Tagged With "Philadelphia-based Juvenile Law Center"
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This Agency Tried to Fix the Race Gap in Juvenile Justice. Then Came Trump [themarshallproject.org]
For two decades, the number of children behind bars in the U.S. has been on the decline—but the racial disparity has been dramatically worsening, with black youth several times more likely than their white counterparts to be incarcerated. A little-known Justice Department agency is supposed to tackle this problem: the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention , which has been mandated by Congress since 1988 to try to shrink the racial gap by providing grants and training to local...
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Thoughts on creating ‘restorative justice’ (modbee.com)
(Image Credit: shellyduffer.com) Restorative justice, which has been in the news lately , includes some interesting concepts about bringing criminals face to face with their victims to show them the impact of their crimes. The theory is that meeting those victims and hearing what they have suffered can lead to conciliation – or a coming to terms about what happened. When it works, restorative justice helps the offender take responsibility for his or her actions, possibly out of remorse or an...
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To Reduce Long-Term Health Gaps, a Push for Early Intervention in Juvenile Detention [jjie.org]
In the weeks before they leave the juvenile detention center, incarcerated children in Connecticut meet with counselors from the Wheeler Clinic, a nonprofit that works with high-risk youth as they transition back into their community. They talk about social connections, they talk about family support. They also talk about vaccinations. “If their immunizations aren’t up to date, they can’t go back to school,” says Kim Nelson, senior vice president for services at the Wheeler Clinic. That’s a...
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Trauma-informed Courts: How to Create One and Why You Should [jjie.org]
By Brenidy Rice and Judge Ann Gail Meinster, Juvenile Justice Information Exchange, July 17, 2019. Modern courtrooms function more like emergency rooms than traditional courtrooms. The sound of the gavel replaces the siren. Clerks, judges and attorneys are the first responders while the podium becomes the center for the differential diagnosis and treatment. More than ever before, courts are inheriting and being asked to resolve fundamental societal issues that bring people into contact with...
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Trauma-Informed work within Legal/Courts Systems
Hi all & happy 2018! Our Greater Richmond TICN formed a Trauma-Informed Legal/Courts Committee two years ago with the intention of bringing a focus to professionals within the disciplines related to legal/courts (law enforcement, prosecutors, defense attorneys, sheriffs, judges, clerks, probation/parole officers, detention center staff). We know that these professionals are exposed to primary, secondary and vicarious trauma on a regular basis and acknowledged that training and supports...
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Trump Will Appoint Caren Harp to Lead Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (socialjusticesolutions.org)
President Trump announced his intention to appoint former Arkansas prosecutor Caren Harp to serve as administrator of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, the division of the Justice Department that oversees federal funding and standards related to juvenile justice. Harp has been an ardent supporter of the community prosecution model, which eschews adjudication as an end goal. According to Harp’s own work on the issue , community prosecution is defined by three things:...
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Two New Grant Opportunities for Youth Development and Diversion Services
In 2019, more than $40 million will become available to fund community-based, culturally rooted, trauma-informed services for youth in California as alternatives to arrest and incarceration. Thousands of California youth are arrested every year for low-level offenses. Youth who are arrested or incarcerated for low-level offenses are less likely to graduate high school, more likely to suffer negative health-outcomes, and more likely to have later contact with the justice system.
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U.S. Senate passes Whitehouse-sponsored juvenile justice bill [providencejournal.com]
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Senate this week passed a bipartisan juvenile justice bill, years in the works, that aims to secure greater protections for at-risk youth. U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse announced Tuesday that the Senate that night passed by unanimous consent the measure, which he wrote jointly with Sen. Charles Grassley, a Republican from Iowa. Whitehouse and Grassley have been pursuing its passage since 2014. If enacted into law, the proposal would require states to comply with its...
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What Happens When Teens Run the Court (attn.com)
"From what I’ve seen, it’s really effective for youth to be able to understand what other youth are going through — and they really do have a personal understanding that adults may not be able to," Laura Cohen, a law professor who helps facilitate the teen court at Southwestern Law School, told ATTN:. "It’s a model that works." Michael Rubin, a former attorney who supervises the teen court at Fairfax High School, agreed that the model has been "extremely successful," noting that the juvenile...
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Years after juvenile detention, adults struggle, study finds (socialjusticesolutions.org)
Children who have been admitted to a juvenile detention center often struggle with a range of issues years after being detained, according to results from a study published in JAMA Pediatrics . The longitudinal study affords a rare look at how youth who experienced juvenile detention fared in terms of eight positive outcomes five and 12 years after detention. The eight domains included the following: educational attainment, residential independence, gainful activity, desistance from criminal...
