Ryan Schill

Ryan Schill is an award-winning journalist and the Assistant Editor the Juvenile Justice Information Exchange. Ryan holds a BS in communication and is finishing his MA in professional writing. His research and reporting interests include experimental journalism forms, social justice issues and the capacity of unbiased journalism to function as a catalyst for reform. He lives in Kennesaw, Ga. with his beautiful wife, Vanessa (who is also a journalist), and their three dogs (who are not).

Recent posts

United States Will Stop Deporting Young Undocumented Immigrants Under New Policy

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The Obama administration will no longer deport and begin granting work permits to young undocumented immigrants who came to the United States as children, The New York Times reports. The policy change does not need Congressional approval. President Obama will discuss the plan at a press conference in the Rose Garden Friday afternoon. The policy change could affect some 800,000 immigrants who are younger than 30 and arrived in the United States before they turned 16, according to The Times. Additionally, they must have been in the country for at least five continuous years, have a high school diploma or GED earned in the United States, served in the military or have no criminal history. Continue Reading →

Filed under: News, Priority, DREAM Act, ICE, illegal immigrants, immigration, Obama, Policy

Powerful Tool Shines Light on Secrecy in Juvenile System

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Traditionally, juvenile courts have protected children from lasting stigma and emotional trauma through aggressive secrecy, in contrast to their adult counterparts. But the anonymity provided by the juvenile system is a direct impediment to journalists and others charged with delivering information to the public. But a powerful new tool, published this month by the Reporters’ Committee for Freedom of the Press (RCFP), provides a state-by-state breakdown of access to juvenile courts. The report, funded by a grant from the McCormick Foundation, appears in the Spring 2012 issue of RCFP’s quarterly publication, The News Media & The Law. Each state is profiled in detail, describing which juvenile proceedings and records are available to the public and which require special permission. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Blast, News, Priority, access, adjudication, court records, journalism, juvenile court

Fake Pot Once Again for Sale in Georgia Despite Ban

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Packages of synthetic marijuana are once again available for sale legally, despite a law passed in March banning the drug, because manufacturers found a way around the ban, WSAV-TV in Savannah reports. As The Juvenile Justice Information Exchange reported last spring, synthetic marijuana, often known by the brand names K-2 or Spice, is created by spraying dried plant matter with a synthetic cannabanoid, a chemical that mimics the effects of THC, the psychoactive chemical that gives marijuana users their high. Lawmakers believed the legislation banning the drug—which made illegal the base chemical formula and any alterations of that formula—would close a loophole manufacturers of fake pot had used to skirt previous bans. “We identified the base formula,” state Senator Buddy Carter told WSAV-TV. “We said any deviation, any alteration of the base formula, would be illegal. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Blast, News, cannabanoid, Cannabis, fake marijuana, fake pot, Marijuana, Mary Jane

Facebook May Change Rules to Allow Children Under 13

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For the first time, Facebook is considering allowing children under 13 to join the social networking site, according to a story in The Wall Street Journal. But a study last year by the Pew Internet & American Life Project found Facebook is already full of children younger than 13. According to the report, 46 percent of 12-year-olds are already using Facebook despite the prohibition, either with their parents’ permission or by lying about their age. The Wall Street Journal reports Facebook is researching policies and new technologies that will keep young children safe while using the page. Possibilities include giving parents control over their child’s account by linking the parent and child accounts together. Continue Reading →

Filed under: News, Parenting, Priority, children, Facebook, internet, online, parents

Kids’ Food Drive Kicks Off Mother’s Day in New York City

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Mother’s Day marks the first day of the annual Feed the Kids food drive in New York City by City Harvest, a food rescue organization dedicated to feeding the city’s hungry. Feed the Kids brings together companies, organizations and individuals to collect kid-friendly, non-perishable food during the month between Mother’s Day and Father’s Day – May 13 to June 17, 2012. City Harvest is also partnering with the New York Mets through the team’s season-long hunger relief program, Feeding the Big Apple Presented by Hain Celestial. Students from P.S. 12 in Queens will be rewarded for collecting more than 2,000 pounds of food during the 2011 Feed the Kids food drive, more than any other school, when the Mets drop by their school at the end of May to play catch. The Feed the Kids campaign helps stock shelves at community programs during the summer so children who depend on meals at school will not go hungry. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Main Feature, News

