Judge Hatchett Keynotes Conference

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The Truancy Intervention Project will host a conference sponsored by the Governor’s Office for Children and Families. The event has a long name: Charting the Course: Reinvesting In and Reengaging Georgia’s Youth. The conference runs Oct. 27-29 and features a keynote speech from former Fulton County Juvenile Chief Judge Glenda Hatchett, now star of the “Judge Hatchett Show.” Registration is free, but limited to 200 people. The event is almost half full so sign up here.

Craigslist Sex Ad Investigation

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The internet has become the favorite place to sell women for sex, according to a CNN report. Now there is a national campaign against Craigslist and its popular “adult services” section. Police and anti- sex trafficking groups are pushing to end the “adult services” ads, arguing that underage girls are being exploited. "Craigslist is like the Wal-Mart of online sex trafficking right now in this country,” said Andrea Powell of the anti-trafficking group The Fair Fund. Watch CNN reporter Amber Lyon grill Craig Newmark, the founder of Craigslist, about sex ad's on his site.

Senate Hearing on Juvenile Code

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The Senate Judiciary Committee will discuss the juvenile code rewrite bill SB 292, Article 6 next Monday at 2 pm in room 450 at the Capitol.  Article 6 is controversial because it deals with Children in Need of Services (CHIN’s).  These kids are considered status offenders under Georgia law.  Currently, they are treated the same as delinquent kids.  Article 6 would provide status offenders with family oriented services geared toward fixing their problems.  Some of the agencies expected to attend include the Truancy Intervention Project, the Office of Child Advocacy and the Department of Behavioral Health. Attorney Julia Neighbors from Just Georgia wrote a passionate argument for Article 6:

“Current research and best practices now suggest that youth and families in crisis require a faster response than courts can offer and that juvenile justice systems are often ill-equipped to provide the services these youth and families need. ”

For more on SB 292:

Long Road to Juvenile Code

SB 292: Rethinking 17 vs. 18

Other Bills Regarding Juveniles

Wanted: Insights on Trauma and Delinquency

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Exposure to trauma, delinquency and school failure are related, according to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF).  More than sixty percent of children have witnessed violence and 46.3 percent have experienced physical assault.

If you have direct experience with kids who’ve gone through traumatic experiences, you may want to join the online forum called "Chronic Trauma and the Teen Brain". Benjamin Chambers writes that the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is collecting information and data.  If you can answer the following question, this forum is for you:

“Where are there opportunities within these adolescent systems to better identify, assess and intervene to support the needs and healthy development of young people affected by chronic trauma?”

For more information:

Chronic Trauma and the Teen Brain - An Online Forum

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

Restorative Justice at Work

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Teen lawbreakers are benefiting from a restorative justice program, required by law in Northern Ireland.  Dr. Graham Ellison, a criminologist, told Here and Now on Public Radio International how the program is working. Courts in Northern Ireland must provide kids with a restorative justice option through the Youth Conferencing Service as an alternative to prison, Dr. Ellison explained. According to the Youth Conferencing Service, kids meet with their victims, make amends and get any treatment they need. A teen graduate of the program, who stole a car, spoke to the BBC about meeting his victim. "All she done was cry, and talked about how she doesn't feel safe in her home," he said.

Fulton Jail Investigation

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Tax payer money may have been wasted at the Fulton County jail.  WSB-TV reports that $87,920 was spent on a GED program for inmates.  Seventeen prisoners got degrees at a cost of more than $5,000 per inmate.  Investigative reporter Richard Belcher says the program was run by the wife of a state legislator, while the jail already had a similar program that cost nothing. Watch the story on Channel 2 Action News

Additional links:

Fulton County Jail

Cutting Down On Sexting

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One in six teenagers is involved in sexting, according to research from the Pew Internet and American Life Project. In most cases, the sexually explicit texts or images are sent from one child to another. Across the country, these messages are considered a form child pornography which can lead to prison time in many states. The Youth Online Safety Working Group gives advice on managing and preventing sexting incidents in Interdisciplinary Response to Youths Sexting.  They recommend that authorities determine legal action on a case by case basis, and increase awareness of polices and state laws to help cut down on the sexting problem. For more information:

Pew Internet and American Life Project

Gadgetell

Youth Online Safety Working Group

The Power of Partnerships

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Advocates for troubled teens can greatly benefit from partnering with families, according to the National Juvenile Justice Network.   NJJN’s An Advocates Guide to Meaningful Family Partnerships: Tips from the Field outlines ways to build advocate and family coalitions that push for practices that are fair and appropriate for kids. Louisiana’s Tallulah Correctional Center for Youth was infamous for “broken bones, black eyes, fractured jaws, and rapes” according to a report in Alter Net: Civil Liberties.  The facility was finally shut down once a major family group merged with a major advocacy group, the National Juvenile Justice Network points out. For more information about advocates partnering with families:

An Advocates Guide to Meaningful Family Partnerships: Tips from the Field

National Juvenile Justice Network

Moms Want Justice: Meaningful Family Partnerships in Juvenile Justice Reform

Alter Net: Civil Liberties

Rehabilitation – The Key?

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Rehabilitation, instead of incarceration, is being touted as a better way to handle juvenile offenders.  Matthew House, a divorce and family-law mediator in California, argues that detention and incarceration are pointless, overly expensive ways to manage juvenile lawbreakers. “Caging a wayward teen for a few years before releasing him back into society without remedying his behavior is foolhardy,” says House, who goes on to point out that half of kids who get imprisoned  end up reentering the system after getting out. House also claims rehabilitation is “eight times more financially effective, dollar for dollar, than incarceration.”

Read his op-ed piece in The Orange County Register. Photo courtesy abardwell

Children’s Programs Need Data to Survive

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Children’s programs funded by the federal government may be cut if evidence based data does not prove they are successful.  Youth Today looks at the dilemma facing well established programs such as Outward Bound and Teach for America because of new funding rules.  Just because a program has a positive public image does not mean it will get money in the 2011 fiscal year budget.  Juvenile justice programs that provide alternatives to prison could be at risk without evidence based data. Non-profit agencies that depend on federal funding are now scrambling for congressional support and some are arguing that evidence based data may not be the most accurate way to evaluate their work.