Juvenile Justice Information Exchange (https://jjie.org/category/ideas-and-opinions/page/60/)
The first contact with the juvenile justice system presents an enormous opportunity for the court, court personnel, attorneys and service providers to impact the lives of children and their families.
The violence I was exposed to at an early age shaped who I became. It desensitized my perspective on violence, numbed my cries and dumbed down violence to the point I stopped asking why.
When founded on the best practices supported by research, juvenile probation circa 2016 is the most targeted, effective and cost efficient it’s ever been.
It is essential that trauma-informed reforms go beyond simply acknowledging that many justice-involved youth have been traumatized, and provide practical skills that adults and youths together can use.
Youth of color experience the worst outcomes in every youth-serving system, including law enforcement, child welfare and education, the data show conclusively.
It’s just common sense: An adult's past criminal history or history of child maltreatment is not to be balanced against the safety of a child.
National reform efforts to support dual status youth have focused primarily on improving collaboration between the child welfare and juvenile justice systems. While this is a crucial first step, education systems must be incorporated as a central partner if we are to significantly improve opportunities for this population.
How would you react if suddenly hospitals simply replaced in-person patient visitation with video conferencing? Hospital administrators might justify this decision by saying that hospitals are scary places, so it‘s best to protect family members, especially young people, from being traumatized.
Juvenile justice advocates receive little glory, but they deserve much credit for the wave of state activity this year aimed at protecting youth from the harms of adult court prosecution.
When I knew there was a chance that I could reach out to you young men and women in the Modesto Juvenile Hall, I was ready for the opportunity. You see, back in 1998 and ’99 from age 16 to 17, I was in the max unit, and in 1999 I spent some time in the boys’ unit too.