Juvenile Justice Reform

Want to help kids in the justice system? Just ask juvenile probation officers what the kids on their caseloads need to be successful. They'll give you a list -- but a surprisingly short one.
Two of the items on everyone's list: helping teens stay in school or find a job. But these can be a challenge for young adults in the juvenile justice system. Youth of color often face the biggest barriers - helping them in these two areas could impact rates of disproportionate minority contact (DMC).
 
Here's two publications from Public/Private Ventures (P/PV) that might help:
 

 

Are you a researcher with a background or interest in juvenile drug courts? Know someone who fits the bill?
Then check out a new grant solicitation from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) to evaluate juvenile drug courts implemented with the Reclaiming Futures model. These sites have also been funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
This goal of this three-year grant is "to conduct an independent evaluation of the combined effects of the two interventions to determine what system-level changes may result in increased efficiencies and cost effectiveness."
Objectives(as listed in the solicitation):

1. Assess the operations of juvenile drug courts/Reclaiming Futures model using established indices for performance, efficiencies, and cost effectiveness.
2. Improve the empirical knowledge base about juvenile drug courts and the Reclaiming Futures model.
3. Analyze the efficacy of combined efforts of juvenile drug courts and the Reclaiming Futures model.
4. Conduct case studies using administrative, collaboration, and quality indices and the sixteen (16) key elements of juvenile drug courts.
5. Evaluate the potential for replication of these models

Application deadline is August 20, 2010.

Our nation has long been a leader in economic and military might, but we have forgotten about our children, too many of whom continue to languish in adult prisons. We are behind in our efforts to decrease our incarcerated population, especially our incarcerated youth. The U.S. has the highest reported incarceration rate of any nation in the world. On any given day, more than 7,500 youth are locked up in adult jails and prisons even though the vast majority of youth prosecuted in adult court are charged with non-violent offenses.
In the 1990’s most states passed laws that made it easier to try, sentence, and incarcerate youth in the adult criminal system in response to growing fears of a new generation of so-called adolescent “superpredators.” Even though youth crime rates are the lowest they have been in two decades, an estimated 200,000 youth continue to be prosecuted in the adult criminal justice system every year. Research shows that youth incarcerated in adult jails and prisons face an increased risk of being physically, mentally, and sexually abused. Prosecuting kids as adults also increases the likelihood that they will reoffend, and youth who are transferred to the adult criminal system are approximately 34% more likely than youth retained in the juvenile court system to be re-arrested.

• Families and teens often need a quick orientation to the juvenile justice system -- but there's never one there when you want one. YouTube is changing that, though. Above is a 9-1/2-minute video from a Florida teen court that provides a thorough overview of how things work there (although it is, unfortunately, cut off prematurely.) Anyone have other examples they want to share?

• Did you know that 60.6% of youths have witnessed violence and 46.3% have reported experiencing physical assault?

• Did you know that exposure to trauma, delinquency, and school failure are related? 

Chances are, trauma has affected many of the young people you work with in schools, child welfare, the juvenile justice system, or any other place where teens gather. 
That's why the Vulnerable Populations Portfolio at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) is taking the unusual step of creating a time-limited online community forum, "Chronic Trauma and the Teen Brain -- foundation staff may direct funding to address the issue and want to know more about it. The goal of the forum is to learn from you—the expert—while connecting you to other experts.

Got a great idea for improving outcomes for children, youth, families, and victims who come into contact with the juvenile court?  The National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ) wants to hear from you.
NCJFCJ will hold its annual conference next year on March 27-30, 2011, in Reno, Nevada -- and would like you to submit your presentation proposal between now and September 15, 2010. Proposals will be entertained on a broad range of topics, including child abuse and neglect, mental health, delinquency, family law, domestic violence, and substance abuse.
If you still have questions, contact Diane Barnette via email, or via phone at (775) 784-6012.

You know that Disproportionate Minority Contact (DMC) is one of the most troubling and persistent problems with the juvenile justice system today. Now's your chance to pool your knowledge and learn from others working on the problem.
On October 23-25, 2010, the Coalition for Juvenile Justice is hosting its National DMC Conference, “Fundamental Fairness: Eliminating Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Juvenile Justice,” in Jersey City, New Jersey. The conference will be preceded by a one-day training on October 22, with the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), State Relations and Assistance Division (SRAD).

Juvenile Justice News

• Does Maryland really need a new juvenile detention facility? Not without a new population forecast, says the National Council on Crime & Delinquency (NCCD). (Hat tip to Policy for Results.)
• I’ve written before about “sexting” – when minors send sexually explicit pictures via cell phone - so it’s good to see that the Youth Online Safety Working Group has released recommendations on how education and legal professionals should handle sexting and work to prevent it.

Want to partner with families on juvenile justice reform?
Been there, done that, but still struggling?
Do yourself a favor and check out "An Advocate's Guide to Meaningful Family Partnerships: Tips from the Field," from the National Juvenile Justice Network. 
Based on interviews with 26 advocacy organizations and in-depth interviews with eight juvenile justice advocacy groups (both family-led and non-family-led), the guide is a great primer / refresher on what works when partnering with families.
You'll find reminders about leveling the playing field so that professional advocates and family advocates can both contribute; the need to be frank about and work to address underrepresentation of people of color on the staff of advocacy organizations; and ways to help advocates celebrate their wins even when the legislative process falls short of their ultimate goals.
What's one of the biggest barriers to recruiting family members as advocates for juvenile justice reform? Often, they begin their journey as advocates because they care intensely about their own child, sibling, or relation; they're less interested in fighting for changes to the system on behalf of other people's children.
Here, the NJJN guide once again provides useful tips. None of the solutions are likely to surprise you, but they're often overlooked in my experience, especially when it comes to juvenile justice agencies seeking to give families voice.  
In addition, you'll also find capsule examples of organizations that have achieved success with recruiting family members, building their expertise, and benefiting from the ability of family advocates to push reform from outside the system: 

• Books not Bars; 
• Citizens for Second Chances (newsletters); 
• The Juvenile Justice Project of Louisiana; and
• Families and Friends of Louisiana's Incarcerated Children.   

Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment - News and Research Updates

• How the confidentiality of patients who obtain substance abuse treatment will be handled under health reform (and electronic health records in particular) continues to be the focus of controversy, according to Join Together. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has issued a document covering "frequently-asked questions," and will hold a stakeholders' meeting on August 4th to provide more clarification. Last February, I posted that some health reform advocates want to do away with federal confidentiality regulations under 42 CFR in favor of relevant HIPAA regulations. They say they're concerned that the burden of complying will discourage mainstream doctors from screening patients and providing brief intervention for alcohol and drug issues.