Report: North Carolina Spends $160,000 a Year to Lock Up a Juvenile; News Roundup

Juvenile Justice Reform

• Report: State Spends $160,000 a Year to Lock Up a Juvenile (Winston-Salem Journal)
  North Carolina is spending almost $160,000 a year to incarcerate a young person, according to a new report released Tuesday. But the state has made significant strides in reducing the number of juveniles it locks up, said Marc Schindler, executive director of the Justice Policy Institute, which released the report “Sticker Shock: Calculating the Full Price Tag for Youth Incarceration.”

• How the NYPD is Using Social Media to Put Harlem Teens Behind Bars (The Verge)
  The story of the Henry brothers highlights a new reality for teenagers growing up at the intersection of social media, street gangs, and mounting law enforcement surveillance. For those coming of age in gang-saturated areas, the mountains of digital media posted online are a tangled web of connections that can be used to lock up violent perpetrators—but can also ensnare the innocent along with them.

• Nine-Year-Old’s Arrest Prompts Call for Change by Federal Judge (The Wall Street Journal)
  “It is time for a change in our jurisprudence that would deal with petty crimes by minors in a more enlightened fashion,” wrote Judge Carlos F. Lucero of the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in an opinion Friday. “The criminal punishment of young schoolchildren leaves permanent scars and unresolved anger, and its far-reaching impact on the abilities of these children to lead future prosperous and productive lives should be a matter of grave concern for us all.”

Jobs, Grants, Events and Webinars

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Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment and Mental Health

• Teens Share How Alcohol, Drugs Present Obstacles to Adulthood (Los Altos Town Crier)
  This is the first in a two-part series exploring adolescent substance abuse in Los Altos, Los Altos Hills and Mountain View. Part 1 examines the causes and circumstances of substance abuse from the teenage perspective. Part 2 will delve into resources available to youth in the community.

• Mentally Ill Inmates Struggle While the Prison Tries to Prescribe Their Problems Away (Salt Lake City Weekly)
  Allison's life and death, says Disability Law Center legal director Aaron Kinikini, "is pretty typical of what happens when all the moving parts of the criminal justice system do what they do when somebody with mental illness is thrown into it; it's a complete cluster from start to finish."

• Making Good Decisions (Burlington Free Press)
  Listening to the presentation by Vermont Adult and Teen Challenge was a sobering experience for many students after seeing video clips about the traumatic and sometimes fatal consequences of using drugs and alcohol, and hearing from former addicts and alcoholics.