By Jenna Cerruti, November 20 2015
Every week Reclaiming Futures rounds up the latest news on juvenile justice reform, adolescent substance use treatment, and teen mental health.
States Look Beyond Incarceration to Rearrest Rates (Juvenile Justice Information Exchange)
The Council on State Governments reports that while juvenile arrest rates are down, rearrest rates are still high, sometimes reaching 80 percent in certain states. As a result, researchers and policymakers urge officials to look for ways to improve the lives of youth after they return to their communities, preventing further contact with the system.
Our Prisons in Black and White (The Marshall Project)
The racial disparity in incarceration for adults is shrinking, but for juveniles, it's growing. Research confirms this and experts share their theories on why racial disparity is worsening in juvenile detention facilities.
Kids Who Face Criminal Charges Are More Likely To Die Young (Huffington Post)
A new 12-year study from the American Journal of Preventative Medicine reports that young offenders who are transferred to adult court are three times more likely to die early than someone of the same age in the general population.
The White House Focuses on Women and Girls of Color With a New $118 Million Initiative (The Nation)
The White House announced its involvement with a new initiative to support the lives of women and girls of color. According to the collaborative of funders, $100 million will go toward supporting job training programs and childcare access for low-income women. Additionally, academic and research institutions have pledged an additional $18 million toward research and data collection on women and girls of color.
Why Connecticut May Try 21-Year-Olds as Juveniles (Huffington Post)
In an address at a University of Connecticut School of Law symposium, Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy (D) urges raising the age of the juvenile justice system's jurisdiction from 18 to 21. He has also proposed reforms aimed at young adults – up to age 25 – that would give some juvenile system protections, such as confidentiality and the opportunity to have their records expunged, to young adults who commit less-serious offenses.
Finally, Good News on the School to Prison Pipeline (New America Media)
David Muhammad, the National Justice Partner at Impact Justice, shares data and stories about the decline in California's school suspension and expulsion rates. This means lower incarceration rates and bigger savings for the state. Despite this, Muhammad acknowledges that there is more work to be done, and calls for reinvesting youth incarceration spending into youth development, family support, and community revitalization
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Updated: February 08 2018