http://theadvocate.posterous.com The online presence of the Kentucky Department of Public Advocacy journal posterous.com Thu, 28 Feb 2013 05:43:00 -0800 KYA - Youth Incarceration on the Decline: Kentucky Still Confining Too Many Youth for Behaviors that Aren’t a Risk to Public Safety http://theadvocate.posterous.com/kya-youth-incarceration-on-the-decline-kentuc http://theadvocate.posterous.com/kya-youth-incarceration-on-the-decline-kentuc

The national rate of locking up young people in trouble with the law dropped by more than 40 percent over a 15-year period, with no decreases in public safety, according to a new report released by the Annie E. Casey Foundation today.

The KIDS COUNT Data Snapshot indicates that the number of young people in correctional facilities in the United States on a single day fell to 70,792 in 2010, from a high of 107,637 in 1995. The report also shows that the overwhelming majority of confined youth in the United States are charged with offenses that do not put public safety at risk, such as running away or violating probation. In 2010, only one of every four confined youth across the nation was locked up due to a violent offense (homicide, aggravated assault, robbery or sexual assault).

Kentucky’s trend of locking kids up is also going down, mirroring the national trend.  In 1997, Kentucky had 1,080 youth in confinement (at a rate of 235 per 100,000 youth ages 10-17) compared with 852 youth in confinement (at a rate of 186 per 100,000 youth ages 10-17) in 2010. The decline over this time period represents a 21 percent decrease in Kentucky’s rate. In 2010, Kentucky had the 18th lowest rate in the nation of locking kids up.

While Kentucky’s downward trend shows a move toward being smarter, and not just tougher, on crime, there is still vast room for improvement. An analysis by Kentucky Youth Advocates of data from the Kentucky Department of Juvenile Justice and Louisville Metro Youth Detention Services shows that only 3.8 percent of youth that were locked up during 2007-2011 were confined for violent offenses. This means that only a very minor number of confined youth pose a threat of harm to community safety.

For behaviors such as truancy and running away, which would not be considered crimes if the youth were adults, evidence-based programs can effectively address the underlying causes of behavior. Many states have implemented “Children in Need of Services” models, which recognize that there are family dynamics involved in youth misbehavior, such as running away, and work to address what is really causing that behavior. These models are more effective than confinement for minor offenses and are also less expensive.

Kentucky leaders have stepped up in addressing the juvenile justice system in the past couple of years. In 2012, the legislature created a Unified Juvenile Code Taskforce, Co-Chaired by Senator Katie Stine and Representative John Tilley, which has begun to identify ways to improve the juvenile justice system long-term. Senator Whitney Westerfield has filed a resolution (SCR 35) to reauthorize the task force so it can continue developing solutions to improve Kentucky’s juvenile justice system.

You can find the snapshot and data on youth in confinement in the KIDS COUNT Data Center.

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Tue, 05 Feb 2013 05:25:00 -0800 New Publication - National Juvenile Defense Standards http://theadvocate.posterous.com/new-publication-national-juvenile-defense-sta http://theadvocate.posterous.com/new-publication-national-juvenile-defense-sta

NJDC has just released the National Juvenile Defense Standards.  The Standards represent a comprehensive understanding of the role and duties of the juvenile defender in the 21st century juvenile court system, and seek to strengthen and guide the ethical and professional performance of the juvenile defense attorney. The Standards present a national approach to systematizing zealous, competent and diligent defense practice in juvenile court and set out a framework for representation that is anchored in the law, science, and professional codes of responsibility.

Click here to request additional support or a hard copy of the Standards.  

 

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Tue, 08 Jan 2013 06:38:00 -0800 New Free Online Toolkit Aims to Inform Lawyers Who Work With Traumatized Youth http://theadvocate.posterous.com/new-free-online-toolkit-aims-to-inform-lawyer http://theadvocate.posterous.com/new-free-online-toolkit-aims-to-inform-lawyer

Research shows that most young people entering the juvenile or adult justice system have been exposed to violence and other traumatic events, and often they have experienced trauma multiple times. Research also shows that the greater the degree of exposure, the more likely the child will suffer physically, socially and emotionally, says Howard Davidson, director of the American Bar Association Center on Children and the Law.

These factors led to the creation of a free toolkit, available online and intended for use by the justice system. The toolkit, titled “Identifying Polyvictimization and Trauma Among Court-Involved Children and Youth: A Checklist and Resource Guide for Attorneys and Other Court-Appointed Advocates,” is designed to make legal representation of children in delinquency, dependency (abuse/neglect) and other cases more focused on addressing the victimization a child client has experienced, and on how that client has been affected by multiple traumas, Davidson says.

