Juvenile Justice Reform

Al Jazeera English recently released an Inside Story 30-minute video examining the state of solitary confinement, including teens, in United States prisons. The discussion includes the following:  

Amongst those in solitary confinement today are juveniles as young as age 16, with one study suggesting that in 2012, 14 percent of adolescents in the New York City prison system had been held in isolation at least once. So, why does the United States put more people into solitary confinement than any other country in the democratic world?

We've reported in the past about the particularly harsh negative affects that solitary confinement has on teens, and while this video offers a broader look at solitary confinement, its themes are still relevant to our work in the juvenile justice system. Watch the full program below:
 

Juvenile Justice Reform

• Georgia House Passes Juvenile Justice Reform Bill (RightOnCrime.com)
  Advocates say the changes could save taxpayers $88 million over five years by diverting the less dangerous juveniles into community-based programs instead of locking them up at a cost to taxpayers of $247 a day or $90,000 a year for each detained juvenile.
• Juvenile Justice Overhaul Coming (Walb.com)
  The Georgia state Senate unanimously approved a bill Wednesday aimed at reducing the number of repeat offenders. The bill was sponsored by Republican Rep. Wendy Willard of Sandy Springs, and was based on recommendations from the Governor.
• A Partnership for Sensible Juvenile Justice Reform in California (JJIE.org)
  California’s youth correctional system, the Division of Juvenile Facilities (DJF), continues to grapple over long-standing difficulties with rehabilitative programming, youth safety, aging facilities and high operational cost. With these challenges, policymakers and juvenile justice stakeholders increasingly recognize the need for substantial reform.
• Pioneering Educator Retires After 40 Years; Reformed Education in Juvenile Justice (TCDailyPlanet.net)
  It is said that a society (or a person) shall be judged by what it (or he or she) has done for the least of its citizens. If in fact that is the case, then Larry Lucio shall be looked upon with much favor. The veteran educator, with more than 40 years of shaping young minds to his credit, has dedicated his career – and in many ways, his life – to serving students who were previously given little chance to succeed.
• Getting Tough on Juvenile Justice (TheSocietyPages.org)
  Within the last thirty years the presence of adolescent offenders tried in criminal court has become increasingly commonplace. Scholars critical of this growing phenomenon have documented that the number of youth transferred to adult (criminal) court has gradually risen since the mid-1970s.
• Robert Listenbee Jr. Assumes Leadership of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (Justice.gov)
  Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Justice Programs Mary Lou Leary announced that Robert L. Listenbee Jr. has assumed the role as administrator of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP). A highly respected public defender and juvenile justice system reformer, Listenbee began as OJJDP administrator Monday. Melodee Hanes, who has served as acting administrator since January 2012, will become OJJDP’s principal deputy administrator.

Starting next week, thousands of students incarcerated in juvenile detention and correctional centers around the country will participate in Words Unlocked, a poetry initiative designed to introduce young people to the transformational power of writing, give them hope, and inspire them to persevere in the terrifically hard work of changing their lives. Words Unlocked will remind us all of the talent and passion locked inside the hearts and minds of young people in the largest juvenile prison system in the world—ours.
Developed by the Center for Educational Excellence in Alternative Settings (CEEAS), Words Unlocked is an unprecedented effort to reach our nation’s most overlooked and underserved teens. Informed by original poems written by young men at the Maya Angelou Academy over many years, the initiative provides robust curricula and learning tools, all of which are available for public use: daily lesson plans and classroom materials, rubrics and assessments, teacher tips, and more.
Words Unlocked offers both a seven-day and a month-long poetry curriculum. Handouts and other materials are available in SMARTBoard, ActivBoard, MS Word, and PDF formats. In addition, CEEAS is sponsoring online teacher forums, weekly updates, and webcasts.
Words Unlocked includes a nationwide poetry competition open to any youth held in a secure facility. CEEAS will post student poetry on its blog, publish an online and iBook anthology, and provide training for schools on how to publish their own anthologies.

