Brevity on the Net

News

Decrease in Serious Violent Crimes at School

The rate of serious violent crime – rape, sexual assault, robbery and aggravated assault – at the nation’s schools fell from six victimizations per 1,000 students in 2003 to four per 1,000 in 2004, according this new report from the Bureau of Justice Statistics and the Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics.
From July 1, 2004 through June 30, 2005, preliminary reports show there were 21 homicides at school. In the most recent school year for which overall homicide data were available (2003 to 2004), homicides to school age children were about 50 times more likely to occur away from school than at school.

Indicators of School Crime and Safety, 2006  is posted at the link above.

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Judge Orders Mental Health Services for Child

A North Carolina judge ordered December 22, 2006 that the state must get a four-year-old autistic and bipolar boy the help he needs. Judge Fred G. Morrison, Jr. wrote, “The state may not fail to provide a medically necessary service to a Medicaid-eligible child because it is too expensive, not listed in the state plan of services, or difficult to provide.” The boy’s case highlights the lack of specialized mental health services for children in the state’s rural communities. The state Department of Health and Human Services may reject Morrison’s order.

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More Judges Carry Weapons in Court

Many judges are bringing their own guns into their courtrooms for protection. In Nevada, Oklahoma and Texas, incidents of violence in the past year have prompted new laws or solidified rules allowing judges to bring guns into the courtrooms.

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Curfews -- They don’t work, so why are they so popular?

Studies show that juvenile curfews don’t reduce youth crime, but cities around the country continue to pass curfew ordinances. It appears that a community’s belief about crime and what the news media and government officials report are more important than the data.

Reports/Publications

Models for Change: Building Momentum for Juvenile Justice Reform

The Justice Policy Institute released this report in December. The Models for Change initiative is an effort to create successful and replicable models of juvenile justice reform through targeted investments in key states. It is funded by the MacArthur Foundation. From the report executive summary:

Juvenile justice policy in the United States has quietly passed a milestone. After a decade shaped by myths of juvenile “superpredators” and the ascendancy of punitive reforms, momentum for systemic reform is growing. Significant new research on adolescent development and the demonstrated success of evidence-based practices have buoyed efforts to reestablish more rational and effective policies.

Click here to visit the Models for Change web site.
Click on the link above to go to the executive summary, a 12 page pdf file.
Read about the Illinois Models for Change project.

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The SuperGirl Dilemma

A new Girls Incorporated  research report reveals that girls today experience intense pressure, at ever younger ages, to be everything to everyone all of the time. Girls are particularly frustrated with the growing expectations that girls should please everyone, be very thin, and dress “right.” To get a copy of the full report of The Supergirl Dilemma in pdf format, contact Taiia Smart Young at TSYoung@girls-inc.org

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The New Normal? What Girls Say About Healthy Living

Girl Scouts of the USA commissioned this research study of 2,060 girls to address the dimensions of girls’ health-related attitudes and behaviors. What they found is that girls today seek the status quo - looking to find the safe middle ground where they feel and will be perceived as "normal.” The major findings of this study reveal that girls use a new set of norms to define health that depart from what adults may believe in four distinct ways:

For most girls, being healthy has more to do with appearing "normal" and feeling accepted than maintaining good diet and exercise habits.

Emotional health, self-esteem, and body image play a critical role in girls’ attitudes about diet and exercise.

Although girls demonstrate basic knowledge about health foods and eating behaviors, they often do not put this knowledge into practice, and it is “normal” for many girls to make poor choices with respect to diet and exercise.

Mothers were the most frequently cited source of information on healthy living and they clearly function as role models for their daughters. 

Click on the link above to learn more about the study.

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Guidelines for Juvenile Information sharing

This online report outlines a course of action for States and local jurisdictions involved in efforts to improve information sharing among key agencies that work with at-risk youth and juvenile offenders. The guidelines integrate the three critical components of juvenile information sharing – collaboration, confidentiality, and technology – into an effective developmental framework.  37 page pdf file.

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http://www.ncjrs.gov/html/ojjdp/news_at_glance/216684/index.html

The latest issue of OJJDP’s online bimonthly newsletter is up and available to read at the link above. The lead article in this issue features the recent conference on the Department of Justice’s six site comprehensive Anti-Gang Initiative.

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School-Based Partnerships: A Problem-Solving Strategy

This new publication from the COPS Office focuses on three school-based partnership sites and their use of the SARA (Scanning, Analysis, Response, and Assessment) problem-solving process to address specific issues in their schools: students and teachers feeling threatened, illegal drug sales, and truancy. 35 page pdf file.

