Obama Budget Calls for Cuts in Juvenile Justice Programs and Revamps Funding Formulas for States

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Juvenile Justice Programs across the nation could face $50 million in cuts outlined in the White House budget proposal.   The Obama budget calls for “tough choices,” including a revamp of the way states must qualify for funding, based on how well they meet federal standards. Title II formula grants would come out of a $120 million fund called the Juvenile Justice System Incentive Grants.  States would have to compete for rewards, based on how well they use evidence-based strategies, diversion programs and whether they reduce disproportionate minority contact (DMC). Youth Today digs into this new concept and how it might work. The President’s budget is a mix of cuts paired with some increases that could affect communities in different ways, according to thecrimereport.org. On the plus side, the Justice Department may get a 2% increase over all, including more money for the FBI, and $600 million for communities to hire first responder police officers.

Deal to Create Bipartisan Special Council on Criminal Justice Reform in Georgia

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Governor Deal is set to announce the formation of a Special Council on Criminal Justice Reform on Wednesday.  An unusual coalition of state leaders will join him, including Supreme Court Chief Justice Carol Hunstein, House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams, Lt. Governor Casey Cagle and House Speaker David Ralston.   The Council will spend the next year studying what to do about Georgia’s packed prisons and juvenile detention centers, how to reduce the bill of more than $1.4 billion, and alternatives to incarceration.  Recommendations are due in January 2012. The event takes place at 1:45pm at the Capitol.

Obama Proposes “Social Impact Bonds” to Fund Social Service Projects

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The White house is floating the idea of raising money from private investors to pay for privately managed social programs.  The Baltimore Sun reports on this experimental investment scheme that would rely on the private sector to develop solutions for problems such as homelessness and drug addiction. Here’s how it would work:  A group of investors might fund a program to train teenagers who need job skills.  If it brings results, the government would pay them back with interest.  If it doesn’t work or doesn’t meet performance targets, the investors lose all or part of their money. The concept comes from England, where the first social impact bond experiment is underway at Peterborough Prison. The British government has a deal with a nonprofit called Social Finance to provide job training and housing for 3,000 prisoner inmates who are getting released.  Social Finance is raising nearly $8 million from private investors, and promising them a 13% profit. The Obama administration is asking Congress for permission to test the social impact bond model by creating pilot programs for job training, juvenile justice, education and other projects.  The White House wants to set aside $100 million from existing department budgets and spend the money only if the programs work.

Cobb Targets Adults in Crackdown on Underage and Teen Binge Drinking

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Police, school and public service groups across Cobb County are joining forces to fight underage drinking. They’re taking aim at parents and other adults who provide alcohol to teens in stores, at neighborhood parties, and inside homes across the area. Ten police, school and government agencies, plus MADD are working with the Cobb Alcohol Taskforce to investigate those who are selling and giving beer, alcopos and other alcoholic beverages to children. “This is not a youth problem, it’s an adult problem,” said Pat Giuliani, who chairs the Youth Services Committee of the Georgia PTA. Police chiefs from Acworth, Austell, Kennesaw, Marietta, Smyrna, Cobb Police, the Sheriff’s Office, the public schools, Kennesaw State, and Southern Polytechnic stood with representatives from MADD, the  PTA, the Department of Revenue, the County Solicitor’s Office and the Cobb Alcohol Task Force at a news conference Thursday inside Kennesaw City Hall.

Child Welfare Agencies Tell Lawmakers Full Time ‘Medical Director’ Would Benefit Kids

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There’s a new push for a full time medical director to oversee the medical needs of children in the care of both the Georgia’s Department of Human Services (DHS) and Department of Family and Children Services (DFCS). Commissioner Clyde Reese III and DFCS Director Rachelle Carnesale, both new to their posts, announced their support for the position during a recent House Children & Youth Committee meeting at the state capitol. “We believe that the appointment of a full time medical director would be beneficial to the department and the children we serve,” Reese said, during the hour-long meeting that covered updates on the status of foster care and child support collection services for the state’s children. The Medicaid and Medicare programs were also discussed. “We think it would be most beneficial to work with someone who does that every day.”