The Forum for Youth Investment announced March 8 the launch of a new company to help community coalitions better serve youth. The Forum, a nonprofit that advances tools to improve the opportunities and outcomes of young people, is partnering with Community Systems Group (CSG), Inc. to form Community Systems Group, LLC.
In a news release, the Forum said CSG, LLC will help coalitions diagnose the causes of specific community issues and develop plans to address them through services including:

• Developing monitoring systems to capture the activities of coalitions and analyze their impact.
• Helping to decide what data to collect (including well-being indicators) and how to ensure its quality.
• Creating evaluations to help coalitions improve their organization and processes.
• Evaluating programs and interventions that the coalitions support.

Joining these forces to improve coalitions for young people at the local level, the new company hopes to boost collective impact for youth.

Juvenile Justice Reform

• Age-Old Issue Persists about Justice (NWHerald.com)
  Illinois treats a 17-year-old who shoplifts an iPhone as an adult criminal: held with adults in jail, tried in adult criminal court, sent to adult prison if incarcerated, and issued an employment-crushing permanent criminal record, according to a recent report by the Illinois Juvenile Justice Commission.
• Overhauling Juvenile Justice (RockdaleNews.com)
  Georgia is on the brink of the most sweeping overhaul of the juvenile justice law in three decades and Rockdale is on the leading edge of those trends. “It’s going to be a new world,” said Rockdale Juvenile Court Judge William Schneider.
• School Policies Must Adjust for Juvenile Justice System to Improve (EdWeek.org)
  Changes in school policies will go a long way to dealing with some of the problems with the juvenile justice system, new recommendations for Congress and President Barack Obama say. In particular, the National Juvenile Justice & Delinquency Prevention Coalition says schools rely too heavily on law enforcement to handle behavior problems students, resulting in arrests for behavior that doesn't threaten the safety of other students or staff. The arrests can trigger a chain of contact with the juvenile justice system with a lifetime of repercussions.
• Addressing Girls' Health Needs at Juvenile Detention Centers (Los Angeles Times)
  L.A. County health and probation officials are trying to better identify and treat problems of girls in custody that often go undiagnosed and untreated.

By bringing together juvenile courts, probation, treatment, mental health, educators and the community, Reclaiming Futures Hardin County has accomplished a lot in two years.
According to a 2012 report, participants in Reclaiming Futures Hardin County reduced substance abuse from 100% at intake to 28% at six months in treatment. At 12 months in treatment their illegal activity dropped to 5% (29% below the national juvenile court average).
This month, Hardin County Reclaiming Futures welcomes Judicial Fellow Judge Steven D. Christopher, to their team of caring adults who are emphasizing treatment over detention.
Judge Christopher fills the vacancy recently left by retired Judge James S. Rapp, who has helped lead many successes, including a 92% graduation rate at Hardin Community School.
Reclaiming Futures Hardin County remains committed to providing:

• Individualized treatment plans based on screening and assessment 
• Evidence-based drug and alcohol education and treatment
• Supervision
• Public education
• Mentors
• Educational and vocational services
• Family support

Please listen to project director, Khrystal Wagner, interviewed March 12 on WKTN Radio:
   
Are you interested in helping your community break the cycle of drugs, alcohol and crime? Here’s how you can help teens in Hardin, County and everywhere: 

A new report details the early experiences of Tribal Juvenile Detention and Reentry Green Demonstration (Green Reentry) grantees in their innovative approach to community reintegration. Backed by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), the programs emphasize environmental and cultural activities for justice-involved youth.
In 2009, three American Indian tribes received OJJDP Green Reentry grants: the Hualapai Indian Tribe (AZ), the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians (MS), and the Rosebud Sioux Tribe (SD). The grants provide up to $700,000 for 4 years with the following purposes: to provide services to help detained youth reintegrate into the community, to help tribes implement green technologies and environmentally sustainable activities, and to support maintenance of tribal juvenile detention standards.
Grantees are also required to participate in an evaluation. The report constitutes the first round, documenting the implementation and impact of the programs 2.5 years in.
Across the three sites, green programming includes environmental education, horticultural instruction and hands-on practice at garden plots. All three grantees incorporate cultural components through activities such as traditional crafts and culturally relevant off-site excursions. These are rounded out by traditional youth reentry services like educational and vocational programming, mental health services, and substance abuse programs.

