Roundup: BJA Funds for Juvenile Reentry Courts - and More

Juvenile Justice System Funding News

• The U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Justice Programs (OJP) has launched a Grants 101 web page to assist applicants.
• Also, the Bureau of Justice Assistance has announced a Second Chance Act grant for state, local, and tribal reentry courts. The target population includes youth released from juvenile detention facilities. Application deadline is June 3, 2010. (Hat tip to the National Reentry Resource Center.)
• The Employment and Training Administration announced the availability of approximately $20 million for two grants to prepare young adult (ages 18 to 24) offenders and high school dropouts in high-poverty, high-crime communities for employment. Only national and regional intermediaries with experience conducting multi-site projects and experience serving young adult offenders will be eligible. The Department expects to award two grants of $10 million each, covering a six-month planning period and two full years of operation. Grantees will be required to competitively select local sub-grantees to operate the program in a minimum of five high-poverty, high-crime communities across at least two States.  Application deadline: May 10th.  

 
 News on Juvenile Justice Reform

• Curious about how the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child relates to juvenile justice reform? Check out the fact sheet from the National Juvenile Justice Network. (Interesting fact: the United States is one of only two UN member nations that's not a party to the treaty.)
• A Maine task force calls for major reforms in its juvenile justice system. According to the National Juvenile Justice Network, the task force is calling for "changes in three areas: education, incarceration and community-based systems."
• Florida's Department of Juvenile Justice has adopted "predictive analytics" software to target high-risk youth and forecast their needs, in an effort to reduce recidivism. (Hat tip to Paul Savery.)
• In the wake of devastating reports of abuse in New York's juvenile prisons, the state's juvenile judges have been asked to try harder to find alternative placements for youth in juvenile court. However, a recent New York Times article highlights how big a struggle this is. 
• A Florida appeals court has ruled that youth in the foster system who are also delinquent cannot be locked up just because it would be in  "their best interest." (Hat tip to the Campaign for Youth Justice.)
• The Washington Post profiled Bill Treanor, long-time youth advocate and founder of Youth Today in 1992; Treanor is retiring.

 
Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment News

• Curious about distinguishing between Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) and ADHD? Follow the link for a quick primer from the Addiction Technology Transfer Center (ATTC) Network.
• Think HIPAA says your behavioral healthcare agency can't talk to the juvenile justice system? Not so. Check out this great piece dispelling the "myths" around information-sharing. (Hat tip to Yoland Perez-Logan, project director for Reclaiming Futures, Santa Cruz  County.) While you're at it, you might also be interested in these guidelines for juvenile information sharing from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP). (H/t to Jim Carlton, Deputy Director, Reclaiming Futures.)
• The FDA has approved an "abuse-resistant" version of Oxycontin -- one of the most popular prescription drugs that is often abused by teens as well as adults.
• Looking for a positive youth development activity for youth to do in the wake of recent research on the value of such activities? Then you might look to Urban Boatbuilders as a resource or a model. Think your community's too landlocked for a boat-building project? Ask around - you might be surprised. 
• Check out the trailer for "Twelve," a documentary about drugs, alcohol, and teens. (I haven't watched the whole thing, but the young people's voices on the trailer are quite haunting -- and what they have to say is inspiring.)