Juvenile Justice Information Exchange (https://jjie.org/tag/news-system/page/48/)
Attorney Lynn McNeese Swank was arrested Tuesday morning, according to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. She allegedly forged the name of Fulton County Superior Court Judge Gail Tusan on adoption orders to terminate parental rights. Jim Walls with Atlanta Unfiltered broke the story this morning. More details to come. Full story here.
A startling number of children, as young as 12, are forced into prostitution in the U.S. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children estimates 100,000 – 300,000 children a year are lured or kidnapped, and forced into the sex trade. Many are runaways or homeless kids who are raped, threatened, and moved from city to city for financial gain. The BBC reports police are not acting quickly enough to help these children. One girl in Washington, D.C. says police pointed guns at her, called her a “whore” and bullied her. Advocates for children say these kids need support and police should recognize they are victims.
Of the girls engaged in formal prostitution, about 75% work for a pimp, according to the Department of Justice, which paints this picture of the sex trade:
"Pimp-controlled commercial sexual exploitation of children is linked to escort and massage services, private dancing, drinking and photographic clubs, major sporting and recreational events, conventions, and tourist destinations. About one-fifth of these children become entangled in nationally organized crime networks and are trafficked nationally. They are transported around the United States by a variety of means – cars, buses, vans, trucks or planes, and are often provided counterfeit identification to use in the event of arrest. The average age at which girls first become victims of prostitution is 12-14. It is not only the girls on the streets that are affected -- for boys and transgender youth, the average age of entry into prostitution is 11-13." ______________
photo courtesy: davidsonscott15
So you’re 16 years old and broke. And you’re sitting around brainstorming ways to get money. On a whim you decide to stick up the convenience store around the corner. You don’t want to hurt anyone; you just want the dough. To be sure you’ll even use a fake gun.
Some young people would rather serve time in juvenile detention than be out on the street in their own neighborhood. An insightful column in the Boston Globe spells out why:
“For some, juvenile detention is very much like summer camp — most people hate being shipped off, some never get adjusted, but after a while it’s not as bad as it seems. Good behavior is rewarded, and detainees can earn take-out, movie, and video game rights. Still, that is not what makes detention appealing. For some, it is the certainty that they will see another day…None of them liked juvenile detention, but they preferred it to facing death.”
Read the rest at Boston.com
Raphael was just seven years old when his mother brought him from Mexico to Gainesville, Georgia for a good education and better opportunities. But by the time he was 16 his mother was arrested for drugs and deported. He dropped out of school and was working in a factory to support himself and his sister. Because he was brought here illegally, he constantly faced the threat of deportation to a country he knew only as a little boy. Now his mother’s dream for her children is about to be fulfilled. The Division of Family and Children Services learned of his situation and he was referred to Catholic Charities for legal help.
Teen lawbreakers are benefiting from a restorative justice program, required by law in Northern Ireland. Dr. Graham Ellison, a criminologist, told Here and Now on Public Radio International how the program is working. Courts in Northern Ireland must provide kids with a restorative justice option through the Youth Conferencing Service as an alternative to prison, Dr. Ellison explained. According to the Youth Conferencing Service, kids meet with their victims, make amends and get any treatment they need. A teen graduate of the program, who stole a car, spoke to the BBC about meeting his victim. "All she done was cry, and talked about how she doesn't feel safe in her home," he said.
Tax payer money may have been wasted at the Fulton County jail. WSB-TV reports that $87,920 was spent on a GED program for inmates. Seventeen prisoners got degrees at a cost of more than $5,000 per inmate. Investigative reporter Richard Belcher says the program was run by the wife of a state legislator, while the jail already had a similar program that cost nothing. Watch the story on Channel 2 Action News
Additional links:
Fulton County Jail
While the battle over immigration plays out across the country, children of immigrants in Georgia face fear, anxiety and stress-related health problems, according to a report from the Sapelo Foundation. Children who are U.S. citizens by birth, are getting separated from their families more often as local police agencies arrest illegal immigrants under the expanding 287 (g) program. The study also found women and children who are victims of assault and domestic abuse are afraid to call police because they fear getting deported. In Immigration Enforcement and its Impact on Latino Children in the State of Georgia, author Elise Shore spells out long-term, traumatic consequences for children. Among the recommendations:
Prohibit checkpoints and road blocks near schools, churches and day care centers
Local police should adopt ICE humanitarian guidelines for sole caregivers
The foster care system needs bilingual and bicultural workers to understand the needs of immigrants
Rehabilitation, instead of incarceration, is being touted as a better way to handle juvenile offenders. Matthew House, a divorce and family-law mediator in California, argues that detention and incarceration are pointless, overly expensive ways to manage juvenile lawbreakers. “Caging a wayward teen for a few years before releasing him back into society without remedying his behavior is foolhardy,” says House, who goes on to point out that half of kids who get imprisoned end up reentering the system after getting out. House also claims rehabilitation is “eight times more financially effective, dollar for dollar, than incarceration.”
Read his op-ed piece in The Orange County Register. Photo courtesy abardwell
A Marietta Magistrate Judge accused of allowing teenagers to drink at her home has accepted a deal that will spare her from serving jail time. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Diane Busch has tentatively agreed to do community service and have an alcohol assessment. Busch resigned from her post as a part time judge in Marietta and Woodstock, after a Christmas party last December. A noise complaint led police to her house at 3 AM, where they found her asleep, while teenagers were drinking elsewhere in the house.