Member News and Resources:
- "More Harm Than Good: How Children are Unjustly Tried as Adults in New Orleans," February 2016, Southern Poverty Law Center - Louisiana (an NJJN member).
- "'I Knew In My Heart I Wanted To Help People': Justice League NYC's Carmen Perez," February 22, 2016, Refinery 29. This article profiles the work of Carmen Perez, Youth Justice Leadership Institute alum, for her work with Justice League NYC.
- "Scott: SC DJJ needs long-term solutions that work, not quick fixes that backfire," March 21, 2016, The State - op-ed from the ACLU of South Carolina, an NJJN member.
- "Juvenile Justice and Mental Illness: Can it be Prevented?" February 26, 2016, Kathy Wright, Youth Justice Leadership Institute alum, Grant News.
- "24 States Put Juveniles in Solitary Confinement, But Advocates Are Trying to Change That," February 29, 2016, Yes Magazine. The article quotes Alton Pitre, a youth member of the Anti-Recidivism Coalition in California, an NJJN member.
- "Students ask VA lawmakers to consider changes to the Department of Juvenile Justice," March 2, 2016, ABC News. The article quotes Jeree Thomas, an attorney at JustChildren in Virginia (an NJJN member) and a current Youth Justice Leadership Institute fellow.
- "Truancy and Detention Fact Sheet," March 2016, Colorado Division of Juvenile Justice.
- "Opportunity knocks to move on reforming juvenile justice in Wisconsin," by Jim Moeser, deputy director of the Wisconsin Council on Children & Families, an NJJN member.
Other News:
- "How to Reduce Crime: Stop Charging Children as Adults," February 26, 2016, Vincent Schiraldi, The New York Times.
- "The List: When Kids Are Accused of Sex Crimes," March 14, 2016, Sarah Stillman, The New Yorker.
- "Juveniles Don't Belong on the Sex Offender Registry," March 9, 2016, Eli Lehrer, The Daily Caller.
- "My Voice: Allow second chance for youthful offenders," February 11, 2016, Sen. Alan K. Simpson (R-WY), Argus Leader.
- "State Cancels Juvenile Justice Contracts Worth $90 Million," March 21, 2016, Orlando Sentinel.
- "Support Not Punish: Participatory Action Research Report," February 2016, Community Corrections for Youth. This report, researched and written by youth under the age of 24 who have either experienced the justice system personally or through those close to them, surveys youth experiences with the justice system, offers policy recommendations for reform, and argues for the inclusion of youth voices in the broader conversation on youth justice policy reform.
- "No Place for A Child: Direct File of Juveniles Comes at a High Cost; Time to Fix Statutes," February 2016, James Madison Institute.
- "Disparate Impact under Title VI and the School-to-Prison Pipeline," March 2016, The American Bar Association Section of Litigation Children’s Rights Litigation Committee.
- The Colorado JJDP Council recently released a fact sheet summarizing the first phase of an important research project on truancy. Findings included:
- Youth found truant were more likely than other Colorado youth to: be youth of color and/or non-native English speakers, and to qualify for special education services and/or free or reduced lunch.
- One of the biggest predictors for which youth were detained for truancy was the judicial district a child lived in. Local policies regarding use of detention had a greater impact than past delinquency detention, child welfare involvement and age.
- Being securely detained for truancy increased the likelihood that a child would later have a criminal case filed against them.
- Children who were securely detained for truancy were 14.5 times less likely to graduate from high school. This was the greatest predictor of failure to graduate, stronger than past history of school expulsion, child welfare involvement, and age.
Opportunities and Events:
- The Center for Juvenile Justice Reform (CJJR) at Georgetown University‘s McCourt School of Public Policy has announced that the application window for the 2016 Juvenile Diversion Certificate Program is now open through April 29th, 2016. The Certificate Program brings together individuals and teams of law enforcement officers, probation staff, prosecutors, school officials, judges, policy-makers, and other local leaders who are committed to strengthening their diversion efforts. Learn more.
- Georgetown's Center for Juvenile Justice Reform (CJJR), on behalf of OJJDP’s Center for Coordinated Assistance to States (CCAS), is accepting applications for the third cohort of the Multi-System Collaboration Training and Technical Assistance Program (MSC-TTA) through April 1, 2016. The MSC-TTA Program, offered at no cost to participants, is designed to assist multi-disciplinary teams from states, territories, tribes, local governments, and community agencies and organizations in developing a stronger infrastructure to improve system processes and outcomes for at-risk youth involved in multiple systems of care. These teams may include, but are not limited to, leaders from child welfare, juvenile justice, education, behavioral health, and other child serving agencies. The program will run from April 2016 to October 2016. Learn more.