December 2007/January 2008

Jailing Juveniles: The Dangers of Incarcerating Youth in Adult Jails
According to the latest research, everyday in America, an average of 7,500 juveniles are incarcerated in adult jails – the annual number is even higher. Despite the incredible impact on the lives of incarcerated individuals, research demonstrates little attention paid to this population of young inmates. A new report from the Campaign for Youth Justice provides a summary of the risks that youth face when incarcerated in adult jails. The report also offers data on youth incarcerated in U.S. jails and a review of federal and State laws regarding youth in jails. (OJJDP)
Access the report (PDF).

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Comorbidity Among Incarcerated Youth
A new article in Psychiatric Services examines PTSD and comorbid psychiatric disorders amid a population of incarcerated youth in Chicago, Illinois. The study revealed that approximately 90% of youth with PTSD also had at least one comorbid psychiatric disorder. As a result, the study’s authors recommend improvements in the early detection of comorbid PTSD.
Learn more about this article.

New Report Says School Crime Rates Are Stable
A report recently released by the Office of Justice Program's Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) and the Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics announced that violent and property crime rates at the nation’s schools during 2005 were statistically unchanged from the 2004 rate of 55 victimizations per 1,000 students. The crimes measured in the study include rape, sexual assault, robbery, aggravated assault, simple assault and theft.
Learn more about the report.

Is Juvenile Justice the Right Place to Manage Drug Treatment for Teens?
According to the Urban Institute, most publicly funded substance abuse treatment programs for adolescents are provided and managed by the juvenile justice system, with juvenile courts and allied agencies often the first responders to teen drug problems. A recent Thursday’s Child forum sought to explore the issue of whether the missions of justice and treatment are truly compatible, or will treatment be inevitably compromised when it is coordinated by the justice system? The forum include discussion and debate from national researchers and practitioners in light of the recent findings of the Urban Institute/Chapin Hall national evaluation of Reclaiming Futures, an initiative of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to improve the integration of juvenile justice and substance abuse services.
Access audio recordings from the forum.

November 2007

Beyond Detention: System Transformation through Juvenile Detention Reform
Recently released by The Annie E. Casey Foundation, Beyond Detention: System Transformation through Juvenile Detention Reform examines the state of juvenile justice reform in detention settings in three counties. The report includes descriptions of how these counties are “identifying existing problems in the juvenile justice system and how they are working to improve the services provided to a growing population of youth in crisis.” To access this report visit http://www.aecf.org/upload/PublicationFiles/JDAI_Pathways14.pdf (PDF).

Adolescents, Neighborhoods, and Violence: Recent Findings From the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods
A new National Institute of Justice brief, Adolescents, Neighborhoods, and Violence: Recent Findings From the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods describes the results of a study that examined the neighborhood conditions, individual characteristics, and family characteristics that contribute to adolescent violence. The authors state that the results from the study work to erase misleading stereotypes about race and violence, emphasizing the importance of neighborhood conditions and social processes in contributing to adolescent violence. To access this report, visit http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/217397.pdf (PDF).

Juvenile Probation Officers Call for Reform
Authored by juvenile probation officers around the country, Juvenile Probation Officers Call for a New Response to Teen Drug and Alcohol Use and Dependency consists of a list of 10 recommendations directed at reforming the juvenile justice system and assisting teens with addiction problems. The report was released by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation as a part of the Reclaiming Futures project. To access this report, visit http://www.reclaimingfutures.org/sites/default/files/documents/RF_Juvenile_Probation_web_r3.pdf (PDF).

May 2007

Juvenile Probation Officers Call for a New Response to Teen Drug and Alcohol Use and Dependency
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Reclaiming Futures Justice Partnership, recently published a tool that responds to the needs of juvenile probation officers and leaders to learn new strategies for supervising youth on their caseloads who have substance abuse and alcohol use issue. The highest percentage of youth on probation are served in the community and many could be in System of Care initiatives around the country. This tool will help stakeholders understand the responses some probation units have adopted. The monograph can be found at http://www.reclaimingfutures.org/documents/RF_Juvenile_Probation_web_r3.pdf (PDF).

Training Resource from the Juvenile Law Center
The Juvenile Law Center in Philadelphia, PA, has developed a special training for staff who will work with youths in the justice system who have mental health and behavioral health needs. The training was designed to increase the likelihood of success for youth with special needs who are under court supervision. Lourdes Rosada, Esq., developed this body of work and is now providing this training to jurisdictions.

Training reference:
Rosado, L.M. (2005). “Training mental health and juvenile justice professionals in Juvenile Forensic Assessment.” In K. Heilbrun, N.E. Sevin Goldstein, & R.E. Redding (Eds.), Juvenile Delinquency: Prevention, Assessment and Intervention (pp. 310-322). New York: Oxford University Press, Inc.

