Youth drog overdoses: Young man wearing sunglasses stands with older amn in parking lot next to blue mobile medical vehicle

Study: Drug use less common, more deadly among teens during pandemic 

Published today in JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association),  Trends in Drug Overdose Deaths Among US Adolescents, January 2010 to June 2021, noted an alarming increase in deaths driven by the widespread presence of illicit fentanyl in the drug supply, particularly in fake prescription opioid and benzodiazepine pills sold illegally. Researchers calculated the results by comparing overdose deaths per 100,000 for teenagers with US death records data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

COVID-19 analysis: Juveniles were restrained less; a fraction of parents didn’t know how to contact incarcerated children as in-person visits slowed during pandemic

Fewer juveniles were placed in restraints and more reported that they’ve had positives dealings with staffers at juvenile agencies, according to April 2021 data voluntarily submitted by 148 pre-trial and other short-term detention facilities, longer-term correctional facilities, assessment and in-community residential programs in 32 states. Released in August by the Performance-based Standards Learning Institute, partnering with Vera Institute, the snapshots of data gauge COVID-19’s impact on  juveniles in those states and on their families who, with in-person visits banned during he pandemic, had to find other ways to connect.

JJIE Hub Latest Resources::Weathered Stone Slabs With the Words "Juvenile Court Entrance" Engraved

Latest on the JJIE Hub: Sept 2021

Juvenile Justice Resource Hub curates research on juvenile justice policy and practice, reviews of innovative programs and various other explorations and advisories on topics including justice reform, mental and behavioral health, gun violence, foster care, racial and economic parity/disparities. 

Maltreatment of Youth in U.S. Juvenile Corrections Facilities: An Update

Casey: Time to Close Youth Prisons

One of the leading voices in juvenile justice has turned on juvenile hall.

The Annie E. Casey Foundation is throwing its weight into a campaign to close youth prisons nationwide, calling them “inherently prone to abuse.” In an upcoming TEDx talk, excerpts of which were released in advance, Casey Foundation President Patrick McCarthy brands large, secure facilities “factories of failure” that ruin the lives of the kids they’re supposed to help.