• Brevity is the soul of wit.
  -- Shakespeare

Brevity on the Net

Wednesday, June 14, 2005

 A weekly newsletter about juvenile justice
from the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges,
Brevity brings you news and information from around the country and on the Internet.

Have a question about juvenile justice? Ask me

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Now available on audio CD, the 32nd National Conference on Juvenile Justice  Proceedings – Orlando, Florida, March 2005

NCJFCJ records sessions at this annual event so that participants can have access to all the conference sessions they were unable to attend. Each conference participant receives a copy. We have some spare copies this year and offer them to you at half-off, or $25 for the 2-CD set which also contains a complete agenda for the conference. Simply contact Cheryl Lyngar to place your order.

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Juvenile System Under Fire
Wayne County, Michigan (Detroit) was one of the first in the state to hire private companies to care for delinquent youths. Audits of the privatized program show overpayments, conflicts of interest, and hackers have gained access to a computer program containing personal and financial information about Wayne County juvenile delinquents. On this page you will find links to a series of articles about the beleaguered Detroit juvenile system and accusations of financial mismanagement, cronyism and fraud – and FBI involvement.

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Rate of Family Violence Dropped by More than Half from 1993 to 2002
A new report, Family Violence Statistics, compares family and nonfamily violence statistics from victimization through the different stages of the justice system. From the report:

• Family violence fell by more than one-half between 1993 and 2002, from an estimated 5.4 victims to 2.1 victims per 1,000 US residents 12 years old and older.
• Family violence accounted for 11% of all reported and unreported violence between 1998 and 2002. Of these offenses, 49% were a crime against a spouse, 11% a parent attacking a child, and 41% an offense against another family member.
• About 22% of murders in 2002 were family murders.
• 58% of family murder victims were female and 26% were under 18.
• Among murdered children under age 13, 66% were killed by a family member.
• 83% of those who killed a spouse were males, as were 75% of those who killed a boyfriend or girlfriend.
• The average age of a son or daughter killed was 7 years old; 80% were younger than 13.

The link above will take you to the report. This one will take you to a news article about the report.

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School Bus Sexual Assaults
Experts say that sexual assaults on school buses, one of the fastest-growing forms of school violence, seldom register as a safety concern. Administrators, teachers and bus drivers say the nature and frequency of the attacks are increasing, and at younger ages. The victims are as young as 6; the attackers as young as 8.

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Court Coordination Program
OJJDP News @ a Glance reports on this innovative approach to helping juvenile and family courts provide more coordinated, individualized services to young people with multiple needs. This pilot project explores whether a coordinator in the court structure can leverage the court’s authority to improve service delivery and outcomes for juveniles in cases that require intensive, specialized care from more than one agency.

The link above will take you to News@ a Glance. This one will take you to a more detailed article about CCP’s kickoff meeting.

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Breaking New Ground in Juvenile Justice Settings: Assessing for Competencies in Juvenile Offenders
This article reports on a pilot study of three juvenile justice agencies  to systematically assess youth, family, and community strengths. The study developed and implemented an assessment tool (the Youth Competency assessment) and a process to identify and utilize strengths to help balance the risk and needs focus of their assessment case planning practices. It appears in the latest issue of the Juvenile and Family Court Journal (NCJFCJ’s journal) and is available to you free via email.

Send an email request for the article, along with your name and city/state for our records, to my co-worker Cheryl Lyngar. 

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Mentoring for Children of Incarcerated Parents
A program in St. Louis, Amachi, works through Big Brothers-Big Sisters to provide mentors to children with one or both parents in prison.

It is estimated that between one-third and one-half of the children in the juvenile justice system today have had a parent in prison. Some statistics:

• Nearly 90% of children with incarcerated fathers live with their mothers.
• Nearly 80% of children with incarcerated mothers live with a grandparent, relative, or a foster parent.

The first Amachi program started in Philadelphia five years ago. Amachi now has nearly 100 branches in 43 states.

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Another Look at Shaken Baby Syndrome
A debate between medical and legal experts brings into question the validity of shaken baby syndrome. The American Academy of Pediatrics calls shaken baby syndrome “a serious and clearly definable form of child abuse.” Legal experts argue there is room for doubt.

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Evaluation of the Juvenile Breaking the Cycle Program
Breaking the Cycle grantee, Lane County, Oregon, was a demonstration program with a juvenile arrestee population in an ambitious effort to effect major changes in their lives. The demonstration enlisted a spectrum of county and state agencies to identify substance abuse problems at the time of arrest, provide an assessment, deliver services, and use sanctions, incentives, and rewards to encourage compliance with treatment and desistance from criminal involvement.  This is a lengthy report on the evaluation of that program.. I downloaded the first 11 pages, which include the Executive Summary.

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Juvies – The World of Juvenile Offenders Prosecuted as Adults
This documentary film is a “riveting look at a world most of us will never see: the world of juvenile offenders who are serving incredible prison sentences for crimes they either did not commit or were only marginally involved in."[Filmmaker Leslie]… Neale taught a video production class at Los Angeles Central Juvenile Hall to 12 juveniles who were all being tried as adults. Juvies is the product of that class, which was a learning experience for both students and teacher.” (from UNAFF2004 – 7th Annual United Nations Association Film Festival web page review of Juvies).

