June 2008

Annie E. Casey Foundation’s 2008 KIDS COUNT Data Book and “A Road Map for JuvenileJustice Reform”Essay
The Annie E. Casey Foundation has released its 2008 KIDS COUNT Data Book essay, “A Road Map for Juvenile Justice Reform” (PDF). Examining the nearly 100,000 children confined to juvenile facilities on any given night in the United States, the essay explores what can be done to “reduce unnecessary and inappropriate detention and incarceration and to increase opportunities for positive youth development and community safety.” The essay was released in conjunction with the Foundation’s 2008 KIDS COUNT Data Book (PDF), which gives national and State-by-State profiles of child wellbeing in the U.S., as ranked on 10 key measures and information on the economic, health, education, and social conditions of America's children and families.

State-Level Detention Reform: A Practice Guide for State Advisory Groups (PDF)
This “how-to” guide from the Annie E. Casey Foundation is designed for State juvenile justice advisory group (SAG) members who advise and guide States in the implementation of the federal Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA). It highlights examples of leadership and the work of SAG members in several States that have been front-runners in advancing the Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI).

The Girls’ Justice Initiative
The Girls’ Justice Initiative (GJI), recently launched their new Web site. The GJI is a national collaboration of organizations and individuals dedicated to promoting equity and justice for girls involved in the juvenile justice and related systems. Their mission is to ensure that girls in the system receive treatment that is responsive to their needs and nurtures their strengths. The Web site features different publications, factsheets, resources from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, as well as links to other organizations devoted to girls’ issues.

May 2008

Perceived Barriers to Mental Health Services Among Youths in Detention (Paid subscription required)
This study, published in the March 2008 issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, intensively examines the perceived obstacles to delivering mental health services to juveniles in secure care. The study shows that most youth in the justice system feel that mental health services are unimportant to them and that they are not easily accessible. Consequently, youths are unlikely to cooperate with mental health referrals or to independently seek mental health services. Therefore, the report’s authors conclude that service providers must be sensitive to clients' perceived barriers to mental health services and work to reduce negative perceptions of services.

Report Reviews Youth Court Operations To Promote Effectiveness (PDF)
A new report from the Hamilton Fish Institute, the third in a series on the status of youth courts sponsored by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), draws on a national survey to examine their operation, volunteer activity, functions, and resources. The report provides information that can guide communities in developing and sustaining an organizational structure that allows youth courts to fulfill their mission of preventing young offenders from repeating antisocial behaviors.

April 2008

Mental Health Screening within Juvenile Justice: The Next Frontier (PDF)
A new paper from the National Center for Mental Health and Juvenile Justice (NCMHJJ) contends that awareness of the unmet mental health needs of many youth in the juvenile justice system has increased over the past decade. The paper’s authors contend that more and more facilities are effectively screening youth as they enter the system and designing treatment plans accordingly. The next step, according to the paper, is to refine the processes in place and better plan for more successful outcomes. The goal of the publication, according to the authors, is that the case examples and recommended actions within the report “will result in better mental health screening processes for youth in the juvenile justice system.

New Certificate Programs at the Center for Juvenile Justice Reform
The Center for Juvenile Justice Reform at Georgetown University’s Public Policy Institute is launching two certificate programs designed to advance multi-systems work to improve outcomes for youth involved in the juvenile justice and child welfare systems. The programs are designed to provide intensive study for leaders responsible for policy development and implementation in their jurisdictions in order to enhance systems integration and build a strong core of public agency leaders that support juvenile justice reform and better results for youth. Programs are available for both individual and multi-jurisdictional teams.

Assessing Juvenile Psychopathy: Developmental and Legal Implications (PDF)
This issue brief from the MacArthur Foundation Research Network on Adolescent Development and Juvenile Justice expresses the importance of understanding the make-up and reasons behind, as well as the possibility of recovery from, the antisocial behavior of some youth. The report is designed to inform the juvenile justice community, especially judges, in making determinations of whether or not a youth should be tried as adults once a crime has been committed. Because judges often consider the potential for future violence and amenability to treatment in the juvenile system in sentencing, their increased understanding of juvenile psychopathy is important, according to the report’s authors. The report explores the psychopathy assessment process as well as the policy and practice implications of exploring this issue.

Child Welfare & Juvenile Justice Systems Integration Initiative: A Promising Progress Report (PDF)
Recently released by the Child Welfare League of America’s (CWLA) Juvenile Justice Division, this new bulletin provides a report on the work and progress in numerous state and local jurisdictions that have partnered with CWLA to develop statutes, guiding principles, protocols, procedures, legal analyses, new multisystem collaborations, and other reform measures to prevent youth in the child welfare system from entering into and continuing through the juvenile and criminal justice systems. The report provides an update on CWLA’s four phase framework and methodology to assist state and local jurisdictions to achieve the goal of developing an integrated, multisystem approach to program development and service delivery.

