Juvenile Justice Information Exchange (https://jjie.org/tag/juvenile-justice/page/96/)
Sex, drugs and alcohol are hot topics for some teenagers. So hot, they’ve got a special shorthand text language that leaves adults clueless. Check this out:
IWS = I want sex
Cu46 = See you for sex
a-boot = Under the influence of drugs
WTG 4 a \%/ = Want to go for a drink? No 420? Wiyp? = No weed? What is your problem?
There's a new campaign that focuses on empowering gay students and their supporters to report incidents of bullying, harassment or discrimination to the Office for Civil Rights at the U.S. Education Department. The group called PFLAG (Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) has partnered with the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network to launch the Claim Your Rights campaign, which reveals some surprising facts:
Approximately 85 percent of high school students report being harassed in school because of their real or perceived sexual orientation. Only 18 percent of LGBT students report that their schools have policies offering comprehensive protections. The campaign provides detailed information on how to file a report as well as an easy to print fact sheet. To further check out the campaign, click here.
The thirteen-year-old sat at the defense table with his mother. The school principal, serving as prosecutor and the district’s sole witness, occupied the table to their left. Three administrators from other district schools stared down from their elevated bench. Sitting with the tribunal, indistinguishable in both presence and role, was the hearing officer. When the boy’s mother attempted to ask the principal a question, he would invoke his role as prosecutor. When the inquiry was directed at the hearing officer, he would explain that he was not a witness.
Some states may be looking at elementary school reading scores to help forecast the number of jail beds they need for the future, according to the Ferst Foundation. The Ferst Foundation, based in Morgan, Ga. focuses on improving childhood literacy across the state. We have asked the Ferst Foundation for more specific details on how literacy is used by prison planners. In the meantime, their mission is to improve the life long prospects for Georgia's children. “We know that approximately 61 percent of low-income families do not have a single piece of reading material suitable for a child,” the Ferst Foundation website points out. The foundation gives one book a month to kids involved in the program from birth to age five.
By Chandra R. Thomas
Wanted: Hard working employee. Must enjoy engaging with children. Ability to work long hours as part of a skeletal staff for minimal pay is required. Morale low. Employer’s future status uncertain.
The director of the Aaron Cohn Regional Youth Detention Center in Columbus, Ga. was arrested on Sunday for gambling, which is a misdemeanor. Police arrested Jimmie Lee Hooks III and 14 others at a Columbus beauty shop where they were found playing poker for money. Police also found crack cocaine and illegal alcohol sales and charged the owner of the shop with additional crimes. Hooks has been with the Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice since January 2001 and became director of the Center in March 2010, according to Scheree Moore, the department’s director of communications.
According to a report by the CDC, 7.2% of all high school students, nationwide, used some form of cocaine in 2007, including crack, powder and freebase. The nationwide study also reveals that 7.8% of users were boys and 6.5% were girls. Of the students who used any form of cocaine:
10.9% were Hispanic
7.4% were White
1.8% were Black
Former Fulton County Juvenile Court Chief Judge Glenda Hatchett of the Judge Hatchett Show has released a new self-help book, Dare to Take Charge: How to Live Your Life On Purpose. She’ll have a virtual book tour through Pump Up Your Book, a PR firm for authors, starting September 15 and ending October 29. Her book tells personal stories that encourage people to challenge themselves and face obstacles to reach their true potential, according to Pump Up Your Book. As we reported earlier this month, Hatchett will be in Atlanta keynoting the Truancy Intervention conference from October 27 to October 29. The conference is entitled “Charting the Course: Reinvesting In and Reengaging Georgia’s Youth” and will hold workshops with topics like “understanding why truancy exists” and “the connection between delinquency and juvenile offenses”. Attendance is free, but space is limited. Sign up here.
Three new guides are available from a center whose name says it all: The National Evaluation and Technical Assistance Center for the Education of Children and Youth Who Are Neglected, Delinquent, or At-Risk . This center has created two strategy guides and one issue brief aimed at helping teachers, administrators and program coordinators provide better education to at-risk and delinquent kids. Check them out below:
Making It Count: Strategies for Improving Mathematics Instruction for Students in Short-Term Facilities
Adolescent Literacy Guide: Meeting the Literacy Needs of Students in Juvenile Justice Facilities
Issue Brief: The Importance of Literacy for Youth Involved in the Juvenile Justice System
Attorneys General in 17 states have teamed up to try to get rid of the Craigslist’s “adult services” section, according to a CNN report. As we reported earlier this month, the popular “adult services” section has been scrutinized because of ads that exploit women and underage girls. The attorneys general addressed Craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster and founder Craig Newmark in a scathing letter on Tuesday. The increasingly sharp public criticism of Craigslist's Adult Services section reflects a growing recognition that ads for prostitution -- including ads trafficking children -- are rampant on it. They go on to highlight an open letter that two girls wrote to Craigslist in July about being trafficked through the site. The Attorneys also mention CNN Amber Lyon's report which questions Craigslist's screening methods. A Craigslist representative told CNN that they agree with some of the letter and hope to work with the attorneys general to stop child and women trafficking.