Narrated by Mark Wahlberg, a former juvenile offender himself. The National Mental Health Association recommends this film and receives a portion of the sales.

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Tennessee’s Youth in Juvenile Justice Facilities: Mental Health, Substance Abuse and Developmental Disability Issues
This is the report of a State of Tennessee survey of 40 juvenile justice facilities across the state to assess the prevalence of mental health, substance abuse and developmental disabilities among youth in juvenile justice facilities. Results of that survey include this information:

• Half (53% of the youth in juvenile justice facilities were experiencing mental health problems.
• One of every seven youth (15%) was on some type of psychiatric medicine while in the juvenile justice facility.
• Two of every five youth (42%) were known to have substance abuse problems.
• Over one quarter (30%) of all youth in juvenile facilities had co-occurring mental health and substance use problems.
• The most frequent psychiatric diagnoses reported for youth in juvenile justice facilities were conduct disorder and depression.

The report is about 25 pages long. The appendices are about the same length. Complete report is a 57 page pdf file.

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The Barksdale Reading Institute
Five years ago Netscape CEO Jim Barksdale launched the institute in the state of Mississippi with the intent to positively impact reading skills of children in that state. He and his wife put up $100 million of their own money to improve “preliteracy” skills for preschoolers and reading for children in kindergarten through third grade. An independent analysis by a University of Mississippi research center recently confirmed that the program was making a “statistically significant difference.”  Barksdale has been approached by a number of states to finance similar programs, but he's sticking with Mississippi.

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Five Most Dangerous Teen Jobs
Sixty to 70 teens die each year due to workplace injuries. The National Consumers League’s list of the five most dangerous jobs for teens appears below:

• Agriculture: Fieldwork and Processing
• Construction and Work in Heights
• Outside Helper: Landscaping, Groundskeeping and Lawn Service
• Driver/Operator: Forklifts/Tractors
• Traveling Youth Crews

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Educational Quality Assurance Standards for Day Treatment Programs: Juvenile Justice Prevention, Intensive Probation, and Conditional Release 2002
Florida’s JJEEP (Juvenile Justice Education Enhancement Program) published these standards for day treatment juvenile justice programs. JJEEP has also published standards for residential commitment programs and detention centers in separate documents at its web site. 57 page pdf file.

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Service-Learning NETWORK Newsletter
The online newsletter of the Constitutional Rights Foundation provides educators, students, school administrators, and policymakers with resources that link classroom work with community needs. Click on the link above to look at the spring 2005 issue.

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Treating Women with Co-Occurring Disorders Involved in the Justice System and Their Children
The National GAINS Center reports on women’s issues, needs, and the needs of their children and provides examples of operating programs from around the country.

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For Parents: Legal Issues of Pediatric Bipolar Disorder
The Child and Adolescent Bipolar Foundation provides detailed information for parents whose child’s impulsive or aggressive acts can bring them into contact with the juvenile justice system. Includes a link to a page of Suggestions for Workers in the Juvenile Justice System  at the end.

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New York Courts Untangle Domestic Violence
Article about the New York Integrated Domestic Violence Court launched in 2001. The integrated system now has 18 courts and has handled over 13,000 cases. The new system is based on the one judge, one family premise. See links at the end of the article for more information.

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For Better or Worse
I generally avoid opinion pieces in Brevity, but this one on the state of contemporary marriage by a family history teacher and author of a history of marriage struck me as particularly thoughtful and informative.

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Conferences and Events

Upcoming NCJFCJ Conferences - For more details on the conferences listed below, click on this link.

• 68th Annual Conference – July 17-20, 2005 – Pittsburgh, Penn.
• Managing Challenging Family Law Cases: A Practical Approach – August 29-Sept.1, 2005 – Reno, Nevada
• Judicial Response to Alcohol and Other Drugs – September 11-16, 2005 – Reno, Nevada
  Fall College: The Role of the Judge – September 11-16, 2005 – Reno, Nevada
• Forum on Children and Families in Court – October 16-19, 2005 – Cleveland, Ohio
• Juvenile Justice Management Institute – October 23-28, 2005 – Reno, Nevada
• Evidence in Juvenile and Family Court – October 23-28, 2005 – Reno, Nevada

Annual Conference on Criminal Justice Research and Evaluation – The National Institute of Justice will hold this annual even July 18-20, 2005 in Washington, DC. Professionals will learn about promising research, discover how criminal justice practitioners are improving their systems with evidence-based programs, and talk with policymakers about how research can enhance productivity.

Communities Respond to Youth Gangs in America – OJJDP will air this 90 minute satellite videoconference on August 11, 2005. The videoconference will feature community programs and strategies that effectively address the youth gang problem. Register online and get more information at the link above.

ISPCAN European Conference on Child Abuse and Neglect – The International Society for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect and the German Society or Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect will hold this conference on September 11-4, 2005 in Berlin, Germany. The theme of the conference is “New Developments in Science and Practice:  Influences on Child Protection.”