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A Family Resource Guide on International Parental Kidnapping 2nd Edition

The report provides practical advice about preventing international kidnapping and increasing the chances that children who are kidnapped or wrongfully retained will be returned. It offers descriptions and assessments of civil and criminal remedies, explains applicable laws, identifies public and private resources, and identifies strategies to help parents recover their children or reestablish meaningful contact with them in another country. Important developments since 2002 are covered. 158 page pdf file and print copies are available too.

Juvenile Justice Etc.

Pacific Juvenile Defender Center Web Site

PJDC is a regional affiliate of OJJDP’s National Juvenile Defender Training, Technical assistance and Resource Center. PJDC offers downloadable publications, training, and network to juvenile defense attorneys. Publications include sections of a guidebook, Improving Juvenile Defense Strategies: Strategies and Models for Reform, including detention reform, placement delay and dead time, strategies for addressing placement delay and dead time, advocating for juveniles with the media, education advocacy for delinquency clients, immigration issues for delinquency clients.

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Children’s Rights Litigation Newsletter

Here are two articles from the most recent issues of the ABA’s Children’s Rights Litigation Newsletter:

The U.S. View of the Convention on the Rights of the Child - Time for Reconsideration (Fall 2006)

Successful Strategies for Representing Child Sex Offenders (Summer 2006)

This article reviews the presentations at this teleconference conducted in March, 2006

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Are Boot Camps Obsolete?

Boot camps appeared on the juvenile justice scene during the 1980s and were hailed as the “get tough” solution to whip youngsters into shape. No study has found this type of program reduces recidivism, but there are still people who advocate for boot camps as a solution to juvenile crime despite studies to the contrary.

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Parental Responsibility in Portland

In response to last summer’s mob scenes and starting at spring break 2007, Portland police will start enforcing a seldom-used state law, Failing to Supervise a Child. The police will write citations for parents to appear before a juvenile court judge. The judge will urge parents and their children to attend a course taught by police officers. A second offense by the child and the parents will be sent to adult court.

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Erasing Evidence of Gang Membership in El Salvador

The “Goodbye Tattoos” project of a health clinic in San Salvador removes gang symbol tattoos from people who are moving out of the gang life or from people who are afraid their non-gang tattoos will be mistaken for them. A 2003 law makes gang membership a crime and tattoos are the only evidence required.

AOD

Teen Use of Illicit Drugs Falls; Use of Pharmaceuticals Rises

Use of illicit drugs by America’s teens has dropped more than 23 percent in the last five years. At the same time teen abuse of medicines, both over-the-counter and prescription drugs, is rising. Nearly one in 10 high school seniors used the narcotic painkiller Vicodin without a prescription and nearly 1 in 20 used the painkiller Oxycontin, according to the newly released Monitoring the Future Study.

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Child Endangerment Report

This report from MADD outlines weaknesses in state laws against child endangerment. The report found that drivers who are caught drinking and driving with a child in their care are often not changed with child endangerment and even when such charges are brought, they are often reduced through plea-bargaining or dismissed. In the report MADD makes several recommendations.

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Study Questions Marijuana as Gateway Drug

A study of drug use among young men suggests that those who used marijuana before trying alcohol or tobacco were about as likely to develop an addiction problem as those who drank or smoked before using marijuana, according to researchers who say the findings run counter to the “gateway” theory underlying much of U.S. drug policy.

Mental Health

About Pediatric Bipolar Disorder

This lengthy article appears on the web site of the Child and Adolescent Bipolar Foundation. It provides a detailed and jargon-free body of information for parents, families, or anyone who deals with children with bipolar disorder. The article emphasizes how difficult it is to properly diagnose children with this disorder.

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Antidepressants a Suicide Risk for Young Adults

Widely used antidepressants double the risk of suicidal behavior in young adults, from around three cases per thousand to seven cases per thousand, according to a huge federal analysis of hundreds of clinical trials. The highest risk was found in patients 18 to 25.

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Special Needs of Youth in the Juvenile Justice System: Implications for Effective Practice

A manual to assist judges, attorneys, and other practitioners in their work with youth in the juvenile justice system that have mental health and/or other disabling conditions. A product of the Children’s Law Center, Inc. in Covington, Kentucky, the manual is a downloadable 170 page pdf file.

NCJFCJ NEWS

National Moot Court February 16-17, 2006

NCJFCJ, the ABA Center on Children and the Law, the National Association of Counsel for Children, and the American Academy of Adoption Attorneys are partnering with the event’s sponsor, Capital University Law School to send representatives to judge the final round of this 2nd annual Moot Court Competition in Child Welfare and Adoption Law. Details available at link above.

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Register now to attend the 34th National Conference on Juvenile Justice in San Diego March 4-7, 2007 and check out our other upcoming conferences too. NCJFCJ now offers online registration.

