Feds Target $37M to Fight Bullying and Other Childhood Violence

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About 1 out of 10 kids in 6th – 10th grades are getting bullied, according to the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention and they believe that 13 percent of kids in that age group are doing the bullying. “Bullying can have long-term consequences for the safety of youth, as evidenced by the fact that two-thirds of school shooters reported having been bullied or having bullied others,” Jeff Slowikowski, OJJDP’s acting administrator, points out in his Department of Justice blog. The Department of Justice has launched the Defending Childhood Initiative, which is a nationwide campaign focusing on children exposed to different forms of violence including bullying. DOJ spent $5.5 million last year and hopes to increase the budget to $37 million in FY 2011.

Future Uncertain for Georgia Commission on Family Violence

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The Georgia Commission on Family Violence has bounced among state agencies for the last 18 years - from Human Resources to the Administrative Office of the Courts to Corrections and back to the Courts. Now there are new questions about its future. 

In the most recent change, the General Assembly voted late in the 2010 session to move the agency’s $428,000 budget from the Department of Corrections in the executive branch to the Administrative Office of the Courts in the judicial branch—but failed to amend the law to actually move the agency because time ran out. Corrections transferred management to the Courts by agreement. Now there’s discussion about moving the Commission again, this time to the Governor’s Office for Children and Families, an agency created by outgoing Governor Sonny Perdue two years ago. Supporters say services should be combined under one umbrella.

New Project Studies Kids Transferred to Adult Court

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A new study is underway that focuses on a group of kids we don’t know much about: kids who are arrested and transferred from juvenile court to adult criminal court. The Bureau of Justice Statistics has awarded a grant of $500,000 to Westat Inc., a research organization, to conduct the Survey of Juveniles Charged in Adult Criminal Courts. According to Youth Today, Westat will partner with the National Center for Juvenile Justice to survey states on the number of kids transferred, their demographics and the charges they faced. This may be hard because each state’s juvenile justice system is different and some states do not have data related to kids transferred into adult court.

Taser Used on 11-Year-Old in School

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An 11-year-old boy was tasered in school while trying to get away from a police officer in South Carolina. According to an account in Colleton Today, two school officials radioed a resource officer to help contain a 6th grade boy at Colleton Middle School in Walterboro. When the officer arrived, the boy began to run. She asked him to stop and when he didn’t, she fired her taser. The boy was taken into custody and moved to an office where the taser prongs were removed.

Judge Steve Teske: The Good Shepherd

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I was thirteen years old when I was called to the principal’s office. As I sat in the waiting area, I could hear two police officers from inside the office telling the principal they were going to arrest me. My stomach got weak and my eyes began to well up with tears. My world crashed all around me. At that moment I wished I could turn back the hands of time - I couldn’t.

Judicial Insight

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When a writer comes along who touches your conscience, you want to tell people.  So we are pleased to tell you that Judge Steven Teske of Clayton County Juvenile Court is now writing for the Juvenile Justice Information Exchange at JJIE.org.  He is currently sharing stories from his childhood and his life that are filled with surprise and insight. His stories are sometimes funny, often poignant, and always make you think. In “The Good Shepherd,” we hear about the dare that almost got him arrested, and the middle school principal who saved his bacon. In “Making Adults Mad –When Did That Become a Crime?” he reveals what happened when he got his first BB gun for Christmas. In “The Silent Majority” he talks about the unsung heroes who help “crossover” kids.

Child Sex Abuse Could Lead to Psychosis Later in Life

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Kids who’ve been sexually abused, particularly if the abuse involved penetration and occurred during early adolescence, are at risk for later developing a psychotic disorder, according to a case-control study done in Australia. The rate of psychotic and schizophrenic illnesses was significantly higher among those who were sexually abused as children. The rate among 2,759 children who experienced abuse was 2.8 percent compared to the control group, which only had 1.4 percent. And for the 1,737 cases where penetration occurred, the rate of subsequent psychosis was 3.4%, according to the November Archives of General Psychiatry. The study, called Schizophrenia and Other Psychotic Disorders in a Cohort of Sexually Abused Children, found that these children have increased risks for several health problems such as depression, anxiety and substance abuse.

Teens in Rural Areas are More Likely to Abuse Prescription Drugs

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Teens living in rural areas are more likely than teens in urban areas to abuse prescription drugs, according to a national survey. Nearly 18,000 young people were studied in the 2008 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. The Survey found that 13 percent of rural teens reported using drugs in a nonmedical way at some point in their lives. Only 11.5 percent of teens in the suburbs and 10.3 percent in cities reported using drugs non-medically.  Race and ethnicity did not appear to be significant factors in this study. Teens mostly used tranquilizers such as diazepam and opioid painkillers, according to the Archives of Pediatrics and Medicine.

Facebook Application Targets Cyberbullying

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A new “Find Help” application on Facebook may make it easier for teens to not only report cyberbullying but also to find support organizations. Mashable.com reports that a company called SafetyWeb.com,has introduced the new app to address growing concerns about teen safety on the social networking site. According to CBC news, the “Find Help” application is similar to an online list of emergency phone numbers. When a child clicks on the application, he or she is directed to phone numbers and links for reporting incidents. This also sends kids to organizations like the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children’s CyberTipline, the National Suicide Prevention Hotline and Facebook’s abuse reporting process. Since 2003 there have been at least 12 teenagers who commited suicide because they had been bullied online.

Late Night Texting: A Nightmare for Teens

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Allowing your kids to send texts or use the Internet before bed may give them problems sleeping at night and problems at school during the day, according to a pilot study at the JFK Medical Center. The study found that texting and other electronic interactions are linked to restlessness, insomnia, and leg pain at night in young people ages 8 to 22. Researchers studied 40 kids (60 percent boys, 40 percent girls), average age 14.5. They found the boys were more likely to surf the Net and game online, while girls preferred to text or use their cell phones. And not just a few texts here and there, these kids were very active.