Carnesale echoed a similar sentiment.

DJJ’s Howell Promises New Direction at Troubled Eastman YDC

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After two incidents at the Eastman Youth Development Campus last week, director Todd Weeks is out.  Department of Juvenile Justice Commissioner Amy Howell took action on Friday, tapping George Smith to fill the job on an interim basis.  A statement from DJJ says, “The Commissioner is actively moving the Eastman YDC in a new direction with new leadership.  “

Smith will be coming out of retirement to run Eastman.  Until last November he was Deputy Director of Facilities Operations at the Georgia Department of Corrections.  He spent 34 years with the agency. Eastman houses some of the toughest young offenders in the state – older teens who have committed serious crimes.  Disturbances there are not new.  Last May, an uprising led to an escape.  In the latest incident on February 2nd, a correctional officer was injured and treated at a local hospital, according to DJJ spokesperson Scheree Moore.  On January 30, about 60 inmates acted out and refused to follow orders.  Five of them beat a guard with a broom handle, and several set small fires in a dorm.   Someone at Eastman called for help and six police agencies rushed to the campus. It took about an hour to get the inmates back in their cells. Last week’s incidents remain under investigation.  The statement from DJJ adds, “Commissioner Howell is taking these incidents that are occurring at Eastman very seriously and is committed to providing a safe and secure environment to the youth that are housed and the employees that work at the facility.”

CASA, JUSTGeorgia Lobby Lawmakers For Children

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The state juvenile code rewrite and a bill proposing an end to the practice of overmedicating foster children topped the agenda Tuesday as advocates from  JUSTGeorgia and the Georgia Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) program gathered at the capitol for their annual lobby day. More than 300 supporters from across the state turned out to meet with legislators about what they say are two top critical policy issues affecting children this session. “We’re all here trying to do right for the children of Georgia,” says Georgia CASA Executive Director Duaine Hathaway. “We are here to inspire Georgia legislators and get them to act on behalf of Georgia’s children.”

JUSTGeorgia Project Manager Julia Neighbors says the event is as an opportunity for the network of volunteers and supporters to reconnect with seasoned lawmakers, while raising awareness among the 45 new legislators who have taken office this year. “This is also just a good opportunity for JUSTGeorgia to work with CASA,” she says.

Floyd County Pins Hopes on Grant for Mental Health Treatment Court

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The Juvenile Court of Floyd County has applied for a grant to establish a Mental Health Treatment Court. The funds, worth more than $230,000, would help pay for mental health assessments to all children entering the juvenile court system. “This will be used for early identification of children with mental illness and reduce their likelihood of penetrating the justice system,” Administrator Catherine Fricks told the Rome News-Tribune. Eligibility for the mental health court is based on the results of the assessment. Children entering the mental health court would receive regular therapy and meet with professionals to establish a treatment plan.

Black Caucus Says Gov. Deal May Be Open To Fewer Children Tried As Adults

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Legislation passed nearly 20 years ago mandating that some children be prosecuted as adults and locked up for years is getting a fresh look from members of the general assembly and possibly the governor. JJIE.org has confirmed that in a recent meeting with some Georgia Legislative Black Caucus members, new Governor Nathan Deal stated that he is willing to reassess Senate Bills 440 and 441. The development comes on the heels of prison overcrowding concerns Governor Deal, a former juvenile court judge, expressed last month during his first state-of –the-state address. “The governor has indicated that he is open to discussions about this; the speaker of the house (David Ralston) said the same when we met with him a few days later,” says Georgia State Senator Emanuel Jones (D-10) “Texas and Alabama are taking the lead on reforming these laws. These laws were passed during a time 15 to 16 years ago when both parties were trying to ‘out tough’ each other on crime.