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Young People are Using Musical Theatre to Heal Their Trauma - And It's Working (nationswell.com)
Storycatchers help justice-involved youth find their voices and resolve old traumas by making them the stars of the show. On the drive home from Priya Shah’s first Storycatchers musical, she pulled over to cry. Shah, who now serves as the executive director of Storycatchers, had just seen a musical at the Illinois Youth Center, a juvenile detention center in Warrenville, Illinois. She watched girls tell stories of sexual abuse, battery and neglect. She also saw stories of hope and...
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Youth in Five Cities Cite Fear as Major Barrier to Wellness [BU.edu]
Youth of color represent the fastest growing segment of the U.S. youth population and make up the majority of young people in about half of the country’s 100 largest U.S. cities. According to new research by the Center for Promise , the research institute of America’s Promise Alliance , fear, along with inequitable access to social supports, opportunities and experiences essential for healthy development, place this group at increased risk for poor health outcomes. [For more of this story go...
Calendar Event
Community Mentor Summit (San Diego, CA)
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A Community Garden Became an Alternative to Juvenile Detention [CityLab.com]
The first time Tatiana visited the Curtis “50 Cent” Community Garden in Jamaica, Queens, she didn’t want to touch the dirt. “It was scary,” she says. “I just had to stick my hand in real quick and get it over with.” That was around two years ago. Tatiana, then in 10th grade, had racked up around 200 absences at her nearby high school. She was failing all of her classes, and a handful of petty crimes had landed her in juvenile court. Through the Queens Youth Justice Center , an...
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A Court of Their Peers (northcoastjournel.com)
The judge is chewing gum. Her hair is piled in a messy bun on top of her head, where a pair of sunglasses also rests. She giggles shyly as she walks up to the podium and adjusts the microphone. Teen Court is now in session. A national diversion program, Teen Court is operated locally through the Boys and Girls Club of the Redwoods. The crime is real, the court is real and the sentence is real, although the emphasis is on rehabilitation rather than punishment. The goal is to steer young...
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A Trauma Primer for Juvenile Probation and Juvenile Detention Staff
A Trauma Primer for Juvenile Probation and Juvenile Detention Staff August 12, 2015 Juvenile justice probation and detention workers play an important role in helping system-involved youth and families navigate justice and social service...
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Association of Childhood History of Parental Incarceration and Juvenile Justice Involvement With Mental Health in Early Adulthood (JAMA Open Access)
Question Is a childhood history of parental incarceration and juvenile justice involvement associated with mental health conditions in early adulthood? Findings In this nationally representative cross-sectional study, young adults with a history of both parental incarceration and juvenile justice involvement reported more mental health conditions compared with peers with no justice system exposure during childhood. Meaning Parental incarceration and juvenile justice involvement may be...
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Better Solutions for Youth With Mental Health Needs in the Juvenile Justice System
An estimated 70 percent of youth involved in the justice system have a diagnosable mental health disorder. The Mental Health and Juvenile Justice Collaborative for Change has released a new report which discusses challenges with inadequate...
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Beyond Paper Tigers is Back!
Back for the second year, Beyond Paper Tigers conference will take place June 28th and 29th in Walla Walla, WA. Featuring Dr. Ken Ginsburg from Children's Hospital of Philadelphia as the keynote speaker, BPT builds on the story of one community and how they've learned that embracing trauma-informed care and implementing ACEs science truly takes a village. Operationalizing the latest in brain science, BPT will provide concrete strategies for intervention with youth, families, and communities...
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Burnout Risk for In-Prison Educators Could Jeopardize Programs for Incarcerated Students
Sustaining Futures will strengthen education programs for incarcerated individuals by training California Community College faculty and staff on trauma and resilience.
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California Ends Practice of Billing Parents for Kids in Detention [themarshallproject.org]
Gov. Jerry Brown of California signed into law on Wednesday a sweeping package of criminal justice reform bills including a ban on the practice of billing parents for their children’s incarceration, which had been prevalent statewide for decades and was the subject of a Marshall Project investigation earlier this year. The new law — introduced by two Democratic state senators from the Los Angeles area, Holly Mitchell and Ricardo Lara, and approved by the legislature on Sept. 6 — prohibits...
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California would virtually eliminate money bail under proposed legislation (sacbee.com)
California lawmakers have unveiled a sweeping plan to overhaul pretrial release in the state that could virtually eliminate the use of money bail. Sen. Bob Hertzberg, D-Los Angeles, and Assemblyman Rob Bonta, D-Alameda, introduced legislation last December to change a system they argue unfairly punishes the poor by keeping them stuck in custody if they cannot afford expensive bail rates. Updated with new details last Friday, the proposal envisions instead a system of risk assessment to...
