Saggy Pants Ban: Will It Overload Dublin, GA Courts, Encourage Racial Profiling?

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By Chandra R. Thomas

Dublin, Ga. Juvenile Court Judge William Tribble, Sr. says he has plenty of work to keep him busy on the bench. Now’s he’s concerned that a new ordinance signed into law Tuesday banning saggy pants in the middle Georgia city might end up overloading an already jam-packed court docket. “I can just see my assistant district attorney prosecuting a case like that,” says Tribble, who claims he spotted a young man in sagging pants on the streets of Dublin during his phone interview. “We’ll have a robbery and child molestation cases to handle and then there will be 20 baggy (pants) cases that we’ve got to get rid of.

Federal Funding Hinders Juvenile Justice Reform

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The federal government expects the states to do more to prevent delinquency but is offering up less money to help with the problem. That’s a formula for tension, which became apparent this week as a 15-member federal committee heard state officials’ complaints about the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, according to Youth Today. The committee, which is charged with assessing juvenile justice reform, heard plenty at its second meeting about the OJJDP from Joe Vignati of the Georgia Governor’s Office for Children and Families, among others. Vignati and two others spoke about OJJDP compliance monitoring and funding issues. The three state officials agreed that OJJDP’s training and technical assistant is exemplary, but argued that the lack of funding is hindering efforts to support programs.

Twenty states now receive only a minimum allocation of $600,000 through the OJJDP. Funds for alternatives to imprisonment, such as emergency foster care and shelters, “have dried up,” said Nancy Gannon Hornberger of the Coalition for Juvenile Justice in Washington, D.C.

Among the concerns Vignati raised:

Data on juvenile justice and delinquency is inconsistent between the states.

Child Prostitution Ads Censored on Craigslist

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Craigslist has deactivated its controversial adult services section, under pressure from attorneys general in 17 states. The giant online ad service has been hammered for posting ads that sell underage girls for prostitution. The San Francisco Chronicle is reporting that erotic services links are covered with the word “censored” for locations inside the U.S., but still active outside the U.S.

The Attorneys General sent a scathing letter to Craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster and founder Craig Newmark.  Here’s an excerpt:
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. In our view, the company should take immediate action to end the misery for the women and children who may be exploited and victimized by these ads.

DJJ Unveils Severe Budget Cuts: Is There A Silver Lining?

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By Chandra R. Thomas

Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice Board members say there’s possibly a silver lining to the proposed 2011 budget cuts released today. They say despite the many challenges the cuts raise, there’s great potential for positive outcomes from the reductions recently mandated by Governor Sonny Perdue, but they’re mostly contingent on legislative support. Board members unanimously passed Deputy Commissioner Jeff Minor’s suggested budget changes Thursday during a meeting at the department’s Decatur headquarters. The reductions, some say, could ultimately force Georgia leaders – from the governor to state legislators – to reassess which young people get locked up and for how long. Such changes could eventually reduce the number of low-risk children being held in youth detention centers.

States Struggle with Teen Sexting Laws

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Nearly 20 states have enacted new laws, or are working on measures that deal with teenage sexting, aimed at treating children more leniently than adults. The Wall Street Journal reports Arizona, Connecticut, Louisiana and Illinois are among the states that enacted laws this year. Many of the new rules impose only modest penalties, such as small fines and short stints in juvenile detention, instead of prison terms and a cameo on the sex offender registry. Across the nation, lawmakers and child advocates are struggling with the issues:  Should they hammer teens, or let parents and schools handle sexting incidents? One in five teens admits to "sexting," according to a survey by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy.

GA Tax System Based on 1930s Economy, Says GBPI

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The Department of Juvenile Justice will present new budget cuts at a board meeting Thursday morning.  Governor Perdue has ordered every state agency to come up with scenarios detailing 4%, 6% and 8% cuts. On the eve of the big reveal, the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute says the state tax structure dates back to the Great Depression and that’s why we’re in trouble. Here’s an excerpt from Advancing Georgia’s 1930s Tax System to the Modern Day:

"Georgia will spend more than 80 percent of the FY 2011 state budget on education, healthcare, and public safety; therefore, the size of the state budget is overwhelmingly driven by these three policy areas Georgia’s overall population, as well as the specific populations that state government serves, such as school children and prisoners, will continue to increase dramatically. In addition to meeting the needs of sheer increased numbers of Georgians, the state has urgent existing needs, such as bringing our education, mental health, and transportation systems, among others, up to national standard"

The report recommends changes that include:

Taxing more personal services, while lowering the sales tax
Updating cigarette and motor fuel excise tax rates
Modernizing personal income tax brackets, rates, and standard deductions
Closing corporate tax loopholes

Future Uncertain for Child Sex Bill

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State Senator Renee Unterman of Buford already has the distinction of being the only female Republican in a male-dominated Senate, but she really became a standout during the last legislative session when she introduced a bill that asserted that young prostitutes in Georgia should be deemed victims, not criminals. In fact, she set off a firestorm of controversy with SB304, which declared that boys and girls under the age of 16 shouldn’t be charged with prostitution, but instead diverted to treatment or therapy. Child welfare advocates championed the move as a step in the right direction for sexually exploited young people in Georgia. Opponents, however, accused Unterman, of attempting to “decriminalize” prostitution. The age of sexual consent in Georgia only seemed to complicate the issue further.

Children in Need of Services

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Anyone passing by room 450 at Georgia’s capitol on Monday probably thought lawmakers were talking about facial parts. The Senate Judiciary Committee was actually discussing CHINS—the acronym for Children in Need of Services—an important concept in the rewrite of the state’s juvenile code. In the proposed code, expected to be introduced when the legislature convenes in 2011, the term would replace language in the current code about “status offenders.” The change is more than semantic. Status offenses are acts that would not be crimes for adults, such as truancy or running away from home. Children who commit such offenses in Georgia can be classified as “unruly” or “ungovernable,” and under the current code can be detained “for days, weeks or even months in secure detention facilities,” according to a report prepared for the Senate committee by the Barton Child Law and Policy Clinic at Emory University School of Law.

Budget Cuts: Will Children Pay?

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Juvenile Court Judge Timothy Pape has a disturbing prediction for Georgia. He expects to see many – and possibly more – of the state’s children getting into trouble or falling victim to abuse, but less being done about it. His daunting forecast is, in large part, inspired by recent reports that yet another massive state budget shortfall is forcing state agencies to slash already stretched budgets even further for the 2011 financial year. According to the Georgia Budget & Policy Institute at Georgia State University, as the state begins its 2011 fiscal year it is facing a potential budget shortfall of between $413 million and $613 million. This shortfall is in addition to the $2.5 billion in budget cuts already implemented since the 2009 financial year.