John Lash

OP-ED: New Massachusetts Law A Reminder That Change is Possible

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The governor of Massachusetts, Deval Patrick, signed a new law on Wednesday mandating that 17-year-olds be tried and sentenced as juveniles. This is a victory for social activists and those interested in the welfare of kids, since evidence has been pointing at the many problems of trying and sentencing kids as adults for some time. With this win, only 10 states remain that treat 17 as the age of criminal responsibility. Like a lot of states in the ‘90s, Wisconsin responded to the hyped up fears of a coming juvenile crime wave by making it easier to transfer kids to adult court and lowering the age at which such transfers became automatic. The period was epitomized by the “superpredator theory” postulated by Princeton criminologist John D. DiIulio.

Georgia Funds At-Home Juvenile Treatment Program in Rural County

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Georgia’s Criminal Justice Coordinating Council (CJCC) recently awarded the Rockdale County Juvenile Court $150,000 to fund a Functional Family Therapy (FFT) program, a form of evidence-based, at-home treatment for juvenile offenders. Rockdale is among several counties that applied earlier this year for the CJCC’s statewide Juvenile Justice Incentive Grant Program, which is intended to fund local alternatives to juvenile detention. In total, the grant program awarded nearly $4 million to 16 counties through the sweeping juvenile justice reform package passed earlier this year by the Georgia legislature. The county is among the top 18 in Georgia for committing youth to state Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) facilities. About 30 families are expected to receive FFT services when the program begins Oct.

OP-ED: Why Zero Tolerance Means More Kids in Jail

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The United States imprisons more people than any other country — and a staggering number are juveniles. Sadly, our school system is contributing to the problem. Too many children are denied their right to a quality education and instead set on a path toward failure and incarceration.

L.A. Mission College Gets At-Risk Youth Back on Track

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From Daily News, Los Angeles (MCT)

For Javier Franco, it’s a long way from Columbus Street to precalculus at L.A. Mission College. A member of the notorious Columbus Street Gang, which just received an injunction because of street crimes including drug dealing and murder, the 27-year-old Panorama City student had served long stints in Folsom State Prison. Then he found moral guidance from a former prizefighter at Communities in Schools in North Hills, a welding job through an apprenticeship at Laborers’ Local 300 — and hope at the Sylmar community college that he could someday succeed. “Deep inside, the gang life, the prison life, wasn’t for me,” declared Franco, gazing out over the school that sent its soccer forward over many remedial math hurdles. “I always wanted much more.

John Lash

OP-ED: Embracing the Feedback of Conflicts

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Have you ever begun to talk into a microphone only to have the speakers emit a terrible high pitched shriek? If not, you’ve probably seen someone else do this. The sound system is experiencing a feedback loop, causing it to malfunction. It’s usually not too difficult to fix, moving the mic or the amp a little, or making an adjustment to how the electronics are set up. There are other kinds of systems all around us, and they too give us feedback, some of it unpleasant.