Juvenile Justice Reform

• Advocates for Juvenile Justice Reform Rally at Hearing for Bel Air Teenager Accused of Killing Father (DaggerPress.com)
  Friday’s demonstration came ahead of a motions hearing in Robert Richardson’s case, and was the latest organized by a group which seeks to have his case—and Richardson himself—moved back into the juvenile criminal justice system.
• The Crucial Role of Prosecutors in Juvenile Justice (JJIE.org)
  The role and responsibilities of the juvenile prosecutor are plentiful and extend well beyond the courtroom. In fact, in cases involving juveniles, much of the work can and should be done outside the courtroom. Working collaboratively with other youth-serving agencies in their communities, prosecutors often play a leadership role in these efforts.
• Senate Committee Approves Changes in Juvenile Justice System (AJC.com)
  The Senate Judiciary Committee approved proposed changes to the juvenile justice system Wednesday after making some adjustments to address concerns of judges. House Bill 242, which has passed the House, is designed to send fewer juveniles to state facilities for committing felonies and to divert kids who are not dangerous — especially so-called status offenders such as truants, runaways and the unruly — into less expensive community-based programs.

Reclaiming Futures works in 37 communities across the country to break the cycle of drugs, alcohol and crime. In about one-third of those sites, Reclaiming Futures partners with drug courts, which, according to years of research, work better than jail, prison, probation or treatment alone to significantly reduce drug use and crime.
To celebrate this, and the many lives that have been saved, please join us, and plan ahead for National Drug Court Month in May.
Here are some ideas for celebrating in your community (adapted from the National Association for Drug Court Professionals):

• Hold a commencement ceremony to recognize the accomplishments of participants.
• Schedule a meeting with your members of congress while they are home for Constituent Work Week, May 1-3 and 28-31. Have your Drug Court judge and graduate attend the meetings to educate policymakers.
• Organize a community clean up. Clean a park, street, highway or school. Invite all treatment, mental health, court, law enforcement and probation staff to join in.
• Start a local donation drive.

Juvenile Justice Reform

• Legislator Wants to Change the Culture of Juvenile Justice System (NebraskaRadioNetwork.com)
  A leading state legislator says the state juvenile justice system must move from a culture of incarceration to a culture of treatment. Sen. Brad Ashford of Omaha, chairman of the Legislature’s Judiciary Committee, says his committee will spend a couple of days hearing legislation that aims at nothing short of the transformation of how Nebraska deals with juvenile offenders.
• In Kentucky, Juvenile Offenders’ Names Could be Shared After Adjudication (JJIE.org)
  On Monday, members of the Kentucky House passed a bill that would allow victims in juvenile court trials to discuss a case once a verdict is rendered, the Louisville Courier-Journal reports. House Bill 115 swept through the House with unanimous approval earlier this week, garnering a 93-0 vote in Kentucky’s lower legislative body.
• [VIDEO] Nation Honors Center on Front Lines of Juvenile Justice (Northwestern.edu)
  The Children and Family Justice Center (CFJC) at the Northwestern University School of Law has received a $750,000 award from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation in recognition of the Center's exemplary advocacy for children caught up in the harsh realities of Illinois’ juvenile and criminal justice systems.
• Inquirer Editorial: Juvenile Justice that Leans Toward Mercy (Philly.com)
  The Luzerne County cash-for-kids scandal revealed the potential for tragedy when locking up juvenile defendants becomes routine. Thousands of young people were harmed by the scheme hatched by two disgraced judges, who took millions of dollars in kickbacks to place young offenders in for-profit detention centers.