Petition to Ban Shock Treatment at Mass. School Delivered to State Lawmakers

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A petition to ban the use of electric shock treatment in a notorious Massachusetts “special needs school” was delivered to state legislators Wednesday. Created by Cheryl McCollins, the mother of a boy who was given electric shocks in 2002 at the Judge Rotenberg Center in Canton, and Gregory Miller, a former teacher assistant who once delivered shock treatments to students, the petition has received more than 215,000 signatures. On April 24, a settlement was announced in a lawsuit brought against the school alleging malpractice by McCollins on behalf of her son, who was 18 at the time of the incident. The terms of the settlement were undisclosed, according to CBS Boston. After delivering the petition, McCollins and Miller met with four Massachusetts state lawmakers Wednesday, including Speaker Robert DeLeo, Rep. Kay Khan, Sens. Continue Reading →

Filed under: News, Priority, autistic children, electric shock treatment, massachusetts, school torture, special needs school, student punishment

Young People “Checking In” Using Condoms With QR Codes

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Young people using social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and the location-based Foursquare are often criticized for posting photos from drunken parties or sharing mundane personal details such as what they ate for breakfast. Now, new geo-tracking condoms are taking the concept of over-sharing to a whole new level, encouraging young people to “check in” wherever they are having sex. Planned Parenthood of the Great Northwest—serving Alaska, Idaho and western Washington, including Seattle—has been distributing to college students 55,000 condoms with QR codes (small, square barcodes that can be scanned by smartphones). Condom users scan the code, which takes them to a website called “Where Did You Wear It?” that allows them to anonymously post the location of their sexual encounter. The website asks for details such as age, sex and relationship type, and users can even rate how good the experience was. Continue Reading →

Filed under: News, Priority, college sex, condoms young adult, planned parenthood, qr code condoms, young adult sex

Americorps Volunteers to be Honored for Service in Joplin After 2011 Tornado

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Only hours after a devastating tornado tore through Joplin, Mo., on May 22, 2011 killing more than 160 people, the first team of AmeriCorps volunteers arrived in the community. Ultimately, more than 300 AmeriCorps volunteers, lead by Kelly Menzie-DeGraff, director of disaster services for the Corporation for National and Community Service, would come to Joplin and help with everything from cleanup and rebuilding to serving meals to residents, all while coordinating more than 60,000 unaffiliated volunteers. In recognition of their efforts, the Partnership for Public Service named Menzie-DeGraff and her team finalists for the Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medals honoring federal employees. Menzie-DeGraff, along with 32 other finalists, will be honored in Washington Wednesday as part of Public Service Week. The finalists are in contention for nine Service to America awards to be announced Sept. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Featured, News, americorps volunteers, joplin tornado

Runaway Youth Helped Using 10-Question Tool

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Experts estimate about 2 million kids run away from home each year putting them at greater risk of physical or sexual abuse, homelessness, drug addiction and physical and mental health problems. Many are in need of medical care or other services. To ensure runaways get the help they need, police in St. Paul, Minn. who encounter runaways are using a short, 10-question screening tool to assess the runaway’s safety and whether they have been victimized while they’ve been away from home. Medical professionals and researchers in Minnesota developed the 10-Question Tool with assistance from local police. Continue Reading →

Filed under: News, Priority, homeless, juvenile justice, kids, questionnaire, runaways, screening

Sharp Decline in Child Deaths From Unintentional Injury, CDC Finds

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Fewer children are dying from unintentional injuries, according to a new report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). A new Vital Signs report published by the CDC says death rates from unintentional injuries among children and adolescents from birth to age 19 declined by nearly 30 percent from 2000 to 2009, saving the lives of more than 11,000 children. “In order to keep our kids safe from injuries we need two things: safer environments and knowledgeable parents,” Julie Gilchrist, a medical epidemiologist with the CDC’s Division of Unintentional Injury Prevention, said in a conference call with journalists. “Everyone has a role in keeping kids safe.”

More than 9,000 children in the United States died as a result of unintentional injury in 2009. The report does not include information on injuries from violence. Continue Reading →

Filed under: News, Priority, CDC, Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, children, injury, kids, prevention