YouTube Provides Potential Danger and Hope for Teens Struggling with Self-Injury

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You can find anything on the Internet if you know where to look and self-injury or self-harm is no exception.  According to a new study, YouTube, the popular online video-sharing site, is home to hundreds of videos about self-harm, videos that include graphic images of self-cutting.  Researchers are worried the videos, which are not age restricted in most cases, may inspire copycats. "The Internet in general, and YouTube, in particular, offers novel ways to reach a greater number of youth who may otherwise not openly discuss their non-suicidal self-injury with others," the researchers wrote. The study, “The Scope of Non-Suicidal Self-Injury on YouTube,” published in Pediatrics, focused on the 100 most watched self-harm videos on YouTube, but the researchers identified more than 5,000. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders says that intentional injury is often associated with “negative feelings or thoughts, such as depression, anxiety, tension, anger, generalized distress, or self-criticism.”  The researchers found that females uploaded 95 percent of the self-harm videos posted on YouTube. According to MedPageToday, the study’s authors also have unpublished research that shows that images of self-injury may prompt those who practice self-harm to injure themselves.

House Budget Cuts Juvenile Justice Funding But Doesn’t Say Where

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The U.S. House funding bill passed Friday would cut juvenile justice programs by $191 million. Some $91 million of that is in earmarked programs, but it doesn’t tell the Office of Justice Programs where to trim the remaining $100 million. "It’s weird that they left that out,” said Joe Vignati, the National Juvenile Justice Specialist on the Executive Board of the Coalition for Juvenile Justice. “If—and this is a big if — this becomes law, everybody will be clamoring and saying, ‘Cut this! Cut this!’”

HR 1, the Full Year Continuing Appropriations Act, now moves to the Senate where the bill is expected to change significantly.

Juvenile Sex Offenders [INFOGRAPHIC]

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The OJJDP released a report titled "Juveniles Who Commit Sex Offenses Against Minors." The following infographic is a breakdown of some of the statistics from the report. What can you glean from this data? Is this a problem that needs more attention? How should these crimes be handled?

Safe Haven Not Effective Says Health Official

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Georgia’s safe haven law is intended to save unwanted infants from abandonment but one health official says it may not work. According to Dr. Jack Birge, of the Carroll County, Ga., health board, a condition requiring parents to disclose personal information like their name, address and social security number before turning over their child is discouraging many from participating. “I think those are the circumstances that render the law potentially ineffective,” Birge told the Times-Georgian. The safe haven law allows parents to turn their newborn over to employees at hospitals and other medical facilities, without fear of prosecution. In Carroll County, no children have been turned over to officials in the last three years, however there were two children abandoned during that time, according to the Times-Georgian.

Father of Dead Teen Says 21-Year-Old Bought Alcohol for Crash Victims

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The father of a teen killed in a Friday night crash says a 21-year-old provided alcohol to his daughter and other teens involved in the accident, according to CBSAtlanta.com

Sixteen-year-old Cheyenne Sauls died, while Taylor Cross, 19, and Jamie McManis, 15, were injured when the vehicle they were in crashed in Douglas County, Ga., west of Atlanta, according to the Georgia State Patrol (GSP). Police have charged the driver, Jason Lark, 17, with DUI and vehicular homicide in addition to a number of other traffic violations. Eric Sauls’, the victim’s father, told CBS Atlanta that the 21-year-old left the scene of the accident before any emergency personnel arrived. While the public spokesperson for the GSP, Lt. Paul Cosper, said there was a fifth person involved, he could not confirm the age of the person. “We are still investigating who this person is,” said Cosper.

Augusta-area Teen Accused of Fatally Shooting Friend

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An Augusta-area 14-year-old is accused of shooting his neighbor and hiding her body in the woods. Police say the boy, Lacy Aaron Schmidt, shot Alana Callahan, also 14, in the head and neck while she sat at her home computer on January 31. According to the Augusta-Chronicle, Schmidt first said Alana was killed by an intruder before saying he shot her accidently. Police say Alana was killed by a 9 mm handgun, the same kind owned by her father. Authorities later found the gun hidden in Schmidt’s home.

Parents Get a Dramatic Look at Teen Drinking Parties

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The suburban living room pulsed with the bass from loud music. The repetitive thud, thud, thud vibrated the floor and walls. The teens danced, arms raised in the air, waving bottles and glasses. They shouted, screamed, and called out to one another. The girls moved provocatively while the boys watched approvingly.

Why Juvenile Justice Could be Big Loser In Obama Budget

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The Obama administration is proposing deep cuts in juvenile justice programs while boosting funding for policing and prisons, according to the D.C.-based Justice Policy Institute. These priorities, says the Institute (JPI), go counter to Obama administration public statements urging a reduction in the historically high prison population of some 2.4 million. Additionally, says the JPI, the FY 2012 Budget proposes to spend money on failed polices and has missed an opportunity to fund “smarter investments in proven programs.”

[Click here to look through the proposed FY 2012 Budget]

An Institute factsheet reports the budget would slash some $50 million from juvenile programs, including prevention. These programs are designed to help many of the nearly 100,000 kids currently in detention and correctional facilities across the nation. At the same time, the budget proposes an increase of $116 million from FY 2010 for facilities.