Brevity is the soul of wit.
-- Shakespeare

Brevity on the Net

Wednesday, March 22, 2006

 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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No Brevity next week.
I will be in Denver for the 33rd National Conference on Juvenile Justice.
If you plan to attend, come say hello to me at the Juvenile and Family Law Department booth.
The next issue of Brevity will be April 12.

Court Security

Court Security Remains a Serious Concern for the Judiciary

The Judicial Conference of the United States, which sets policy for the federal courts, approved security measures this week. The conference authorized security equipment and worker for federal probation and pretrial services offices, urged added training for judges’ security guards and called for the Bureau of prisons to screen all outgoing mail to judges and courts from federal prison inmates.

Judge Ginsburg Acknowledges Death Threat

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has acknowledged a specific death threat against her and her retired colleague Sandra Day O’Connor and blames lawmakers for fueling “the irrational fringe.”

The Future of Court Security and Judicial Safety

Courts are looking for new ways to improve the security of their facilities and will also address new security issues, such as the desire of some judges to carry guns in the courthouse.

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New Studies Warn That Black Men in the United States Are in a Dire Situation

In new studies experts at Columbia, Princeton, Harvard and other institutions show that the huge pool of poorly educated black men are becoming ever more disconnected from mainstream society, and to a far greater degree than comparable white or Hispanic men. The new data paint a more extensive and sobering picture of the challenges they face:

• The share of young black men without jobs has climbed relentlessly. In 2004, 72 % of black male high school dropouts in their 20’s were jobless.
  
• Incarceration rates reached historic highs in the past few years. In 2004, 21% of black men in their 20’s who did not attend college were in jail or prison, up from 16% in 1995.
  

In the inner cities, more than half of all black men do not finish high school.

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Revised DARE Program Shows Promise

 The revised DARE program is showing effective results in preliminary studies. Researchers found that students given the new curriculum were more likely to refuse drugs and had fewer misconceptions about how many of their peers use drugs, compared to students in a control group.

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Graduated Sanctions in Juvenile Justice: A National Training

Plan now to attend this national training which will introduce new graduatedsanctions tools for administrators and practitioners; strategies for building a continuum of services; and the transition of graduated sanctions in to the Delinquency Guidelines initiative. Click on the link above for more details and to view a copy of the conference brochure.

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Online Database of Medicaid Benefits

This site contains Medicaid benefits survey data from 2003 and 2004 with information about benefits covered, limits, co-payments and reimbursement methodologies for the 50 states.

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Are You Interested in Mentoring?

NCJFCJ is looking for a member judge with an active mentoring program in his or her community who would be interested in sitting on the advisory board for a potential new Council project. If you are a judge, a member, and interested, please respond ASAP to Jessica Pearce.

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White Kids Are Most Likely to Abuse Inhalants

A federal study of inhalant abuse found:

• about 34% of young people between 12- and 17-years-old who tried inhalants for the first time came from families that earned at least 200 to 399 percent more than the federal poverty threshold.
  
• 70% were white
  
• First-time users were as likely to be girls as boys – 50.5% female; 49.4% male.
  
• 30% of those who said they tried inhalants for the first time were 12- to 13-years-old; 39.2% were 14 or 15; 30.8% were 16 or 17.

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Tribal-State Relations in Child Welfare

NCCAN (National Clearinghouse on Child Abuse and Neglect Information) has released a new publication on how States and Tribes can work together more effectively to protect the safety, permanency, and well-being of American Indian/Alaska Native children. This issue brief examines factors affecting Tribal-State relations in child welfare; components of successful Tribal-State relations; and includes examples of promising practices in Tribal-State relations. Downloadable. 14 page pdf file.

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Indiana Sets Up Hotline for Kids in the State System

The Indiana Department of Correction has established the state’s first direct access hotline. Created for juveniles who were concerned for their safety among peers, or staff, the hotline offers direct access to the Internal Affairs Department and state investigators any time of day. Juveniles throughout the state have been informed about the hotline and how to use it.

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Parental Alcoholism Creates Risk Factors for Young Adult Children

A new study identifies parental alcoholism as an important risk factor for escalated use of both alcohol and other drugs during young adulthood. It is specifically associated with both an early onset of drinking and with persistent alcohol abuse throughout adulthood.

Currently 1 in 4 children (under the age of 18) grow up in a household affected by alcoholism according to the National Association of Children of Alcoholics. This means 1 in 4 emerging adults and young adults will be faced with an increased risk for alcoholism and illicit drug use, simply because of exposure to an alcoholic parent.

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New Georgia Formula for Child Support

The new Georgia system of calculating child support could reduce the payments for many noncustodial parents, most of whom are men. The new law mandates that child support be calculated based on the incomes of both parents. The existing system focuses mainly on the income of the noncustodial parent. It includes a “parenting time” adjustment that would give the noncustodial parent a reduction on child support if the parent spends a certain amount of time with the children.

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Save the Dates! Free Training!

NCJFCJ is offering juvenile drug court subject matter trainings May 2-4, 2006 in St. Louis, Missouri.

May 2, 2006 –     Drug Testing

May 2-3, 2006 – Effective and Innovative Approaches to Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment or Using Incentives and Sanctions Effectively With Adolescents.

All three workshops are free of charge.

Participants will be responsible for their own travel and accommodations. You may be able to use US DOJ grant funds. Contact your grant manager today!

Look for registration and hotel information the week of April 3, 2006 on the NCJFCJ Conferences web page. Contact Kathy Barcus for more information by email or by phone at 775.784.1748.

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Discarded Lab Chemicals Stymie Volunteer Highway Cleanup Plans

Authorities found more than 100 methamphetamine labs in ditches and wood across Ohio last year, and they believe many more are out there. The abandoned labs contain chemicals that can burn skin, sear lungs or leave someone blind and volunteer groups are wary of what they may run into in volunteer cleanups.

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National Crime Victims’ Rights Week April 23-29, 2006

Click on the link above for resources, information, and events scheduled for National Crime Victims’ Rights Week. A Resource Guide has been developed to help communities promote awareness of victim issues and comes complete with camera-ready art files on CD-ROM, posters and sample PSAs.

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Juvenile & Family Law Department
NCJFCJ

Brevity is supported by Grant No.2005-JL-FX-0065 from the 
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, U.S. Department of Justice