Mental Health/Juvenile Justice Work Group Advocates for Legislation to Protect Youth Against Self-Incrimination in Behavioral Health Screening, Assessment and Treatment
As part of the Models for Change Initiative in Pennsylvania, the Mental Health/Juvenile Justice Work Group (MH/JJ Work Group) is advocating that Pennsylvania enact legislation that will protect youth from self-incrimination when undergoing screening, assessment and treatment in the justice system. Youth charged with offenses have a constitutional right, under both federal and state law, to not give evidence against themselves. This critical right is threatened, however, when a youth answers questions and provides information in response to a mental health screen administered by a court intake officer, or during a court-ordered evaluation conducted by a clinician, or when a treatment provider is offering therapy as part of a youth's court-ordered disposition. To read more, visit http://www.jlc.org/index.php/health.

After-school Programming
The Willam T. Grant Foundation supported the development of a meta analysis of after-school programming that addresses the needs of youth ages 15 – 18. Mark Lipsey, Ph.D., who says the youths in the juvenile justice system can benefit from the programming provided to youth in the general population, was a reviewer during the development of this document. The authors specifically recommend that such programming contain components to support the development of youths’ personal and social skills and that incorporate evidence-based approaches. When evidence-based approaches were adhered to youth improved in attitudes and feelings, indicators of behavioral adjustment and school performance. The youths also experienced reduction in problem behaviors and drug use. The entire report is available at http://www.casel.org/downloads/ASP-Full.pdf (PDF).

April 2007

OJJDP's News at A Glance: Coordinating Council Initiatives and the State Of Juvenile Justice in New Orleans Post-Katrina
The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention's March/April iteration of their e-newsletter contains information on the Coordinating Council for Juvenile Justice's March 2 meeting, including proposed collaboration activities around at-risk students and an effort to catalogue current community inititiatives focusing on that issue. Other information in News at a Glance includes a special report on "pending local challenges in addressing the needs of the juvenile justice system that are due to the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina."

For more information, visit:
http://www.ncjrs.gov/html/ojjdp/news_at_glance/217676/on_2.html

March 2007

Today juvenile justice professionals are faced with meeting the challenge of the ever increasing numbers of youth with co-occurring mental health and substance abuse disorders in the juvenile justice system. The System of Care communities struggle with identifying the needs of children and youth who have serious emotional disorders.  All too often these communities find themselves having to prioritize whose needs are greatest.  The children and youth in the justice system, from the point of arrest through the time that their involvement is terminated, have been identified in the New Freedom Commission as being at highest risk of not receiving mental health services when they are needed.  In an effort to support communities with information to educate policy makers on the needs of children and youth with either mental health needs and/or needs resulting from their co-occurring disorders, the following resources are suggested for screening and assessment.

As you look at contemporary juvenile justice policy and practice, you will see that the issue of identifying needs and recommending evidence-based treatment is now better informed by research.  With the assistance of current research, municipalities, courts and juvenile justice agencies have been able to develop integrated continuums of services, across disciplines, for youth in the juvenile justice system.  This is an exciting time in juvenile justice, even though services are still not available on demand for this population of poor and often minority youth.

Six resources for consideration include:

1. Assessing the Mental Health Status of Youth in Juvenile Justice Settings: a monograph on screening and assessment produced in August 2004 by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP)
2. A discussion of the Blueprint for Change: A Comprehensive Model for the Identification and Treatment of Youth with Mental Health Needs in Contact with the Juvenile Justice System: developed by the National Center or Mental Health and Juvenile Justice, this offers a conceptual framework for juvenile justice and mental health systems to use when developing strategies and policies to improve service provision to youth in the juvenile justice system
3. Mental Health Assessment in Juvenile Justice: Report on the Consensus Conference: informs the reader what the juvenile justice directors think is important to changing the way mental health services are delivered to the population of youth they serve;
4. Screening for Emergent Risk and Service Needs Among Incarcerated Youth: Comparing MAYSI-2 and Voice DISC-IV: compares the Massachusetts Youth Screening Instrument-Second Version (MAYSI-2), purely a screening tool and the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children-IV (Voice DISC) , a tool which provides the first psychiatric diagnosis with the understanding that there probably is the need to rule out other disorders. 
5. Screening and Assessing Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders Among Youth in the Juvenile Justice System: a mental health practitioner’s resource guide that offers a comprehensive, user-friendly synthesis of current information on instruments that can be used to screen and assess youth for mental health- and substance use-related disorders at various stages of the juvenile justice process.
6. Juvenile Justice & Mental Health: Working Together for the Best Outcomes for Youth With Serious Emotional Disorders: provides an overview of some of the mental health issues facing many of the children and adolescents in the juvenile justice population and includes questions parents should ask about screening and assessment.