March 2008

Putting the Juvenile Back in Juvenile Justice (PDF)
A new report from Action for Children North Carolina asserts that, “ensuring the safety of communities is one of the primary responsibilities of government. Furthermore it claims that an equally important goal is for “government to foster positive development so the youth of today can become healthy, productive adults tomorrow. The report explores in three parts why, according to the authors, transferring youth to the adult criminal system is not working and what can be done about it. It first examines the latest scientific research on adolescent brain development, second, explores North Carolina and national data that show that transferring youth to the adult criminal system, and, finally, puts forward policy recommendations for how North Carolina can bring State criminal law regarding older youth into line with current practices, research and data.

Blueprint for Change: Funding Mental Health Services for Youth in Contact with the Juvenile Justice System (PDF)
Building on both current and past research, this new publication from the National Center for Mental Health and Juvenile Justice, asserts that the high number of incarcerated juvenile with mental health needs requires increased attention to identifying and responding to these needs. However, the authors point out, a major barrier to continued treatment of mental health needs for these youth is funding effective services and programs. This brief explores several promising programs to determine how they obtain and maintain funding in order to continue to be successful in serving youth with mental health needs in and around the juvenile justice system.

Getting Juvenile Justice Right in New York: Proven Interventions Will Cut Crime and Save Money (PDF)
A recent report, written by Fight Crime: Invest in Kids New York discusses reform efforts in New York State that seek to decrease the rates of re- offending among juveniles. The report draws on analysis that shows that research-based approaches for cutting juvenile aggression and substance abuse problems reduce current custody costs and future crime so much they can save an average of $15,000 to $75,000 per delinquent. The report states that Fight Crime: Invest in Kids New York is convinced by the research and their own experience that change is necessary and are discouraged that New York continues to arresting a few kids over and over again. The most important message, according to the report, is that, “when deciding how to invest wisely in stopping juvenile crime use science, data collection, and accountability to guide policy. Investing in what really works to prevent crime will produce both huge savings and safer streets.”

Title V Community Prevention Grants Program: 2004-2005 Report to Congress (PDF)
The Title V Community Prevention Grants Program supports the development and implementation of a comprehensive, research-based approach to delinquency prevention that helps communities nationwide foster positive changes in the lives of children and families. The Title V program focuses on helping youth avoid involvement in delinquency through reducing the risk factors and enhancing the protective factors in their schools, communities, and families. This report from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), which covers fiscal year 2004-2005, marks the first time States have reported how their Title V-funded programs are performing. The report presents the results and analysis of the first round of performance measurement data.

February 2008

Community Service as an Alternative to Suspension
The Community Service Options Toolkit, developed by Smith Prevention Initiatives in Arizona, is designed to serve as a reference for schools, school districts, or community agencies looking to use community service programs as part of their disciplinary strategies. The Toolkit presents community service as a win-win alternative to suspension where youth have opportunities to learn a variety of skills while giving back to the community. It provides educators with step-by-step guidance through the processes of planning and implementing community service as part of alternatives to suspension in their school districts.

Juvenile Justice Leadership Development Training
This training opportunity, sponsored by the National Corrections Institute is slated for May 13-23, 2008 and offers a 70-hour plus blended delivery leadership development program based on the Leadership Challenge Model developed by James Kouzes and Barry Posner. The training is designed fro juvenile justice senior-level leaders, such as facility superintendents, juvenile detention facility superintendents, and senior probation and parole supervisors. Deputies of these leaders will be considered if recommended by their chief executive officer.

Evaluation of Bullyproofing Your School: Final Report (PDF)
The authors of this recent report argue that bullying in school is a major social problem with severe consequences to physical and mental health, and it has been implicated in the most severe forms of school violence. Additionally, the contend that cchools are in need of effective programs to reduce bullying and improve school safety. Bully-Proofing Your School (BPYS) is a school-based intervention program designed to reduce bullying and school violence. This report highlights the differences between BPYS and other anti-bullying programs - BPYS provides teachers with a specific curriculum that can be implemented in the classroom. This study is an evaluation of BPYS at the elementary school and middle school level.

The Center for Juvenile Justice Reform
The Center for Juvenile Justice Reform (CJJR) at Georgetown University’s Public Policy Institute serves as a resource for practitioners and advocates from juvenile justice and related fields as well as provides educational materials to the public. CJJR advances a multi-systems approach to reducing juvenile delinquency that holds youth accountable and promotes positive child and youth development. Shay Bilchik, former Administrator of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention and one of the country’s most influential voices in the juvenile justice arena, leads the Center’s efforts and works closely with Georgetown’s other Policy Centers and departments.