The Cost of Juvenile Justice
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New York City spends more money to detain or incarcerate a teenager per year than it spends on education.
Past Traumatic Experiences Common Among Detained Juveniles
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Most young people placed in detention have experienced at least one traumatic event in their lifetime, according to a new report from the OJJDP.
Massachusetts High Court Upholds Restriction on Gun Permits
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The Supreme Court of Mass. shoots down a petitioner’s claim that a state law forbidding the issuance of firearm permits to individuals with juvenile felony records was unconstitutional.
Being Female in a System Designed for Boys
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While the majority of youth offenders are male, the nation’s juvenile justice system is dealing with more and more girls. In 2010, girls made up 29 percent of all juvenile arrests nationwide.
Nebraska Passes Juvenile Justice Reform
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Nebraska’s juvenile justice system will have a new focus on rehabilitation thanks to a bill signed into law Wednesday by Gov. Dave Heineman. Legislative Bill 561 (LB561), introduced by state Sen. Brad Ashford (I-Omaha), will allocate $14.5 million towards several new services, as well as a grant program to aid counties in treating juvenile offenders. The bill decreases the state’s dependency on juvenile detention programming, placing a greater emphasis on youth rehabilitation. The new measure also transfers juvenile offender supervision over to Nebraska’s Office of Probation Administration, which is subordinate to the state’s Supreme Court. Prior to the legislation taking effect, Nebraska’s juvenile populations were instead overseen by the state’s Department of Health and Human Services.
Looking at the Odds for Illinois’ Youngest Offenders – and the Efforts to Arrest Recidivism
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Recidivism rates at Illinois detention centers are projected be above 40% in 2013.
What Drives a Boy to Kill?
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Dr. Michael Kimmel, professor of sociology at the Stony Brook University, has written more than a dozen books on constructs of “masculinity” in culture. When evaluating recent school shootings, he notices several commonalities that may provide vital clues as to why young men engage in such acts of bloodshed.
OP-ED: North Carolina Takes a Stand Against Sex Trafficking of Youth
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Although discussion of trafficked youth has become prevalent in mainstream media and other venues, protection from prosecution for prostitution of domestic minors still remains elusive.
Long Wait for Mental Health Services for Youth in Nation’s Capital
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A Children’s Law Center report released last week finds that young people in Washington, D.C. are not receiving speedy assistance from the District’s mental health services.
Texas County Credits Programs, Focus on Attitudes for Drop in Juvenile Referrals
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Since 2009, the number of juvenile court referrals in Bell County, Texas has plummeted from 1,365 to 857 -- a decrease of almost 40 percent over the last four years. During the same timeframe, the county -- home to more than 300,000 people -- has seen its juvenile felony cases decrease by a quarter, falling from 202 in 2009 to just 153 in 2012. According to Judge Ed Johnson, a juvenile court judge in the central Texas county for more than a quarter century, family relationships and how communities respond to young people displaying delinquent behavior is pivotal in the rehabilitation process of young offenders. “In the last 20 years, they have also realized that soldiers with better family lives are better soldiers, and so they have also implemented a lot of family-based programs to provide support for these young families and their children,” he told KWTX-TV. Juvenile suspension officer Chris Dart said that the children at the Bell County Juvenile Education Center in Harker Heights typically come from troubled homes and have experienced severe abuse prior to becoming involved with the juvenile justice system.