DeKalb RYDC Escapee Back In Custody

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The 16-year-old murder suspect who escaped from the DeKalb County Regional Youth Detention Center over the weekend is back in custody. Dewayne McCloud reportedly failed to meet a security check around 5:30 p.m. Saturday. Authorities locked down the facility, but could not locate him inside. Several law enforcement agencies, including the DeKalb County sheriff's office and police department, searched for McCloud for hours in the surrounding area, but the effort turned up nothing. At one point even a K9 unit was brought in to track McCloud to no avail.

It’s Official: Governor Deal Signs Juvenile ‘Good Behavior Bill’ Into Law

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Lorena Padron, 18, and Maria Calderon, 19, were all smiles this afternoon as they flanked Governor Nathan Deal in his office. With a stroke of a pen, the governor signed HB 373 into law, giving both of them and thousands of others with a track record of good behavior and academic success in Georgia’s Regional Youth Detention Centers (RYDCs) and Youth Development Centers (YDCs)  a chance to substantially reduce their time in custody. Known as the “Good Behavior bill,” the measure passed in the 2011 legislative session that ended last month also gives juvenile court judges more discretion. “I feel very good, I’m very happy,” said Padron, after the signing ceremony at the state capitol. “I feel like I can begin my life again, like I’ll be able to go home and help my family.

Mural Program Brings Focus, Hope To Incarcerated Teens

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When Maya Keating is in the gymnasium on the Macon Youth Development Center (YDC) campus in Macon, Ga., she always tries her best to keep wayward balls from crashing into the colorful mural emblazoned across a large wall. She hopes to keep the display -– a vibrant array of red, blue, yellow and green acrylic paint -– unscathed for as long as possible. No chipping, is her objective, thank you very much. “I’m always telling people, ‘watch where you kick the ball,’” quipped Keating, 19. “I don’t want it to get messed up.

Gov. Deal Signs Human Trafficking Bill Into Law

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The human trafficking bill that toughens the penalty for sex traffickers and seeks to improve outcomes for victims has been officially signed into Georgia law.  

A small crowd of supporters gathered around Governor Nathan Deal Tuesday afternoon as he signed HB 200 at My Sister’s House in the Atlanta Mission. The legislation was introduced this year by Rep. Ed Lindsey (R-Atlanta) and passed within the same legislative session, which wrapped up last month.  

The governor and his wife, First Lady Sandra Deal, shared encouraging words to the families of trafficking survivors during the signing event. Both commended child advocates for remaining vigilant in their work to eradicate child sex trafficking.

Justice Department Report Sheds Light On Human Trafficking Stats

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Just less than half of suspected human trafficking incidents in recent years involved the prostitution or sexual exploitation of children, according to United States Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS). Nearly half – 48 percent – of human trafficking allegations investigated between January 2008 and June 2010 involved allegations of adult prostitution, the Bureau said; 40 percent of cases pursued during that same time period involved children. According to the report during the study period:

• Federally funded task forces, led primarily by local law enforcement agencies, investigated 2,515 incidents of suspected human trafficking. Most incidents involved allegations of sex trafficking, but 350 incidents involved allegations of labor trafficking in unregulated industries (i.e. drug sales or roadside sales) and/or commercial industries (i.e. hair salons, hotels and bars). The information in the report is being provided in response to a congressional mandate for biennial reporting on the scope and characteristics of human trafficking incidents in the U.S. Under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, human trafficking is defined as the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person to perform labor or a commercial sex act through force, fraud, or coercion.

Upcoming Conferences To Highlight Juvenile Justice, Crimes Against Children

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Juvenile justice and child welfare issues will be the focus of two upcoming national conferences. The Washington, D.C.-based Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) is sponsoring the “Conference for Children's Justice & Safety
 Unite, Build, Lead” October 10-14 in National Harbor, Md. The four-day forum will bring together juvenile justice practitioners and policymakers from across the nation to review current trends and promising practices in juvenile justice. The “Conference for Children's Justice & Safety 
Unite, Build, Lead” will feature workshops, plenaries and keynote sessions beginning October 12. Topics covered will include crimes against children, anti-gang strategies, children's exposure to violence, disproportionate minority contact, girls' delinquency, tribal youth programs, emergency planning for juvenile justice, faith-based and community involvement, mentoring, truancy and bullying and substance abuse.

