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Brevity on the NetWednesday, December 7, 2005 A weekly newsletter about juvenile justice
from the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges,
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Meth Baby Death Sentence Overturned The Hawaii Supreme Court unanimously overturned the manslaughter conviction of a methamphetamine-addicted mother whose baby died as a newborn. Treyson Aiwohi died two days after birth. The Honolulu medical examiner found high levels of methamphetamine and amphetamine in his system. Tayshea Aiwohi admitted using meth just before giving birth. Aiwohi’s appeal drew national attention from drug treatment groups and health professionals. The Supreme Court’s decision is available via a pdf file in the article linked above. ++++++++++ Meth and the Family and Meth and Sex Two feature articles from the Phoenix New Times examine programs for meth abusing moms to reunite them with their children and the increase in pregnancy and HIV rates among meth users. Ice, Ice Baby Meth and Sex ++++++++++ Questions to Ensure That the Educational Needs of Children and Youth in Foster Care Are Being Addressed This judicial checklist from NCJFCJ’s Permanency Planning for Children Department is downloadable from our web site. Click on the link above. ++++++++++ Lionel Tate Hearing Postponed for Psychiatric Exam A probation violation hearing that could send Tate back to prison for life was postponed on Monday after he told a judge he was suicidal and wanted a psychiatric evaluation. Tate was charged with armed robbery after a pizza deliveryman said he had seen Tate hiding with a handgun behind the open door of an apartment. ++++++++++ Promising Approaches/Promising Practices Two web sites provide information about programs and practices across the country. Children’s Bureau Promising Approaches – This page identifies promising approaches in child welfare during the child and family services reviews. Can be viewed by state or by topic. The Finance Project’s Promising Practices Catalog – A compendium of programs, practices, and initiatives intended to improve the futures of children, families and communities. 945 promising practices are profiled. ++++++++++ Seattle Teens in Prostitution The Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports on teen girls and their pimps and on the child sex trafficking circuit of which Seattle is a major hub. A Justice Department study has placed Seattle among 12 hub cities in the United State where traffickers recruit teens for sex work and move them around the country. While many of these young teens come from foster care settings, this is one of the few articles I’ve seen on the subject that actually discusses the vulnerability of girls from middle class schools and families to a well-dressed, fast talking, and good looking young pimp selling sex for money. ++++++++++ Schools Emphasize More Fitness, Less Sports Schools districts are engaged in improving their fitness centers in am emphasis on helping young people develop the competence that leads to confidence and enjoyment of a lifetime of physical activity. Schools are teaching all kinds of skills, including rock climbing, martial arts, and fly fishing. ++++++++++ Resource for LGBT Youth The National Juvenile Justice Network resources pages include a page of downloadable materials for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth. ++++++++++ Screening for Teen Suicide David Shaffer, a psychiatrist disturbed by an increase in teen suicide, devised a 10 minute questionnaire for 9th and 10th graders to inquire about depression, substance abuse and any previous suicide attempts and made it available to schools at no charge. TeenScreen is given to students with their parents’ consent. With only word-of-mouth marketing it has spread to 461 sites in 43 states. Despite this success, TeenScreen also has raised questions about the ability of the country’s mental health system to handle more people and has encountered conservative political opposition. ++++++++++ Adolescent Brain Development The National Juvenile Justice Network (NJJN) web pages include an excellent Issues section with information and resources on a variety of timely subjects. Here are three of the articles from the Brain Development section: The Relevance of Brain Research to Juvenile Defense – Robert Shepherd Adolescents, Maturity, and The Law: why science and development matter in juvenile justice – Jeff Fagan. Brain maturation in juveniles: Some implications for behavior and control - Ruben C. Gur ++++++++++ Independent Living Resources Fostering Adults – An editorial on aging out of the foster care system and its consequences. On Your Own Without a Net: The Transition to Adulthood for Vulnerable Populations – This new book is a product of the MacArthur Foundation Network on Transitions to Adulthood. The book documents special challenges facing seven vulnerable populations during the transition to adulthood: foster care, youth, youth involved in the juvenile justice system, youth formerly in the criminal justice system, runway and homeless youth, special education students, youth people in the mental health system, and youth with physical disabilities. Casey Life Skills – free and easy to use tools to help young people prepare for adulthood. GAO Report – Foster Youth: HHS Actions Could Improve Coordination of Services and Monitoring of States’ Independent Living Programs – 56 page report. National Child Welfare Resource Center for Youth Development – List of available publications and descriptions of each. ++++++++++ National Alliance for Drug Endangered Children Web site for those concerned about children whose caretakers manufacture, deal drugs, or use them and by doing so physically or psychologically endanger children. Resources here include a national medical protocol and how to start a DEC program. ++++++++++ Things Law Enforcement and Schools Can Do to Respond to or Prevent Hate Incidents Against Arab-Americans, Muslims, and Sikhs. I found reference to these two publications some time ago but just stumbled onto them online this week. They are located at the Department of Justice Community Relations Service home page and available for download. Click on the link above and go to Publications and Handbooks. ++++++++++ Boy Scouting and Juvenile Justice I was recently asked if there were any Boy Scout programs in juvenile facilities. I found diversion programs you can lread about here. Ohio Boy Scout juvenile diversion program BSA description of Juvenile Diversion Programs ++++++++++ Heat and Eat: Using Federal Nutrition Programs to Cushion the Shock of Skyrocketing Heating Bills Here’s a timely document. FRAC (Food Research and Action Center) reviews strategies in food stamps and child nutrition to help low income families avoid the heat-or-eat quandary this winter. The federal government expects this winter’s average monthly natural gas heating bill to jump 41%. ++++++++++ Successfully Raising Resilient Foster Children Who Have Fetal Alcohol Syndrome: What Works? This article from the Manitoba Journal of Child Welfare describes the author’s examination of the factors that contribute to successful foster home placement for children with FASD through a study conducted with long-term foster parents. Particular attention is paid to specific problems facing parents of adolescents.
++++++++++ Kidsdata Two counties in California are using advanced information technology to provide information about foster care and other issues involving child health and wellbeing through the Kidsdata.org web site. San Mateo and Santa Clara counties are tracking 30 health topics and providing analysis about how children are faring in each topic area. ++++++++++ Validation of the Risk and Resiliency Assessment Tool for Juveniles in the Los Angeles County Probation System The RAND Corporation assisted Los Angeles County in examining and reviewing its use of validated risk and needs assessment instruments and selecting the most appropriate instrument for its use. ++++++++++ Standby Guardianship A review of state statutes on standby guardianships, establishing a standby guardian, activating the standby guardian, and withdrawing guardianship. Includes a list of provisions shared by most standby guardian laws.
Join Us! ! Membership in NCJFCJ offers judges and juvenile court professionals the opportunity to get information about innovations and ideas, issues and news in juvenile justice and family law. Members receive the Juvenile & Family Court Journal and TODAY Magazine quarterly, and the Juvenile & Family Law Digest every month. For a sample package of all three publications and information on how to become a member, send me your name and mailing address and I'll send you an information packet ++++++++++ How to Subscribe To subscribe, click here and follow the instructions below: mailto:jbinard@ncjfcj.org - click on my email address,
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