism, a goal the agency strives for through providing support and resources alongside juveniles in the court system.
• Cook County must reform juvenile justice, national agency says
  Chicago Tribune
  Cook County should demolish its long-troubled juvenile temporary detention center and needs to address an array of problematic trends in how it detains youths, such as disproportionately high admission rates for African-Americans, according to a national criminal justice research agency report.
• Louisiana seeing reduced need for some juvenile justice facilities, chief says
  The Town Talk
  The number of referrals to Louisiana juvenile detention facilities is down, as are recidivism and funding, the head of the state Office of Juvenile Justice says, so daytime treatment services under her office can be eliminated.
• Funding cuts to youth centers would give minor offenders nowhere to go
  The Salt Lake Tribune
  Lawmakers in Utah are looking at cutting millions of dollars from Juvenile Justice Services, meaning that several rural youth receiving centers will shutter and others statewide will have limited operating hours.
• Most Texas juvenile prisoners have mental health problems
  CBS
  Some 52 percent of young people in Texas’ six youth prison facilities have moderate or high mental health treatment needs, the head of the state juvenile justice department says.
• Local juvenile drug court program is having a positive impact on Great Falls
  KFBB
  Judge Kenneth Neill was tired of seeing kids making bad decisions, so when the Juvenile Drug Court Program began in Cascade County 6 years ago, he saw it as a fresh start for teens who would otherwise be locked up.
• In Dakota County, jury of teenage peers offers alternative for juvenile offenders
  Pioneer Press
  A youth court in Minnesota is giving teens a second chance after learning from their mistakes.
• South Carolina bill to deny licenses to dropouts advances
  7 On Your Side
  Lawmakers are taking aim at South Carolina’s high dropout rate with a bill that would take driving privileges away from students who stop going to school.
• House passes overhaul of Georgia juvenile justice system with focus on treatment
  The Republic
  Juvenile courts would have to conduct an assessment of children's mental health needs before committing them into state custody as part of an overhaul of the juvenile justice code passed Wednesday by House lawmakers.
• What life is like for a 14-year-old killer tried as an adult in Indiana
  The Indianapolis Star
  Should a 12-year-old be tried as an adult? Paul Henry Gingerich was after he helped kill a man two years ago. He faces 10 more years in prison -- unless an appeal convinces a court he should have been tried as a juvenile.
• Q&A: James Bell on what to do with California’s youth prisons
  KALW
  KALW sat down with James Bell, Founder and Executive Director of the Burns Institute, to discuss disproportionate minority contact and realignment in California.
• Florida district seeks civil citation program for misdemeanors committed at school
  The Ledger
  Polk County School District officials said Tuesday they want to implement a civil citation program for students who commit misdemeanors at schools. The program would allow students of all ages who commit a misdemeanor on campus to receive a citation instead of possibly being arrested, run through the court system and possibly taken to jail.
• Legal loophole makes some Texas juvenile records public
  Houston Chronicle
  Personal information about thousands of Texas juveniles cited for truancy, disorderly conduct and other Class C misdemeanors is widely accessible to the public, despite privacy concerns from advocates and parents.

Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment

• Thousands of teens pick up smoking each day, new report says
  WBTV
  Every day in the U.S., more than 3,800 people under the age of 18 smoke their first cigarette. More than 1,000 of them become daily smokers. They replace the 1,200 people who die each day in the U.S. from smoking.

Florida conservatives support juvenile justice reforms, according to a recent poll by Florida TaxWatch and the Associated Industries of Florida. The poll surveyed 800 registered Florida Republicans who self identified as likely voters.
Among the findings:

• 83% agree that offenders under the age of 18 should be handled by the juvenile justice system
• 81% support evidence-driven, community-based alternatives to juvenile prisons

Full findings are available here.

New data from the Department of Education finds that black males face much harsher discipline in public schools than other students. These findings validate what many activists have been saying for awhile: that there is increasingly a school-to-prison pipeline for students of color.
From the New York Times: 

Although black students made up only 18 percent of those enrolled in the schools sampled, they accounted for 35 percent of those suspended once, 46 percent of those suspended more than once and 39 percent of all expulsions, according to the Civil Rights Data Collection’s 2009-10 statistics from 72,000 schools in 7,000 districts, serving about 85 percent of the nation’s students. The data covered students from kindergarten age through high school.
One in five black boys and more than one in 10 black girls received an out-of-school suspension. Over all, black students were three and a half times as likely to be suspended or expelled than their white peers.
And in districts that reported expulsions under zero-tolerance policies, Hispanic and black students represent 45 percent of the student body, but 56 percent of those expelled under such policies.
“Education is the civil rights of our generation,” said Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, in a telephone briefing with reporters on Monday. “The undeniable truth is that the everyday education experience for too many students of color violates the principle of equity at the heart of the American promise.”