Youth Detention Centers in Georgia Rife With Problems Says Juvenile Justice Commissioner

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Low pay, poor training and an unsafe work environment have led to unacceptable turnover among guards at Georgia's youth jails and prisons, Juvenile Justice Commissioner Gale Buckner says. ”By the time we get our juvenile correctional officers trained, they're leaving us,” she said Tuesday. The Department of Juvenile Justice reported a 54 percent turnover rate in 2011, up by nearly one-third over the previous year. Buckner, in a briefing for Augusta-area legislators, offered no specifics about a criminal probe into the recent fatal beating of a 19-year-old youth at the state’s Augusta Youth Development Campus. But the former GBI agent addressed a wide range of security issues, including the possible need for a “super-max” facility to house some of the YDC’s most violent youths.

Focus on Youth: The Naked Truth of Portland Through the Eyes of Teenagers

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In the nation’s consciousness the Pacific Northwest stands out there on the edge of the ocean, crisp, wet, clean and green. It is our better half, poking us to a cleaner lifestyle, forcing us to look to the outdoors, to the natural beauty around us, reminding us of the things we need to do for our inner selves. We know it’s so, there is too much out there reverberates with the truth of it all. Healthy people, pristine forests, water, water everywhere. Fill your lungs with some fresh air and live a good life.

Voices from the King Center

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On a day of celebration and remembrance, young visitors to the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center in Atlanta told the JJIE what the man and his work from four decades ago mean to them and the world today. We asked: "Why do you think the work of Martin Luther King is important to us today?" These are their responses. Photographs by Jenni Girtman.  

New OJJDP Acting Administrator Ready for Challenge, Say Former Colleagues

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Last week, Melody Hanes assumed the mantle of acting administrator of the federal Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, a temporary position held for three years by her predecesor. She may be there just as long. The Obama administration appears in no hurry to permanently fill the position and controversial legislation to remove Senate approval for the OJJDP administrator passed the Senate but is stalled in the House. While Congress debates the issue, Hanes, formerly the Deputy Administrator for Policy at OJJDP, faces an uphill battle as acting administrator of an agency that has had its budget slashed nearly $150 million by Congress in recent years. But former colleagues say Hanes, a one-time prosecutor and law professor, is uniquely qualified to make the most of a job hamstrung by its lack of permanence.

Life in Prison for Crimes Committed When They Were Kids

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In my experience, prison is a violent and demoralizing environment. If I estimated how often I witnessed overt acts of violence, it would number in the hundreds. If I included threats and other types of aggression and domination short of physical attack, the number would go into the thousands. In every prison, in every state, violence, fear, and hopelessness are constant factors. Often the victims of attack are “natural targets” for those who perpetrate violence.

Miss America Shares a Story With Children of Incarcerated Parents

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I’m so very proud of the new Miss America, Laura Kaeppeler. First, because she is from my hometown of Kenosha, Wis., and second, because she’s used her own experience to help a lot of hurting kids. If you don’t know Ms. Kaeppeler’s story, it begins when her father, Jeff, was arrested when she was a 14-year-old high-schooler. He went to trial and was sent to serve 18 months in federal prison for mail fraud when she was at Carthage College studying music. This impacted Laura’s life, much like the other estimated 10 million children who will experience having a parent imprisoned.

Funding Cuts to Juvenile Justice System in Georgia could be Restored to Levels Closer to those of 2009

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Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal's proposed 2013 budget for juvenile justice, after three years of deep cuts, could bring spending a bit nearer to 2009 levels, state officials say. Deal's spending priorities, though, reflect a harsh trend inside Georgia's youth prisons. They house a much different population -- older, more violent and much more difficult to manage -- than they did just a few years ago. "We certainly find them more volatile and more physically demanding," said Jeff Minor, Georgia’s deputy juvenile justice commissioner. The trend was underscored last year when disturbances at youth detention facilities in DeKalb and Dodge counties could only be quelled with the aid of state and local police.

Hurtful Words in the Hallway, Sexual Harassment in High School

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It was a normal day at school when I asked a friend if he could tell my teacher that I would be late to class while I grabbed something from the library. “Oh, I’ll tell her you’re off having sex with all those guys.”

This was my friend. It was a disrespectful comment, but I brushed it off. He was known as a bit of a comedian, but I knew he considered me a nice girl. It wasn’t until I walked away that I heard another voice say, “Because it’s likely.”

We’re taught that sexual harassment is an often violent and deplorable act found in the workplace or on the street.

In King’s Hometown, the Sights, the Sounds and the Mood on his Day

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In the late 1970s and early 1980s, a blossoming movement rose forth to recognize the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. as a federally observed holiday, culminating with more than six million people signing a petition to Congress. In 1986, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day was first celebrated, three years after President Ronald Reagan signed a bill authorizing the third Monday in January as a federal holiday. According to 2007 statistics, however, only a third of the nation’s employers give their employees the day off for the federal holiday, and it wasn’t until 2000 that every state in the union recognized the date as an official state holiday. Nor is the official terminology consistent throughout the country, with Arizona and New Hampshire celebrating the date as “Martin Luther King. Jr. Civil Rights Day” and Mississippi recognizing the day as a co-celebration of the lives of both King and Confederate General Robert E. Lee.

Modern Child Slavery Alive and Well in the World and Nation

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As the nation gears up for this year’s Super Bowl in Indianapolis, law enforcement officials there are getting ready for the influx of children and their captors who make up a large part of the sex trade industry. This business always gets a boost from the “anything goes” atmosphere of the Super Bowl. Last year authorities made nearly 60 prostitution arrests during the time around the game, 11 of which were believed to have involved human trafficking. This uptick in activity is only a symptom of a huge problem, both here in the United States and around the globe. Worldwide, the U.S. State Department estimates that 800,000 people, roughly equal to the population of San Francisco, are trafficked across international borders, about 17,500 of which are brought into the United States. Total revenues of the trade worldwide are estimated by UNICEF to be around $12 billion dollars.