• Brevity is the soul of wit.
  -- Shakespeare

Brevity on the Net

Wednesday, October 5, 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.

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Life Sentences for Americans Who Committed Their Crimes Before They Could Vote

About 9,700 American prisoners are serving life sentences for crimes they committed before they could vote, serve on a jury or gamble in a casino. Juvenile criminals who committed crimes before they turned 18 are serving life terms in at least 48 states.

The United States is one of only a handful of countries that sentences adolescents who committed their crimes under the age of 18 to life without parole. A recent Human Rights Watch/Amnesty International poll found the same situation in only three other countries. Israel has seven prisoners, South Africa has four, and Tanzania has one. In the United States, the report said, there are 2,200 people serving life without parole for crimes they committed before turning 18. More than 350 of them were 15 or younger.

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The Economics of Juvenile Jurisdiction

This newly released white paper from the Urban Institute considers the costs and benefits of the separate juvenile justice system in the United States. The paper raises many more questions than it answers and recommends a potential research agenda for investigating the economic consequences of legal decision-making in cases involving youthful offenders.

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Students E-Mail Reports of Crime and Bullying

A new web site, www.alertrecall.com, makes it possible for kids to report crimes, potential crimes, dangerous situations, bullying, drug activity, gang fights, and other activities anonymously. The web site is the creation of Phoenix, Ariz., police officer Cecil Jackson.

Within two days of the web site going online a tip led to the arrest of a 17-year-old boy in the shooting of another teen. Since March, when the site went online, 60,000 emails have come in.

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Promising Approaches in Child Welfare

The Children’s Bureau provides descriptions of promising approaches online both by topic and by state.

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First Girls Court in the Nation

I think. I’ve been checking around and so far can’t find another. If you know of another Girls Court, please tell me about it.

This new court is in Hawai’i. It was launched in September 2004 on O’ahu by the Hawai’i Family Court as a pilot project. Services provided to the girls currently enrolled in the Girls court include alternative education and vocational training, seminars on pregnancy prevention, domestic violence prevention and intervention, healing from trauma, escaping sexual exploitation, and substance abuse treatment. Family members are required to participate in classes and group activities.

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Parental Involvement in Minors’ Abortions

This Guttmacher Institute policy brief provides quick access to individual state laws on parental involvement in minors’ abortions. Some statistics:

• 34 states require some parental involvement in a minor’s decision to have an abortion.
• 20 states require parental consent; 2 require both parents to consent.
• 14 states require parental notification; 1 requires that both parents be notified.

All of the 34 states, except Utah, that require parental involvement have an alternative process for minors seeking an abortion. 

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No Turning Back: Promising Approaches to Reducing Racial and Ethnic Disparities Affecting Youth of Color in the Justice System

Building Blocks for Youth released this new report yesterday (October 4, 2005). The report provides accounts from states across the county of successful change in recent years. It catalogues strategies used by system insiders as well as outside advocates, including research, legislation, community organizing, media advocacy, and litigation.

You can download either the complete report or a report summary at the BBFY web site.

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National Adoption Month

November is National Adoption Month. Here is a three page fact sheet from the census bureau with information and statistics about adopted children. This year November 20 will be National Adoption Day.

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What Works, Wisconsin: What Science Tells Us About Cost-Effective Programs for Juvenile Delinquency Prevention

This report reviews primary prevention, secondary prevention and juvenile offender programs in place in Wisconsin. Within each category the report highlights one or two evidence-based programs, including cost-benefit information whenever it is available. The report also discusses the practices and approaches that appear to increase program effectiveness within each category. The report concludes with a set of 10 recommendations that strongly support the use of evidence-based programs and practices. See especially, Appendix A, a chart of program details. 70 page pdf file. Three page Executive Summary up front.

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Fathers Are Encouraged to Become Involved in Children’s Education

Schools in some 80 cities around the country and in Auckland, New Zealand, are participating in the Million Father March this year. It calls on men to walk children to school on the first day or to participate in school events. In the U.S, about one-third of all children live apart from their biological fathers. Studies have shown that when fathers stay involved students are less likely to repeat a grade, drop out, or develop problems such as substance abuse.

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Child Welfare Outcomes 2002

Just released by HHS and now in its fifth year, this report provides data on the performance of States in meeting the needs of children and families who come into contract with the child welfare system. Full report is available for download in html or pdf. The executive summary is a 13 page pdf file.

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Judge of the Year: Chief Judge Jeremiah of Rhode Island

The chief judge of the Rhode Island Family Court, Judge Jeremiah S. Jeremiah, Jr., was named by the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (that’s us) as Judge of the Year at our Annual Conference. This article on the corrections.com web site profiles Judge Jeremiah and tells why he was chosen for this award.

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Young Children of Substance Users: The Case for Alcohol and Other Drug Education

The Spring 2005 issue of The Source,  the newsletter of the National Abandoned Infants Assistance Resource Center, is devoted entirely to this subject. The newsletter is 28 pages packed with information, some superb programs, a preschool drug prevention program, resources, curricula, program materials, books, etc. – all on this subject.

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Summer 2005 Juvenile and Family Court Journal Articles

From our latest Journal issue, we are offering you the choice of one of two articles which will be delivered to you via email. No charge. Just send Cheryl Lyngar an email and tell her which one you want. The articles are:

Judicial Perspectives on Family Drug Treatment Courts – Two past presidents of NCJFCJ team up in this article to provide a judicial perspective on this specialty court and to offer some assistance for those who are operating or who are considering creating a Family Drug Treatment Court.

The Knowledge of Detained Juveniles About the Juvenile Justice System – This study found that the experiences of the juveniles with the justice system provided only limited understanding of the system’s processes and confusion about juvenile justice officials’ roles. The authors themselves will tell you that this is by no means a definitive study, but it does add to the body of knowledge about a largely unexamined subject.

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• State Statutes Relating to the Representation of Children in Dependency Courts
• Public Access to Child Abuse and Neglect Proceedings
• Public Access to Dependency Court Records

First Star, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving life for child victims of abuse and neglect, provides this information online in an easily accessible format. The information was compiled this summer (2005). You can look at statute information on all states or individual states. Bookmark this one. It’s handy to have around.

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Sex Between Young Teens and Older Individuals: A Demographic Portrait

This ChildTrends Research Brief  reports that:

Among sexually experienced teens, having sex with someone who is older has been associated with reduced and inconsistent use of contraception, including reduced use of condoms, and a greater risk of teen pregnancy.

More than one in four babies born to mothers between the ages of 15 and 17 were fathered by someone who was five or more years older.

On average, young teens who have sex with an older individual report a larger number of sexual partners during the high school years and higher levels of drug and alcohol use than do other sexually experienced teens.

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

• 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

Mark your calendar now for the 33rd Annual Conference on Juvenile Justice, March 26-29 in Denver, Colorado.  Click on this link for more information.