Child Sex Abuse Could Lead to Psychosis Later in Life

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Kids who’ve been sexually abused, particularly if the abuse involved penetration and occurred during early adolescence, are at risk for later developing a psychotic disorder, according to a case-control study done in Australia. The rate of psychotic and schizophrenic illnesses was significantly higher among those who were sexually abused as children. The rate among 2,759 children who experienced abuse was 2.8 percent compared to the control group, which only had 1.4 percent. And for the 1,737 cases where penetration occurred, the rate of subsequent psychosis was 3.4%, according to the November Archives of General Psychiatry. The study, called Schizophrenia and Other Psychotic Disorders in a Cohort of Sexually Abused Children, found that these children have increased risks for several health problems such as depression, anxiety and substance abuse.

Teens in Rural Areas are More Likely to Abuse Prescription Drugs

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Teens living in rural areas are more likely than teens in urban areas to abuse prescription drugs, according to a national survey. Nearly 18,000 young people were studied in the 2008 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. The Survey found that 13 percent of rural teens reported using drugs in a nonmedical way at some point in their lives. Only 11.5 percent of teens in the suburbs and 10.3 percent in cities reported using drugs non-medically.  Race and ethnicity did not appear to be significant factors in this study. Teens mostly used tranquilizers such as diazepam and opioid painkillers, according to the Archives of Pediatrics and Medicine.

Supreme Court Refuses to Hear Georgia Seclusion Room Suicide Case

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The Supreme Court refused to hear the case of a Georgia boy who committed suicide while in seclusion at a special education center in Gainesville. The high court rejected an appeal from Donald and Tina King who sued the Pioneer Regional Educational Service Agency. Their 13-year-old son Jonathan was part of the Alpine Program, an educational service for kids with autism and kids with severe emotional and behavioral problems.  He was placed in seclusion at the school for hours and killed himself in the seclusion room. The King family accused the school of violating his civil rights by failing to protect him from taking his own life. Georgia courts denied the Kings’ case because couldn’t prove that school staff deliberately neglected their son, according to a LexisNexis case briefing.

Late Night Texting: A Nightmare for Teens

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Allowing your kids to send texts or use the Internet before bed may give them problems sleeping at night and problems at school during the day, according to a pilot study at the JFK Medical Center. The study found that texting and other electronic interactions are linked to restlessness, insomnia, and leg pain at night in young people ages 8 to 22. Researchers studied 40 kids (60 percent boys, 40 percent girls), average age 14.5. They found the boys were more likely to surf the Net and game online, while girls preferred to text or use their cell phones. And not just a few texts here and there, these kids were very active.

School District Rejects Federal Grant Money, Claiming Race to the Top Doesn’t Work

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Times are hard for school systems across the country, so why is the Jones County school district, refusing $1.3 million in Race to the Top federal funds? The school system, located southeast of Atlanta, claims the funding comes with stipulations, requiring that over half the money ($900,000) be spent on paying teachers based on merit, according to WMAZ-TV. The school board voted unanimously to reject the funds. The money was too targeted and restrictive to help the district, Superintendant William Mathews told the TV station. Mathews also explained that research does not show that paying teachers based on merit works.

U.S. Dept of Justice & Health and Human Services Award Almost $76 Million to Enhance Adult & Juvenile Drug Treatment Courts

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MONDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2010
WWW.OJP.GOV

Office of Justice Programs (OJP)
Contact: Michelle Muth Person
(202) 307-0703

U.S. DEPARTMENTS OF JUSTICE AND HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
AWARD ALMOST $76 MILLION TO ENHANCE ADULT AND JUVENILE
DRUG TREATMENT COURTS

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Justice Programs' (OJP) Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) and Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) and the Department of Health and Human Services' Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) awarded nearly $76 million in Fiscal Year 2010 grants to enhance the court services, coordination, and substance abuse treatment capacity of adult and juvenile drug treatment courts. Drug courts promote treatment approaches rather than traditional incarceration for people drawn into the criminal justice system because of substance abuse related problems.

There are more than 2,200 drug court programs currently providing services to adults and juveniles across the nation. In judicially supervised settings, these specialized courts effectively integrate substance abuse treatment, mandatory drug testing, sanctions and incentives, and support services needed to recover and steer clear of further involvement with the juvenile and criminal justice system. "We know that drug courts are central to reducing drug abuse and to keeping communities safe. These grants will help communities launch new drug courts and enhance courts where they already exist," said Laurie O. Robinson, OJP's Assistant Attorney General.

Research Center Employs New Model to Help At-Risk Kids

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In Florida, black kids make up 39 percent of imprisoned juveniles, although they only account for 21.5 percent of the state’s youth population, according to Department of Juvenile Justice data from 2009 through 2010. Florida A&M University partnered with the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice to build the Juvenile Justice Research Institute in response to minority over-representation in Florida's juvenile justice system. The center, which opened Wednesday, focuses on researching minority over-representation while providing non-traditional juvenile justice services that address the needs of high-risk kids. The Institute uses a model called the Situational Environmental Circumstances Pilot (SECP), which stresses the importance of individual development, academic achievement, job readiness and family and community support for at-risk children. SECP teaches kids about things like goal setting, effectively communicating and creating employability skills.

Report: Foundations Do Little to Help Education for Disadvantaged Kids

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Few foundations direct a large share of their education funding to helping low-income kids in marginalized communities, according to a new report from the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy. From 2006 through 2008, 672 foundations gave at least $1 million in grants for education, according to the report entitled Confronting Systemic Inequity in Education: High Impact Strategies for Philanthropy. Only 11 percent of those foundations used at least half of that money for students from marginalized communities. Only 2 percent used at least a quarter of their education funding to improve advocacy, community organizing or civic engagement. The National Committee describes marginalized communities as “primarily children in low-wealth families and children of color, English language learners, gay and gender-nonconforming youth, students with disabilities, immigrant youth and females in male-dominated fields.”

The Committee argues that education reform can’t succeed without making educational access equal for all kids, regardless of race, ethnicity and parental income.

Social Training for Kids Doesn’t Improve School Performance

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Programs aimed at improving a child’s character and social skills have almost no positive effect on the behavior and academic performance of elementary school kids, according to the National Center for Education Research. Over 6,000 third-graders, caregivers, teachers and principals in 84 schools that had Social and Character Development (SACD) programs were studied by the National Center. Researchers found that kids in schools with SACD programs were no different than kids without them, in terms of:

Social and emotional competence
Behavior
Academic performance
Perceptions of school climate

The study looked at students in seven programs as the kids moved through third, fourth and fifth grades. It measured things like altruistic and problem behavior, feelings of safety, support for teachers and academic confidence. Only 2 of 20 students showed any statistical benefits from the programs.

SACD programs teach children how to deal with their feelings and improve other social behaviors.

Non-Profit Seeks New Director

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Here’s a plum job for someone who’s into juvenile justice reform:

Reclaiming Futures, a non-profit that focuses on helping kids involved with drugs, alcohol and crime, is looking for a new national director. Started by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Reclaiming Futures uses a 6-step model that brings judges, probation officers, substance abuse treatment professionals and community members together to help kids in need. Some of the job responsibilities include:

Create a strategic plan for policy, programming, communications, operations and budgets. Track and measure the performance of Reclaiming Futures sites
Perform site visits, develop funding opportunities, attend meetings and make conference presentations
Network, coordinate and promote activities with other national organizations and other interested parties

This position pays $105,000 - $120,000, depending on experience and you’d have to move to Portland, OR. To download the application, click here.