Juvenile Justice Reform

Do you have to have a brand-name evidence-based program like FFT or MST to effectively reduce recidivism in your juvenile justice system? Or can a home-grown version be just as effective, if it's based on general principles about what works? 
Researcher Mark Lipsey, of Vanderbilt University, tackled those questions as part of a recent congressional briefing hosted by The Center for Evidence-Based Crime Policy at George Mason University. You can see parts 1 and 2 of his presentation here:

•   How many youth are transferred from the juvenile justice system into the adult criminal justice system every year? No one knows. But the Bureau of Justice Statistics is initiating a study that should get us get closer to an answer to this an other questions about adult transfer practices. (Hat tip to Youth Today.)

• End the Byrne JAG formula grants? That's one of the Justice Policy Institute's (JPI) recommendations in a recent fact sheet on Byrne Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program spending. (JPI recommends replacing the formula grants with a competitive grant program focused on evidence-based programming.)

The JPI also recommended that juvenile justice funds be directed at "educational and community-based youth programming" and that substance abuse and mental health treatment services be funded through public health agencies, and not through the justice system: "By reaching people before they come in contact with the justice system, we can reduce future justice involvement and related costs, and reduce the chances that someone will have to deal with the collateral consequences of having a criminal record."

Here's more poetry from teens in King County Juvenile Detention in Seattle. These youth participated in the Pongo Teen Writing program; their work appeared in a 2007 collection under the title, Love is Like All the Colors of the Doors in Juvie.
I'll start by quoting the closing stanza of a poem, "Dreams," by the Young Men's Group:
Hold on, be strong
Because if dreams die
Life is like being incarcerated
How's that for summing up the emotional and physical realities that teens in the justice system face? 
 

 
I thought the next poem was appropriate for this blog because of the insight the young writer shows into various kinds of addictions. (Follow the link in the title to see it on the Pongo site.)

Most professionals in the juvenile justice system believe that engaging families at all levels -- from individual cases to advocacy on state and federal policy -- is critical. And research evidence appears to back this up. But in my experience, we find it tough to act on on the research for a variety of reasons. 
I recommend reviewing "Family Involvement in Pennsylvania's Juvenile Justice System," a 2009 document from MacArthur's Models for Change initiative.
While focused on Pennsylvania (obviously), its conclusions are universal. In sixteen focus groups, investigators gleaned useful, concrete ideas focused on four themes:

Using evidence-based practices in the juvenile justice system reduces delinquency and avoids costs. Those of us in the field hear this regularly – but it can be hard to see their impact on a day-to-day basis. 
How do we know they work? Let's start at the beginning. What we commonly refer to as "evidence-based practices" in the juvenile justice field are based on over 40 years of research regarding what works to reduce juvenile crime. Unlike studies that look at single programs, this research looked at over a hundred studies and found what consistently worked to reduce crime versus what consistently made crime worse. [1]

The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) just announced that it will be holding a four-day national conference on juvenile justice October 10-14, 2011, in Oxon Hill, MD.
 
It says the conference will "bring together juvenile justice practitioners and policymakers from across the nation to review current trends and promising practices in juvenile justice."
 
Write it on your calendar now -- in ink.
 
 

It's been nearly 10 years since Reclaiming Futures first launched its website focused on its six-step model promoting juvenile justice reform and adolescent substance abuse treatment.
A lot has changed since then. Which is why we've revamped our website at http://www.reclaimingfutures.org/ to help you find what you're looking for more easily.
For example, you can:

 
Juvenile Justice News

• The Juvenile Justice Project of Louisiana put out the video below, "Trash to Triumph: New Orleans Juvenile Justice" showing the significant strides the city has made in reforming its juvenile justice system since Hurricane Katrina, when juveniles were housed with adult prisoners and herded onto a bridge without food or water for days on end.  It's 10 minutes long, but well worth watching.

Believe in juvenile justice reform? Want to lead a national initiative to disseminate a proven six-step model that allows communities to help teens break the cycle of drugs, alcohol and crime?
Now's your chance.
Back in June, Laura Burney Nissen announced that she would be stepping down as national director of Reclaiming Futures. The job opening has now been posted, and a national search is under way for a new national executive director.  >>Download the application.
P.S. Please share with friends and colleagues you think might be interested. 
 
Photo: capturingJenna.

Now's your chance to apply for a 2011 YouthBuild grant from the Department of Labor. The grant announcement describes YouthBuild this way:

[YouthBuild is] a youth development program that combines education, career training, and community service. In YouthBuild, out-of-school youth ages 16-24 obtain high school diplomas or GEDs while getting certified in construction and building low-cost housing for families in their communities.  

Grant amounts are expected to range between $700,000 and $1.1 million for up to three years of funding (two years of program operations, with one year of follow-up). But applicants will need to have formed (or work with an existing) collaborative that includes education/training, workforce investment, juvenile justice, and faith-based and community partners. Applications are due December 3, 2010.
 
More info: see the YouthBuild notice in The Federal Register.