States Tackle Juvenile Justice Reform; News Roundup

Juvenile Justice Reform

• States Tackle Juvenile Justice Reform (Officer.com)
  West Virginia Governor Earl Ray Tomblin has announced an agreement that will allow the Pew Charitable Trusts (Pew) to review the state’s juvenile justice system and outline what needs to be done to improve it.
• Detained Youths More Likely to Die Violent Deaths as Adults (JJIE)
  “The risk of death is just phenomenally higher in this population than in the general population,” the study’s lead author, Linda Teplin, said. “We’re talking about stunning differences between our sample and the general population.”
• Report: States Slow to Reform Sentencing Laws for Juveniles After 2012 Supreme Court Ruling in Alabama Capital Murder Case (AL.com)
  "The Supreme Court has made it clear that our justice system should give people sentenced in their youth a second look and a reasonable opportunity for release based on demonstrated maturity and rehabilitation," said Ashley Nellis, a senior research analyst at The Sentencing Project."Unfortunately, it appears that many states are disregarding the spirit of the Court's ruling."
• Scott Names New Interim DJJ Head, Signs Juvenile Justice Law Rewrite (WJCT News)
  Governor Rick Scott has approved a measure reforming Florida’s juvenile justice system. He signed the bill into law on the same day he bid farewell to the outgoing Department of Juvenile Justice Secretary and named her temporary replacement.

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Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment and Mental Health

• Head Teachers' Concern Over Pupil Anxiety (BBC News)
  Amy Cook, senior researcher at The Key, says: "The impact of council budget cuts on Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services means that the job of nurturing pupils' mental health is increasingly falling to schools. It's not an issue that teachers can ignore."
  
• Children's Mental Health Services 'Inadequate', Inquest Into Kendal Schoolgirl's Death Hears (The Wesmoreland Gazette)
  A Serious Untoward Incident Report was carried out into the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) after the 15-year-old was found hanged in Kendal woodland in January, 2013.
• Coalition To Prevent Youth Substance Abuse In The Same Town As New Marijuana Store (KVEWTV.com)
  "It's going to bring hundreds maybe thousands of drug users to Prosser and I don't think people think how that affects our youth just having it around and people seeing lots of people going in and out of the building," Community Coordinator Jennifer Dorsett said. "It shows our youth that it's okay or a community norm and that's exactly what we are trying to prevent."

Cecilia Bianco is an account executive for Prichard Communications. She contributes to the Reclaiming Futures blog regarding topics of juvenile justice reform and substance abuse prevention.