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Can a nonprofit turn around a school in a juvenile detention facility? (hechingerreport.org)
New Orleans: As recently as a decade ago, the Youth Study Center would have been unlikely to attract an educational pioneer to their juvenile detention facility. The roughly 40 teenagers held in the flood-damaged center rarely made it to class because they were often on lockdown 23 hours a day. The staff had a reputation for incompetence. The building itself was plagued with bugs and mold. But this summer, the Orleans Parish School Board signed over operations of the school to the national...
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Carbajal Helps Local Youth Resolve Conflict Through Accountability and Communication (livewellsd.org)
For youth in underserved San Diego neighborhoods, Francisco Carbajal is a turnaround specialist. He has a gift for diverting at-risk students away from the juvenile justice system and toward a path to educational achievement and community leadership. Francisco manages the Restorative Community Conferencing (RCC) Program at the National Conflict Resolution Center (NCRC) as part of the organization’s celebrated “Avoiding the Pipeline to Prison” Initiative. With strong support from regional law...
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Charging Youth as Adults has Public Health Impact, Report Says (socialjusticesolutions.org) 56 page report
Advocates in California say that for too long the hazardous health consequences of incarcerating juveniles in the state’s justice system have been obscured by overly punitive rhetoric around public safety. The authors describe a court process that offers few opportunities for youth to deal with childhood trauma that often leads to involvement with the justice system. When it comes to transfers of youth to the adult system, racial disparities are widespread . As a result, they say, high rates...
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Childhood Trauma and Its Effects: Implications for Police
This is important information regarding childhood trauma and policing. Includes reference for:
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Chronicle investigation spurs calls to close foster care shelters (sfgate.com)
The state attorney general's office is looking into hundreds of dubious arrests at California's shelters for abused and neglected children that were detailed last week in a San Francisco Chronicle investigative report . A County officials have called for immediate reviews of the newspaper's findings that shelter staff contacted the sheriff an average of nine times a day last year, with children booked at juvenile hall nearly 200 times in 2015 and 2016. The county shelters are the first stop...
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The Judge Who Helped Make Toledo Juvenile Justice Ready for Primetime (socialjusticesolutions.org)
Vice put juvenile justice front and center with a one-hour HBO documentary hosted by Michael K. Williams, star of the network’s acclaimed series “The Wire.” The special – Raised in the System – uses Lucas County, Ohio, as a primary example of a system trying to reduce the use of incarceration in working with juvenile offenders, limiting lockup to only the cases involving very high-risk youth. Denise Cubbon, lead judge of the Lucas County, Ohio juvenile court “Judge Cubbon and her team...
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Collaborating for Successful Reentry: A Practical Guide to Support Justice-Involved Young People [jjie.org]
“Collaborating for Successful Reentry: A Practical Guide to Support Justice-Involved Young People Returning to the Community” from the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice is a resource to help practitioners reform how youth reenter society and connect with their community. Traditionally, the justice system has used remedies that require youth to go to several classes, complete community service and have frequent meetings with different case managers. This system of reentry can be...
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Coming ‘together’ to fight youth violence [MiamiTimesOnline.com]
A newly formed coalition comprised of local government, education, law enforcement and judicial organizations, among others, have come together to hopefully combat the growing youth violence epidemic that is plaguing children and families across Miami-Dade County. Together for Children — including members of Miami-Dade County Public Schools, Public Defenders and State Attorney’s Offices, Florida Departments of Children and Families and Juvenile Justice and other community-based organizations...
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Community Reentry Resources
Addressing Trauma Among Incarcerated People Source: Corrections & Mental Health Description: A guide to treating trauma in prisoners reentering the community. Link: http://community.nicic.gov/blo...rcerated-people.aspx Guidelines for the Successful Transition of People with Behavioral Health Disorders from Jail and Prison Source: Gains Center, SAMHSA Description: These guidelines promote the behavioral health and criminal justice partnerships that are necessary to develop...
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County staff unveils plan for Juvenile Resource Center [ElkhardTruth.com]
A new plan unveiled by Elkhart County staff Wednesday calls for a major reconfiguration in how children, particularly those with potential health issues, should be treated in the county’s juvenile justice system. The project calls for building a Juvenile Resource Center, which would screen and assess youth accused of delinquency to determine the most appropriate intervention. Those actions could include anything from requiring mental health treatment to detention. The goal, however, is to...
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Court Resources
7 Common Characteristics of Juvenile Mental Health Courts Source: Gains Center, SAMHSA Description: Identifies seven common characteristics of Juvenile Mental Health Courts (JMHCs) as part of a National Institute of Justice – funded study,...
