Juvenile Justice Reform

 
Concerned about the kids in the juvenile justice system? Then check out the video above of a 29-year-old woman given life without parole at 16 for killing her pimp. I found it on this blog, without a lot of information about where or when the video was made. But man oh man, it's sure moving.
Other stories:

 
Tim, a youth on probation in Multnomah County, Oregon, testifies to County commissioners about how the juvenile justice system helped him get off alcohol and drugs, learn job skills, and begin giving back to kids in the community. (His testimony begins at 8:08.)
Related Post:

• Want more information about how the juvenile justice system can harness the power of positive youth development (PYD)? Then check out this post with information from the Coalition for Juvenile Justice.
• This roundup has links to proven strategies for improving employment and education for young men involved with the juvenile justice system.

Threshold Foundation is a donor-based fund that seeks to ensure human rights for youth impacted by the criminal justice and drug policy systems, and political rights for those in historically  disenfranchised communities. The foundation's Justice & Democracy Committee is accepting letters of intent (LOIs) no later than September 25 from non-profit organizations working in the following focus areas:
 

[This article on the juvenile drug court in the Reclaiming Futures site in Nassau County, NY originally appeared, in a longer form in the Spring 2009 issue of the Nassau News, the newsletter of the 10th Judicial District, Nassau County.]
 
On March 4, 2009, Nassau County, NY held its first Juvenile Drug Treatment Court (JTC) graduation. Three teenagers successfully completed the program.
 
It was a little overwhelming to think we already had three graduates. When we first talked about creating the program, it had seemed like a logistical impossibility.
 
And after we got our first participant, there were immediate doubts: What were we thinking? How do we expect to help this kid get off drugs? We’re not equipped. This is never going to work.

• A potential game-changer in the field of adolescent (and adult) substance abuse: hospitals may soon be required to screen and provide brief intervention for addictions in order to be accredited.
• According to the 2008 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NASDUH), adolescent misuse of prescription drugs has dropped, but even so, teens say it's easier to get marijuana than cigarettes. And just in time for back-to-school, SAMHSA released its Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS) report on referrals of schoolchildren to alcohol and drug abuse treatment. 

Anyone interested in juvenile justice reform should check out this opinion piece from The Boston Globe by David Fathi of Human Rights Watch, "An Unfair Prison Litigation System."(Link courtesy of the National Juvenile Justice Network.)
Fathi is making a larger point about the burden on all prisoners, adult and juvenile, but his sample case is focused on a juvenile:

• The "Missouri Model" was featured on ABC's Primetime show this week: more good press for the importance of rehabilitation and treatment for youth in the justice system. (Click through to see show segments.) UPDATE: Youth Today also has an update on efforts to replicate the Missouri Model around the nation.
• Meanwhile, the Coalition for Juvenile Justice released a key, first-of-its-kind report on the states' compliance with the federal Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA), which is up for renewal this year. Reauthorization of the JJDPA is supported by the American Psychological Association (APA), and this week, Marian Wright Edelman posted a widely-noted editorial urging renewal of the JJDPA and congressional support for promising models of juvenile justice reform, such as the Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative, Models for Change, and the Missouri Model. 

You may remember "Changing Lives Through Literature" (CLTL), an amazing alternative-sentencing program created by Robert Waxler, an English professor, and Judge Robert Kane, a former Massachusetts Superior Court justice. The progam is based on the idea that studying literature can change lives.

Friday, September 04, 2009 ABC Television Network
PRESS RELEASE - PRESS RELEASE - ENTERTAINMENT - ON ABC NEWS' PRIMETIME: CRIME (9/9)
IS MISSOURI'S RADICALLY DIFFERENT APPROACH TO THE JUVENILE JAIL SYSTEM WORKING?
There are nearly 100,000 kids in America's juvenile justice system, most in orange jumpsuits, locked behind bars and under constant guard. But the state of Missouri has cast aside the familiar model of juvenile jails in favor of a radically different approach - therapy and rehabilitation.

First-of-its-kind Report Uncovers Successes and Challenges of State Compliance with the federal Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act

On the 35th anniversary of the enactment of the federal Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA), the Coalition for Juvenile Justice (CJJ) released the results of a groundbreaking report, A Pivotal Moment: Sustaining the Success and Enhancing the Future of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act.

The release was anchored by a panel of speakers providing expertise from a variety of backgrounds in the field of juvenile justice.