Blog

Light blogging and tweeting today, but wanted to share this 2007 Katie Couric clip on the meaning of Labor Day:

Today, the nation pays tribute to the creator of so much of the nation's strength, freedom and leadership -- the American worker. Thanks for all that you do.

Juvenile Justice Reform

• [OPINION] With Volunteers' Help, Teens at Halfway House will Continue to Soar (Statesman.com)
  "The Texas Juvenile Justice Department (formerly the Texas Youth Commission) has been embroiled in difficult discussions with legislators and community leaders about policy, politics and performance for as long as most of us can remember. But what people like you and I often forget, or never think about, is that there are kids at stake."
• Clark County Juvenile Justice System Processing Fewer Teens (OregonLive.com)
  The number of teenagers entering Clark County's juvenile justice system has dropped by half in the last five years, leading those involved in the system to wonder why. In 2007, schools, police and other agencies referred to the county justice system a total of 3,575 juveniles who had committed misdemeanor and felony offenses. So far this year, the number is 1,584.
• A Roadmap to the Future of Juvenile Justice (NewAmericaMedia.org)
  Juvenile justice is transforming throughout America. Though there is a long road ahead to reform these systems into effective, rehabilitative programs that no longer make children worse, there is great promise in jurisdictions across the country, that are changing how they work with youth.
• Juveniles Entitled to Hearing Before Being Moved to State Prison, N.J. Court Panel Rules (NJ.com)
  Unruly juveniles housed at any of New Jersey's facilities for young offenders are entitled to a hearing before they're transferred to a state prison, a state appeals court panel ruled today. Teens under the jurisdiction of the state Juvenile Justice Commission need more than same-day notice of the transfer, the court said.
• Register Wants to Hear your Juvenile Justice Experiences (DesMoinesRegister.com)
  According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, there were arrests of nearly 1.3 million people under age 18 in the United States in 2010. Despite public perception of teens being especially dangerous, less than 1 percent of the arrests were for murder, manslaughter or forcible rape.
• Summer Program Teaches Teens Basics of Farm Work (Missoulian.com)
  The Youth Harvest project is run in partnership with Missoula’s Youth Drug Court, Human Resource Council and Willard School. Some of the Youth Harvest members are referred through court, others through their teachers or counselors. All must apply and interview for the job.

In an effort to make the juvenile justice system make more sense to the youth that it serves, the Center for Urban Pedagogy (CUP) in Brooklyn created a comic book called, “I Got Arrested! Now What?” CUP is a non-profit that works with designers and artists to help the city’s residents understand how government functions.
The Gotham Gazette reports,

To create the comic that tells the story of how the criminal justice system works, in 2010 CUP teamed with a graphic novelist, the Department of Probation and youth leaders from the Center for Court Innovation. Their goal was to offer clear, engaging instructions for teens that have recently been arrested.
[...]
For the Brooklyn-based designer of “I Got Arrested," Danica Novgorodoff, dealing with the unfamiliar terminology of the criminal justice system was one of the challenges. But she said each page has a vocabulary box explaining terminology in a simple way for teenagers.
“I think that graphic novels are a great way to explore material that can otherwise be overly dense or dry," she said.

I am currently in the process of preparing this year’s syllabus for the companion course that I teach with the Juvenile Justice Clinic entitled, “The Criminal Lawyering Process.” It is designed to introduce clinic students to North Carolina juvenile court practice and procedure as well as to the issues commonly confronted by juvenile defenders.
One of the most difficult concepts for students (and many lawyers) to grasp is that of the role of the juvenile defender, as we are bound to represent what the client herself articulates as her goals and preferences, rather than being guided by our own view of what is in the youth’s “best interests.” A related concept that students often find challenging is the limited role of the child’s parents during the course of representation; it is the client and not her parents who ultimately makes the critical decisions in the case, including whether to admit or have an adjudicatory hearing and whether or not to testify. Parents of juveniles sometimes balk at this ethical rule, as they are accustomed to serving as the ultimate decision-maker for their son or daughter in nearly every other setting.

Juvenile Justice Reform

• Bike Donation Makes Difference at Youth Facilities (UTICAOD.com)
  Residents of four upstate juvenile justice facilities operated by the New York State Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) now have refurbished bicycles to ride. They were donated by Community Bikes, a Hamilton-based organization which refurbishes and “upcycles” unused bicycles to those who need them.
• NC to Examine Racial Disparities in Criminal Justice System (HispanicBusiness.com)
  North Carolina has formed an interim commission to begin studying racial disparities in the criminal justice system. The move follows The Fayetteville Observer's report in June that a task force for defense lawyers found that blacks and Hispanics are "systematically searched at much higher rates than whites."
• Juvenile Offender Program Working (TBO.com)
  A program to keep first-time juvenile offenders out of Hillsborough County, Florida's criminal justice system recorded a 91 percent success rate after one year, county commissioners learned Thursday.

I visited the beautiful state of New Mexico last week and learned how their leadership is working to improve the future for young people.  While I was in Albuquerque, I heard about a new documentary about the need for adolescent substance abuse treatment, called "No Exceptions".
According to the film's producers, the film's intention is to "help parents, educators and middle and high schoolers understand the dangers of opioid (pain killer) abuse, how it can lead to heroin use, and how to prevent use before it starts." The program includes a 30-minute documentary, viewer guide and support for targeted audiences.
I'm looking forward to seeing the live-stream on KOB.com tonight at 6 pm (PDT) on KOB.com.
 

SAMSHA recently published a presentation, “Change, Challenge, & Opportunity-Substance Abuse and Addiction in a Changing Health Care Environment,” detailing the changes in teen substance abuse and addiction over the past several years. The presentation, available free online in PowerPoint format (direct download link), offers thorough data and several charts examining these changes, both positive and negative.
Key takeaways include:
Improvements

• Overall alcohol use dropped from 28.8 to 26.3 percent between 2002 and 2010
• Binge drinking dropped from 19.3 to 17.0 percent between 2002 and 2010
• Heavy drinking dropped from 6.2 to 5.1 percent between 2002 and 2010
• Methamphetamine users dropped by about half between 2006 and 2010
• Cocaine users dropped from 2.4 million in 2006 to 1.5 million in 2010

Beyond Scared Straight premieres its 3rd season tonight. While the show aims to scare troubled teens away from bad behavior, research has shown it's ineffective and damaging to kids. In fact, Scared Straight programs actually INCREASE the likelihood that teens will reoffend.

We've written quite a bit on (Beyond)Scared Straight in the past:

The GRAMMY Foundation, Partnership at DrugFree.org and MusiCares are looking for young musicians (ages 14-18) to write an original song or create a music video that promotes and celebrates a healthy lifestyle and appropriately depicts a story about drug abuse. Songs should raise awareness about addiction and recovery. 
The first, second and third place winners will each receive:

• A trip to Los Angeles to attend the 55th annual GRAMMY Awards Backstage Experience, a unique backstage tour taking place as artists rehearse live for the GRAMMY awards;
• Placement and exposure of their musical entries on the GRAMMY365 website, MTV Act Blog, and the Above the Influence campaign website;
• An iPad, equipped with the GarageBand app;
• The opportunity to release a record with Iron Ridge Road Recordings, courtesy of Clarity Way of Hanover, PA; and
• A certificate from the GRAMMY Foundation and MusiCares in acknowledgment of each winner’s activism in disseminating of health information on substance abuse.