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Credible Messengers Help Turn Former Convicts into Leaders (nationswell.com)
The key to this program is an initiative called the credible messenger approach to restorative justice. It pairs at-risk and justice-involved youth, who are individuals who’ve been involved with the criminal system, with people who have had comparable life experiences, such as ex-convicts or ex-gang members. “When you think of a credible messenger, you think of those closest to the problem are closest to the solution,” says Jason Clark, the program manager at King County Credible Messengers...
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Does Abuse Lead to Incarceration For Girls? Usually Yes [jjie.org]
By Janelle Hawes and Jerry Flores, Juvenile Justice Information Exchange, September 10, 2019 Recently a trial judge in Washington state’s King County Superior Court discussed his three years presiding in juvenile court. Roger Rogoff described this time as “the most emotionally-charged, inspiring and terrifying of my 25-year legal career,” citing the complicated and conflicting nature of the juvenile justice system as well as the tension, apprehension and nuances of decision-making in this...
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Effort to Reduce School-Based Arrests Benefits Nearly 15,000 Additional Students This Year in Connecticut (cmhnetwork.org)
Eighteen Connecticut schools in six districts are participating in the Connecticut School-Based Diversion Initiative (SBDI) during the 2016-17 school year bringing the total number of schools served by SBDI to 37. SBDI is a school level intervention designed to prevent youth from entering the juvenile justice system by connecting students to community-based mental health services as an alternative to arrest. Among schools participating since 2010, the average reduction in court referrals...
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Ella Baker Truth and Reinvestment Justice Teams underway in 8 CA Counties
There are various forms of emergency preparedness for natural disasters. From an early age, one learns how to put out a fire, board up their home if a hurricane or tornado is coming, or drop under a desk if an earthquake hits—but low-income communities of color have little to no response to more frequent incidences of state violence in the streets and inside of jails. The Justice Teams for Truth and Reinvestment will be the local rapid response networks inside of eight different counties...
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‘Expansive’ Juvenile Justice Reform Bill Close to Law in DC [JJIE.org]
Legislation called cutting edge by national experts on juvenile justice reform has been unanimously passed by the Council of the District of Columbia. “We looked at best practices from across the country and really pulled together what we think is going to transform our juvenile justice system,” said Democratic councilmember Kenyan McDuffie , who sponsored the bill along with seven other councilmembers. “More importantly, it’s going to modernize the juvenile justice system to hold young...
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GENDER & TRAUMA Somatic Interventions for Girls in Juvenile Justice: Implications for Policy and Practice (40 pages - Georgetown Center on Poverty and Inequality)
The impact of gender on the experience of trauma is less widely discussed, though it is significant in scope. In multiple studies, girls have reported higher rates of adverse childhood experiences than boys in all categories, especially girls in the juvenile justice system. Girls report sexual abuse at particularly disproportionate levels and are more likely than boys to experience such violence within intimate relationships. Girls are also at greater risk of developing negative mental...
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Gender Specific Criminal Justice Resources
Creating a Place of Healing and Forgiveness: The Trauma-Informed Care Initiative at the Women's Community Correctional Center of Hawaii Source: National Center for Trauma-Informed Care Description: The Trauma-Informed Care Initiative (TICI) is a...
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Global Youth Justice Trainings Teen/Student/Youth/Peer Court and Peer Jury (globalyouthjustice.org)
Description: Global Youth Justice, Inc. champions 1,700+ volunteer-driven youth justice and juvenile justice diversion programs called Teen/Youth/Student/Peer Court and Peer Jury on 4-Continents, making it the most replicated juvenile/youth justice program around the globe. And, adults and youth from hundreds of additional communities around the globe are in various stages of implementing one of these rapidly expanding affordable youth-led juvenile justice and youth justice diversion...
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H.R.6964 - Juvenile Justice Reform Act of 2018 (congress.gov)
Reauthorized and signed into law by President Trump on 12/21/18, some aspects include; * to support a continuum of evidence-based or promising programs (including delinquency prevention, intervention, mental health, behavioral health and substance abuse treatment, family services, and services for children exposed to violence) that are trauma informed, reflect the science of adolescent development, and are designed to meet the needs of at-risk youth and youth who come into contact with the...
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“Handle with Care” ~ West Virginia (WV) Center for Children’s Justice & WV State Police
The West Virginia Defending Childhood Initiative, commonly referred to as Handle With Care, is tailored to reflect the needs and issues affecting children in West Virginia. The Initiative, a result of a collaborative effort of key stakeholders and partners, builds upon the success of proven programs throughout the country. The goal of the Initiative is to prevent children's exposure to trauma and violence, mitigate negative affects experienced by children's exposure to trauma, and to...