Drug court: Closeup under night streetlighting of policeperson in dark uniform handcuffing a suspect in gray sweatshirt

‘We can’t incarcerate our way out of the problem’: Why some judges favor drug courts’ treatment-based approach

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Charged with possession and use of marijuana and cocaine, destruction of property, disorderly conduct and assaulting a police officer, John stood before a juvenile court judge imagining that he’d be sentenced to years of incarceration. Instead, the judge sent him to drug court, a 15-month program providing medical treatment for substance abuse; psychological counseling; mediation and relationship-building services for substance abusers’ families; and assistance seeking education and employment.

juvenile detention fees: stone sign for juvenile court entrance with flowers in front

Study: With homicide the No. 1 cause, formerly incarcerated Ohio juveniles’ death rate was six to nine times higher than that of other youth

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Death rates were 5.9 times higher for previously incarcerated 11- to 21-year-olds in Ohio than in that state’s general population of youth enrolled in Medicaid health insurance for low-income people, according to a study recently published in the Journal of the American Medical Association’s JAMA Open Network.

In a finding researchers said was especially startling, formerly incarcerated females died at nine times the rate of the general population.

“More than half of all deaths were among youths convicted of crimes against persons,”  wrote the researchers, who examined 3,645 formerly incarcerated youth. “More deaths occurred in youths who were incarcerated for the first time and in youths who spent less than or equal to [one] year in custody.”

probation: Teen boy playing basketball outdoors

JDAI Shifts Focus to Overhauling Probation, Increasing Diversion

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When the Annie E. Casey Foundation launched the Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI) in the tough-on-crime era of the early 1990s, politicians were labeling teenage offenders “superpredators” and states were passing laws making it easier to prosecute kids as adults. Rates of juvenile detention were skyrocketing.

How Ohio’s Restore Court Focuses on Helping Sex Trafficked Youth

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Commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) has recently received much needed attention, but is by no means a new issue. Researchers have tried to approximate the scope of the problem, but it has proven extremely difficult to produce an accurate estimate of children who are victims of or at risk for CSEC in the U.S. State-level prevalence rates are equally difficult to produce, but a recent report estimated that more than 1,000 U.S.-born minors are sex trafficked in Ohio annually and thousands more are at risk for victimization.

These Approaches Help Young Fathers Leaving the Criminal Justice System

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Becoming a father for the first time can be difficult for anyone, but when you do so in your teens or early 20s and have been incarcerated, it can be overwhelming. The right supports — stable housing, reliable networks, ties to employment, knowing how to build skills in fatherhood and healthy relationships — are essential.

Ohio Legislators Propose Bill Giving Kids the Right to Counsel in Interrogations

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Earlier this month, in a narrow 4-3 decision, the Ohio state Supreme Court ruled juveniles are not entitled to the many of the same legal protections as adults, including the right to counsel during police interrogations that occur before charges are filed. Now, several state legislators are responding, proposing a law that would overrule the high court’s decision. Ohio state Minority Whip Rep. Tracy Maxwell Heard, a Columbus-area Democrat, began drafting the proposed bill a year before the Oct. 3 Supreme Court ruling, The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer reports. The General Assembly proposal, co-sponsored by Rep. Ross McGregor, a Republican from Springfield, requires juveniles be informed of their right to counsel - either with an attorney or a parent or guardian - prior to police interrogations.

Ohio Juvenile Sex Offender Ruling Spotlights National Policy

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Juvenile sex offenders in Ohio will no longer be required to register as sex offenders for life, the state’s Supreme Court ruled last week. The 5-2 decision ruled the lifetime requirement is cruel and unusual punishment, reigniting a national debate on how young people convicted of certain sexual offenses should fare under the criminal justice system. The majority opinion found certain parts of the Ohio Adam Walsh Act enacted in 2008 unconstitutional. Many states expanded laws pertaining to juvenile sex offenders following federal legislation in 2006 that sought to standardize how young sex offenders were classified and registered across the nation. “Registration and notification requirements frustrate two of the fundamental elements of juvenile rehabilitation: confidentiality and the avoidance of stigma,” Ohio Justice Paul Pfiefer wrote in the court’s majority opinion.

UPDATE: Three Dead After Ohio School Shooting

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Three students are dead and two others injured after another student opened fire in an Ohio high school. The alleged gunman has been identified as 17-year-old Thomas “TJ” Lane. He was described as an outcast by other students, according to WKYC, an NBC affiliate in Cleveland. The victims were in the Chardon High School cafeteria when the shots were fired just after 7:30 a.m, WKYC reports. A teacher chased the alleged gunman out of the school where he surrendered himself to bystanders.