Experts Say be Careful of Ecstasy, Adam, Hug and Beans

It has that reputation of giving one a sense of inner peace, even euphoria. But experts say the drug that goes by such kind and gentle names as ecstasy, Adam, Blue Kisses, Care Bears, Hug, Beans, Lovers' Special,  Molly, Rolling, Scooby Snacks and Tom and Jerries, is not nearly as warm and fussy as the names imply. Taking the drug, they say, can lead to long-term negative effects on the brain's serotonin center -- a region of the brain that regulates mood, memory and sexual desire -- and can cause depression and other serious health problems.

Salt Lake City's The Deseret  News delves into the issue in more depth in a story published this week.

UPDATE: Juvenile Justice Experts Say Sheriff Using Illegal Scared Straight Program

The Anniston Star has this followup on the Alabama sheriff under investigation by the FBI after allegedly using manual force on a juvenile. A Calhoun County, Al., Sheriff’s Office program for youthful offenders and suspended-from-school teenagers to work in the county jail sounds remarkably similar to programs banned by federal and state law, officials say. Those programs, commonly called “scared straight” or “shock incarceration” programs, became popular in the 1970s as a way to scare or shock youthful offenders or juveniles prone to misbehaving into more appropriate behavior, a policy expert at the Washington D.C.-based Coalition for Juvenile Justice said. But a range of state and national juvenile-justice officials said that years of research have proven the scared straight concept to be in error; those same officials say that such programs are violations of the federal and Alabama laws, which prohibit youthful offenders from being detained or confined in adult corrections facilities. And all of those officials say the description of a Calhoun County program jointly run by the Sheriff’s Office and Family Links, Inc., a children’s behavior task force for the county, falls under the umbrella of those legally questionable programs.

Read more:Anniston Star - Legality of jail program questioned

Read more of JJIE's Scared Straight coverage here and here.

States Reconsider Laws That Force Kids Into the Adult Justice System

A new study by the Campaign for Youth Justice reports that states across the country are reversing legislation that is pushing 250,000 kids a year into the adult justice system. Following a spike in juvenile crime in the 1980’s and 1990’s, many states began lowering the age that children could be prosecuted as an adult.  According to the study, incarcerating youth in adult prisons, “puts them at higher risk of abuse, injury, and death while they are in the system, and makes it more likely that they will reoffend once they get out.”

Fifteen states have already completed the changes necessary to put fewer kids in adult prisons and nine more have legislation in the works.  Georgia (along with Colorado, Texas and Washington) has updated its mandatory minimum sentencing laws for juveniles. However, Georgia is still holding on to a law that automatically transfers children aged 13 and older who commit one of the “seven deadly sins” to adult court.  Offenses include murder, rape, aggravated child molestation, aggravated sodomy, aggravated sexual battery,  voluntary manslaughter and armed robbery with a firearm.

FBI Probing Possible Civil Rights Violation of Teen

The FBI is probing potential civil rights violations related to a video that shows Calhoun County, Ala., Sheriff Larry Amerson using manual force against a juvenile male. The FBI has launched a preliminary investigation to “gather facts” about whether Amerson’s actions, which were recorded by a surveillance camera, were a violation of the boy’s civil rights, an FBI spokesman told The Star Friday. The spokesman, Paul Daymond, said the FBI cannot disclose when the investigation began or what sparked it. “In general, what triggers a civil rights investigation, that could be a newspaper article, that could be a victim coming forward, it could be a number of things,” Daymond said. The video was first published by The Anniston Star after a source requesting anonymity gave it to the newspaper Wednesday.

Child Abuse Prevention Month Begins with SafePath Kick-Off Event

Cobb County, Ga.’s SafePath Children’s Advocacy Center wasted no time getting started on April’s Child Abuse Prevention Month activities, holding a kick-off event Friday morning.  Attended by a large crowd of parents, police officials, and politicians braving the cold spring weather, the event shone a light on the importance of preventing child abuse. The Walker School’s Lower School Chorus warmed up the crowd with a song before turning it over to a succession of speakers, including WSB-TV anchor Linda Stouffer and state Rep. Stacey Evans (D-Smyrna). SafePath Board President Ed Lee spoke first, reminding the audience that child abuse prevention is an “active process.”

It’s important to keep our eyes open and watch for signs of abuse, he said, a message that Rep. Evans reiterated. “We need to talk to our friends and colleagues about getting involved,” Rep. Evans said. Child abuse is often a self-perpetuating cycle, Evans said.  Thirty percent of abused children will grow up to abuse their own children, so it is even more important to stop the violence now.

Attorney General Holder Asked to Ban Juveniles from Adult Prisons

The National Prison Rape Elimination Commission (NRPEC) is about to close a second 60-day public comment period on recommendations to Attorney General Eric Holder.  The Commission’s report addresses standards to prevent sexual abuse of prison inmates, including juveniles in both youth detention centers and adult prisons.  The Attorney General will make a final decision on the proposed standards. With the deadline for pubic comments fast approaching, the Campaign for Youth Justice is circulating a letter addressed to Attorney General Holder asking for additional signatures.  The letter calls on Holder to ban juveniles from adult prisons. “Adult facilities housing children and youth face a dangerous dilemma,” the letter said, “forced to choose between housing youth in the general adult population, where they are at substantial risk of both physical and sexual abuse, and housing youth in segregated settings which cause or exacerbate mental health problems.”

The Campaign for Youth Justice is trying to get 500 signatures by Friday morning.  You can read the letter here.

Coalition Responds to Cuts in Juvenile Justice Funding

The Obama administration’s FY 2012 budget proposes to significantly cut funding for the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) and make the remaining funds available to individual states through a competitive process. This proposal would eliminate OJJCP’s existing grants program, the only dedicated federal source to the states for juvenile justice system improvements. The National Coalition for Juvenile Justice and its partners has responded to this proposal with a letter to the president.

What do Teens in Prison Need to be Successful?

Imagine being ripped from your safe, normal professional life and thrust into federal prison for a year, for something stupid you did when you were a teenager, or even a young adult.

Piper Kerman doesn't have to imagine it, because that's exactly what happened to her. She was locked up in a federal prison at age 34 for a drug crime she committed in her early 20s. Because Kerman spent a year living in close quarters with many women, including 18- and 19-year-old girls, she has an unusual, nearly first-hand perspective on what teens in prison need to be successful. Here's her suggestions about what they need:

Positive attention. Kerman found the teens in particular were incredibly responsive to positive attention, creating significant opportunities for change -- opportunities that were often missed.