Juvenile Justice Information Exchange (https://jjie.org/category/research-studies/page/15/)
Black teenagers who get arrested are 5.5 times more likely than white teenagers to end up in adult courts in Georgia. They are also 2.3 times more likely to be arrested. These numbers are compiled by the Governor’s Office for Children and Families which monitors disproportionate minority contact. The latest statistics available are from 2007. www.children.georgia.gov
New details are out about the child sex trade in Georgia. An estimated 7,200 men are paying for sex with teenage girls every month in this state, according to a study called “Men Who Buy Sex with Adolescent Girls: A Scientific Research Study.” Highlights came out in May, but the full study, released Thursday, sheds new light on the crisis. While state leaders and advocacy groups are trying to get hold of the problem, it appears no one is more concerned about the report than Craigslist, the online classified ad giant. Craigslist attorneys have sent a Cease and Desist letter to the Women’s Funding Network, a national partner of the Atlanta campaign called A Future Not a Past, which commissioned the study. The legal warning letter alleges the Women’s Funding Network defamed Craigslist, and distributed false information about the company, by releasing highlights of the Georgia study. The study claims “Craigslist is by far the most efficient medium for advertising sex with young females; ads on this site received 3 times as many responses compared to identical ads placed on other sites.”
A spokesman for both the Women’s Funding Network, based in San Francisco, and Atlanta’s A Future Not a Past campaign were shocked by the Craigslist demand letter, which arrived June 7. In response, they sent Craigslist the full study yesterday, and asked for a sit-down meeting. They say Craigslist declined.
This call for presenters from the Coalition for Juvenile Justice (CJJ) for this national conference:
Fundamental Fairness: Eliminating Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Juvenile Justice
The Coalition, a national association of state juvenile justice advisory groups, has issued a call for presentations. The deadline for prospective presenters to respond is July 22, 2010. Here is more:
On October 23-25, 2010, the Coalition for Juvenile Justice (CJJ) will host a national conference on Disproportionate Minority Contact (DMC) at the Hyatt Regency on the Hudson in Jersey City, New Jersey, directly across from New York City. CJJ is pleased to host this national conference with two state partners, the New Jersey Association of County Youth Services Commissions and the New Jersey Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Committee (the New Jersey SAG). The conference will be preceded by a one day training on October 22, offered by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), State Relations and Assistance Division (SRAD).
A growing number of unmarried teenagers say they would be pleased if they got pregnant, or got a partner pregnant. 14% of girls and 18% of boys share this point of view, according to a study from the National Center for Health Statistics. 64% of U.S. teens now believe “it is OK for an unmarried female to have a child.”
Read the entire study here, or the summary in Youth Today. (pictures courtesty rahego's photostream)
13 percent of young people in detention facilities are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or questioning (LGBTQ) according to a report called Hidden Injustice. The study done by National Juvenile Defender Center looks at how gay teens are treated in juvenile courts across the country. It profiles some common misconceptions about these kids and why the judicial system fails to meet the needs of this hidden population. http://www.njdc.info/pdf/hidden_injustice.pdf
African American teens are 2.3 times more likely to get arrested in Georgia than Caucasian teens, and 5.5 times more likely to land in adult court, according to the latest numbers from the Governor's Office for Children and Families. This level of disproportionate minority contact (DMC) is not unique to Georgia. It’s a problem across the country. The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention is launching a study to reduce the number of minorities in contact with the juvenile justice system. The agency has awarded a 3-year grant to Development Services Group, Inc., a Maryland consulting company. The mission is to compare the rates of contact with the justice system for white and minority teens. Researchers will study what happens at nine different points of contact from arrest, to diversion, to detention, imprisonment or transfer to adult court. They hope to identify promising programs that states like Georgia can use to end the DMC problem.
More than 1 million children are detained through justice systems worldwide at any one time, although this is likely to be a significant underestimate given the difficulties in obtaining data about the many unreported children in custody. Not only are data collected inconsistently, they often do not include children awaiting trial, young children detained with their parents or children held temporarily by the police. Among 44 countries for which data were available, around 59 per cent of children in detention had not been sentenced. The vast majority of children in detention have not committed serious offenses. Many are only charged with status offenses, such as running away from home, violation of child-related curfews, truancy or alcohol use.
Children in the juvenile justice system are more likely to have learning disabilities and behavior disorders, according to researchers at Georgetown University’s Center for Juvenile Justice Reform. They reviewed state programs to educate these children and found that agencies often don’t work together. As a result, there is “duplication, fragmentation and the diffusion of responsibility” that prevents kids in the system from getting the education they need to be successful when they get out. Some conclusions of their study:
Early education is essential. Quality education services are critical for successful
development of all youth. If outcomes matter, they must be measured. Support services are needed to help some youth
succeed.
In May, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention released a report in its National Gang Center Bulletin entitled: History of Street Gangs in the United States. Here is an interesting fact about Georgia and the South:
The states with the largest number of gang counties in 1998 were Texas (82), Georgia (61), California (50), Illinois (42), and Florida (40), with the South replacing the Northeast as the region with the most top-ranking states. Hence, the Southern region appeared to catch up with other regions in the prevalence of gang activity just before the turn of the century. --Photo courtesy of Mike Burns' photostream
More than 20% of high school students are using prescription drugs illegally. The CDC’s National Youth Risk Behavior Survey polled more than 16,000 teens and found alarming abuse of drugs such as Ritalin, Xanax and Oxycontin. WebMD also reports on teen drinking trends, risky dieting habits like fasting and vomiting, and seat belt use.