homelessness: Teenage girl sleeping on street, sitting against brick wall

Opinion: America’s Biases Marginalize Youth, Drive Them to Homelessness

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 (Part 2 of 7) | Read Part 1 here

Social psychology has found that someone may decide someone else's behavior has one of two causes: dispositional or situational. Dispositional attribution assigns the cause of behavior to some internal characteristic of a person — personality traits including attitudes, values and belief — rather than to outside forces. Situational attribution assigns cause of behavior to some situation or event outside a person's control rather than to some internal characteristic. Take, for example, those times when we feel compelled to explain a remark or conduct that offended someone. We tend to explain that our comment or act was influenced by something that happened earlier that day or what somebody else had said to deflect it from being seen as a flawed personality trait. 

But this is where the two attribution causes can be difficult to assign.

telehealth: Doctor with a stethoscope on the computer laptop screen.

More Telehealth Could Be Among Policy, Practice Implications of COVID-19 Pandemic

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In a remarkably short period of time, the COVID-19 pandemic has required us to change almost everything about how we live and work. It has also exposed significant fault lines in our understanding about, and delivery of services to, the most vulnerable in our communities. During this time, many of our systems have been challenged to handle complex crises and rapidly changing circumstances. Just as our health care systems have strained to meet acute medical needs, our education, justice, housing and child-serving systems are also navigating unprecedented challenges. Four Stoneleigh Foundation Fellows shared their preliminary observations on the impact COVID-19 is having on our communities’ young people in a virtual convening in spring.

teenage: Close-up shot of young woman in glasses writing notes with classmates studying in background.

Whatever Happened to the Teenage Shoplifter (and Vandal, Arsonist, Burglar, Joyrider)?

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More than anything else, property crime defines traditional concepts of “the teenager.” Vandalism, shoplifting, burglary, joyriding, arson, petty theft … all senseless things “dumb kids” do that jeopardize their futures and immiserate everyone’s lives.The teenage shed-torcher, windshield smasher, petty klepto, spray-painter and thrill-seeker whose anti-social destruction defies decency and reason infuriates adults to our core. It is no wonder crime scholars immersed in that era disparage “teenage brains.” 

In 1978, the first year California released comprehensive crime numbers by age, more than 130,000 youths were arrested for felony and misdemeanor property offenses. Back then, youths under age 18 accounted for a shocking 43% of all property offense arrests. 

Now, that whole species of “teenagers” as we knew it seems to have vanished. Property crime arrests of Californians under age 18, 1978-2018

In 2018, California’s teenaged youth population ages 10-17 was 1.1 million larger than 40 years earlier, Yet, fewer than 10,000 youths were arrested for all felony and misdemeanor property offenses — a 95% decline in the rate of juvenile property arrests. Youths now account for just 8% of California’s property-crime arrests. 

The most astonishing drop is among the youngest.

restraints: Several male adults hold down someone in jeans.

NY Advocates Urge End to Restraints After Teen’s Death in Michigan

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NEW YORK — Cornelius Fredericks, 16, was sitting at a table eating lunch when he was tackled by a staff member at Lakeside Academy in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Soon after he hit the ground, two other staff members ran over to assist. They started restraining Fredericks for throwing food. The teen remained restrained for 12 minutes. It would be the last minutes of his life.

Jacksonville: Woman wearing mask holds a sign with 8 minutes 46 seconds on it

Jacksonville Activist Groups Work Together on Police Reform

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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — It was drizzling steadily on June 6 when one of the largest civil rights protests in Jacksonville history began amassing in front of the courthouse. The rain stopped by the time protesters took to the streets, flanked by peacekeepers and organizers with bullhorns leading chants of “Hey hey, ho ho, racist cops have got to go,” “No justice, no peace” and the like. Organizers say up to an estimated 10,000 people marched for racial equality and police reform that day. The crowd skewed young, but all ages were represented; demographics ran the gamut.

New Massachusetts Group PPAL Helping Families With Justice-involved Youth During Pandemic

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 In mid-March, everything changed because of COVID-19. One mom said her life changed in 24 hours. Her teenage son had been arraigned for his first offense. He was in detention, though not found guilty, with no option to be heard in court. The schools had closed, daycare closed and the juvenile courts were closed.

New York Raise Age: Big sign on grass says Hillbrook Detention Center raise the age renovations Tags: Hillbrook, Syracuse, Legal Aid Society, Children’s Defense Fund, raise the age, New York, legislation

Pandemic Is Opportunity to Reshape Family Courts, Probation, Experts Say

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The past five months are a window into what several juvenile justice experts say could be next: a long-overdue remodeling of the juvenile justice system that could include reforms in youth detention centers and family courts. Those experts are calling for a smaller juvenile justice system and a shift in the role of probation officers from punishment toward mentorship. Avik Das, director and chief probation officer in Cook County, Illinois’ juvenile justice system, said the youth justice system should be a “last-resort” option for high-risk youth. “I believe my home court, the oldest juvenile court in the nation, is being called on to reinvent itself,” he said. “Otherwise it is at risk of being declared obsolete at best.

man with bicycle, in the rain, rain coat, young man on stool, small hut with signs.

Citing New Laws, NYPD, Police Unions Tell Officers to Exercise Caution When Making Arrests

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UPDATE: The original Instagram video was taken down. The updated video linked below is to a news story of the June 30, 2020, protest. Watch video below

NEW YORK — After a slew of new laws were passed in the last month aimed at reining in aggressive policing tactics, police unions in New York City are now instructing officers to wait for a supervisor or call in a specialized unit if someone is resisting arrest. In a July 1 newsletter sent to NYPD officers, the Police Benevolent Association (PBA) instructed officers to wait, saying that officers' jobs have “changed radically over the past few weeks,” citing new laws. Frustrated by an apparent lack of guidance from the city on how officers should comply, the PBA is now demanding clear legal interpretations of how officers can comply with the new laws.

Advance Peace: 6 men sitting and standing in group at restaurant

Opinion: Advance Peace Change Agents Already Interrupting Epidemics Every Day

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Fresh shell casings are still scattered in the streets. Multiple sets of dice are still rolling like rocks in an avalanche. Bottles of liquor are still wet. Broken hearts with painful memories of gunshot victims remain fresh. Even in the midst of a global pandemic, the hood is still the hood.

Young blonde woman wearing yellow hat against orange wall background

Partnership Work By RFK National Resource Center Ramps Up in Seattle and Minneapolis

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The Robert F. Kennedy National Resource Center for Juvenile Justice convened critically important virtual conferences with juvenile justice leaders and practitioners in late June to start in King County (Seattle) and advance in Hennepin County (Minneapolis) our collaborative partnerships to address youth justice transformation on behalf of the youth and communities in those jurisdictions. Among other positive outcomes, these partnerships will provide excellent opportunities to measurably affect the over-representation of minority children and youth through real policy, practice and systemic change. During the pandemic, we have initiated or continued our dynamic, field-based, system transformation partnerships with 15 additional state or county jurisdictions across the United States and the territory of Guam — and we are making a real difference on behalf of youth, families and their communities. These include: Milwaukee County, Wis.; Cobb County, Ga.; Dutchess County, N.Y.; Clark County, Nev. (Las Vegas); and, Lancaster County, Neb.