The Best of B.E.S.T.

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The school year is winding down, but there’s always plenty of work to be done at B.E.S.T. Academy at Benjamin S. Carson. The faculty and staff always have their hands full trying to motivate and inspire students at the all-male Atlanta Public School. Ninth is currently the highest grade, but the ultimate goal is to expand through 12th by 2013. B.E.S.T. is an acronym standing for Business, Engineering, Science and Technology, which is the focus of the curriculum at the sprawling $30 million school named in honor of Carson, a renowned African-American neurosurgeon. Students are immersed in a rigorous academic curriculum, which includes language arts, social studies, reading, math and science.

Newt Gingrich Among Conservatives Backing NAACP Prison Reform Report

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Former Georgia congressman turned Republican presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich is among a group of big name conservatives supporting a new NAACP study pushing for a major criminal justice system overhaul. The former U.S. House speaker has joined other fellow conservatives in promoting the civil rights organization’s latest report, highlighting racial disparities in incarceration rates and the imbalance between prison funding and education spending around the country. Dubbed “Misplaced Priorities,” it asserts there is an inverse relationship between exploding prison budgets and massive cutbacks in public higher education funding. “Over the past 20 years, nationwide spending on higher education increased by 21 percent, while corrections funding increased by 127 percent,” said Robert Rooks, director of NAACP Criminal Justice Programs. “Even during the recession, education budgets dropped while a majority of states have continued to increase the amount they spent on prisons. During that same time we’ve seen higher education costs in states being shifted to working families.”

Rooks said it is time for a major paradigm shift in regards to the nation’s criminal justice practices.

Conference Organizer Weighs In On Roots Of Black Male Crisis

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This weekend Ayo Tinubu, 31, teams up with his longtime mentor, former-Atlanta-City-Councilman-turned-AM-1380-WAOK-radio-show-talk-show-host Derrick Boazman, to host the fifth annual “Let Us Make Man: The Gathering to Reclaim Black Manhood.” The two-day forum at Fort Valley State University in Fort Valley, Ga., a small town about 100 miles outside of Atlanta, aims to provide resources for parents, children, educators, churches, community organizations, criminal justice industry workers and child advocates to acquire the knowledge and resources needed to help legions of young black males in crisis. The forum focused on “redefining black male hood” includes an awards ceremony for exceptional male mentors and breakout sessions that explore such topics as “Law & Black Society,” “Mentoring,” “Educating Black Males,” “Spiritual Development,” “Restoring the Black Family” and “Black Youth Leadership.” Tinubu says he can relate to the challengees many young black males face in our society because he once faced similar problems. He shares with JJIE his perspective on the underlying issues facing young men of color and how he feels this event seeks to address them. JJIE: What made you get involved in Let Us Make Man (LUMM)? TINUBU: Derrick Boazman has been a part of my life since I was in high school. I wanted to get involved to help him and I believe in this event.

Revived Runaway Act, Good Behavior Bill Close Out 2011 Legislative Session

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When Rep. Tom Weldon (R-Ringgold) passed Barton Child Law and Policy Center Policy Director Kirsten Widner in a crowded hallway in the state capitol Thursday evening, he couldn’t resist passing on kudos. “You’ve had a good day,” he said, leaning in with a smile and an outstretched hand. “You’ve had a good day too,” she responded, with a grin and firm shake.  

That exchange, in many ways, summed up the reaction many state child advocates and members of the Georgia General Assembly have expressed about the official close of the 2011 legislative session. And it’s not so surprising.