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NCJFCJ Activities by State

Take a look at what NCJFCJ has been doing in your state by clicking on it. You will see a record of our activities in your state since 1999 – conferences, seminars, technical assistance, and special projects. You can see them all here.

Permanency Planning/Foster Care/ Child Welfare

Getting Access to Juvenile Court Hearings in Dependency Cases

Written by a reporter, Barbara White Stack of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, and intended for reporters, this article looks at the issue of confidentiality in dependency cases from the point of view of the press. The author provides advice to reporters who want to cover a dependency case that normally would be closed.  Interesting reading.

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Interjurisdictional Placement of Children in the Child Welfare System: Improving the Process

Placements of foster children across state lines are often delayed due to complications in the interjurisdictional placement process. This new report from the Children’s Bureau provides recommendations for addressing the delays and complexities of these placements. Downloadable 265 page pdf file. Click on the link above to download.

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North Carolina Children’s Services Practice Notes

This is an online newsletter designed to enhance the practice of North Carolina’s child welfare workers by providing tem with information about research and practice models. It comes out four times a year. The link above is to an index that provides links to what looks like all past issues.

Here’s a link to the current issue, Promoting School Success for Children Involved with the Child Welfare System.

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State Fact Sheets on Child Welfare Funding

These fact sheets from CLASP provide useful background on the current fiscal structure of the child welfare system. Each contains sections that:

Describe the context for child welfare spending by providing data on abuse and neglected children, children in foster case, children who have left foster care, and children living with kin;

Identify how much child welfare funding comes from federal, state and local sources;

Describe the major federal funding streams that are used to support child welfare and the about of child welfare funding that comes from each; and

Highlight expenditures and trends within the Title IV-E Foster Care and Adoption Assistance Programs.

To access data on your state, click on it on the map.

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Standards of Practice for Attorneys Representing Parents in Abuse and Neglect Cases

The ABA Center on Children and the Law has released these standards, which address the basic obligations of parents’ attorneys, the obligations of the agency attorney manager, and the role of the Court. Full text available on the ABA web site as a 44 page Word document.

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16th National Conference on Child Abuse and Neglect

Will be held April 16-21, 2007, at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland, Oregon. For more information or to register, click on the link above.

Schools

Philadelphia’s Truancy Initiative

On any given day about 16,800 Philadelphia public school students, about 10% of the district’s enrollment, are absent from school. This article describes the multi-pronged initiative intended to get truancy under control and the numbers down.

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Quality Counts 2007: From Cradle to Career

Education Week, in its 11th annual report on state education reform, has found that people who live in the South and Southwest will face the most obstacles to success, while those born in the Northeast and North Central states should expect fewer road blocks. Virginia was overall highest scorer, beating or tying the national average in all categories. Children in New Mexico lagged on all indicators except kindergarten enrollment, where it almost matched the national average. The Education Week web site has information in detail available to read or for download.

Department of Justice News and Events

National Videoconference on Juvenile Status Offenders – Thursday, January 18, 2007 from 2:00 to 4:00 pm EST.

This live satellite Internet videoconference will focus on the factors that may lead a status offender to become more deeply involved in serious risk behavior, offending, and the juvenile justice system. To register or for additional information click on the link above.

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National Mentor Recruitment Trainings – February 26-28, 2007 in Los Angeles, Calif. Or April 11-13, 2007 in Nashville, Tenn.

These training sessions will assist and challenge mentoring programs to explore new avenues for finding and recruiting mentors, particularly through faith- and community-based collaborations. For more information or to register for this event, click on the link above.

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National Youth Court Training – February 25-28, 2007 in Las Vegas, Nevada

This two-track training will assist jurisdictions in developing and implementing effective youth court programs. Track One is designed for those who are interested in establishing a youth court program and for new adult staff and volunteers. Track Two is designed for experienced youth court staff and adult volunteers who seek innovative strategies and techniques to enhance existing local youth court programs. For more information or to register for this event, click on the link above.

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New Funding for Tribal Youth Programs

Applications are now being accepted for two competitive grant programs:

The Tribal Youth Program (TYP) – TYP supports and enhances tribal efforts to prevent and control delinquency and improve tribal juvenile justice systems for American Indian/Alaska Native youth.

The Tribal Juvenile Accountability Discretionary Grant (T-JADG) – T-JADG supports and enhances efforts by federally recognized tribes to develop and implement programs that hold AI/AN youth accountable for their delinquent behavior and that strengthen tribal juvenile justice systems.

 Click on the links above for more information on both programs

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 your name and USPO mailing address and we'll send you an information packet .

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