Lawyers can use the toolkit’s checklist to identify and better understand what violence and other distress their child clients have experienced, he says. The checklist provides a vehicle to help lawyers determine whether the youth they represent has one of more than 20 adverse symptoms that may indicate their client is suffering from severe traumatic stress.

“If their client has traumatic stress, there is a flowchart to help the lawyer understand what trauma-informed referrals and services the child may need,” Davidson says.

Accompanying the toolkit is the issue brief “Victimization and Trauma Experienced by Children and Youth: Implications for Legal Advocates.” Among the topics the document covers are: understanding the symptoms of traumatic stress; the role of legal advocates, judges and court staff; screening instruments for identifying past trauma and exposure to violence; descriptions of relevant state and local initiatives; and considerations related to developing a trauma-informed legal practice.

The tools stand to benefit lawyers and their child clients, Davidson explains. “Many children and youth in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems have experienced or witnessed violence or other traumatic events and suffered the fear of ongoing exposure to harm,” he says. “Trauma-informed care and evidence-based mental health treatments are a crucial part of recovery. These tools were developed to increase awareness of these issues among the legal profession, especially court-appointed lawyers for children in juvenile and family courts.”

Davidson encouraged development of the documents and facilitated support for them through the Safe Start Center, a program funded by the Department of Justice. The final products represent a partnership between the ABA, Safe Start, Child and Family Policy Associates and the Chadwick Center for Children and Families.

“I hope that these documents will be widely disseminated and utilized, so that we will truly have trauma-informed legal advocacy for vulnerable children and youth across the country,” Davidson says.

Source ABA Now

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Wed, 14 Nov 2012 05:18:00 -0800 Kentucky Supreme Court considering Miranda warning for students- Louisville Courier Journal http://theadvocate.posterous.com/kentucky-supreme-court-considering-miranda-wa http://theadvocate.posterous.com/kentucky-supreme-court-considering-miranda-wa

The Kentucky Supreme Court is considering a case from Nelson County that could require school officials to give the Miranda warning — you have the right to remain silent and anything you say can and will be used against you — when questioning a student with a school resource officer present.

Principals frequently work in concert with such officers — there are 254 sworn police working in Kentucky schools, according to the Kentucky Center for School Safety, and up to 60 percent of schools nationwide have one on campus.

Miranda warnings are required when a subject is in custody — when a suspect thinks he’s not free to leave — and at issue is whether a student grilled in the principal’s inherently fits that description.

Opponents of requiring the warnings in school say administrators have more important things to do.

more....

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Mon, 22 Oct 2012 05:56:00 -0700 Using Adolescent Brain Research to Inform Policy: A Guide for Juvenile Justice Advocates - National Juvenile Justice Network http://theadvocate.posterous.com/using-adolescent-brain-research-to-inform-pol http://theadvocate.posterous.com/using-adolescent-brain-research-to-inform-pol

Research has revealed profound differences in the way that adolescents and adults use their brains. Much has been made of this research in policy arenas on behalf of youth in the justice system; however, its use raises questions about respect for our youth allies and implications for alternate policy agendas. This paper, recently updated, explores the key issues and makes recommendations.

 Download the policy paper, "Using Adolescent Brain Research to Inform Policy: a Guide for Juvenile Justice Advocates."

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Wed, 26 Sep 2012 10:53:00 -0700 Victimization and Trauma Experienced by Children and Youth: Implications for Legal Advocates. http://theadvocate.posterous.com/victimization-and-trauma-experienced-by-child http://theadvocate.posterous.com/victimization-and-trauma-experienced-by-child

The Safe Start Center, ABA Center on Children and the Law, and the Child and Family Policy Associates recently released a new resource, Victimization and Trauma Experienced by Children and Youth: Implications for Legal Advocates.  In this resource, you’ll find:

·         Information about the prevalence and impact of victimization and exposure to violence

·         Practice tips for juvenile defenders, children’s attorneys and GALs, judges, and CASAs

·         Explanations of traumatic stress symptoms and trauma-related assessments and treatments

·         Descriptions of promising local and state initiatives to address trauma

·         Guidance on policy reforms and other considerations for trauma-informed advocacy

 

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Thu, 19 Apr 2012 12:09:00 -0700 KY COA March 30th -Bell- Statement by Juvenile in School http://theadvocate.posterous.com/ky-coa-march-30th-bell-statement-by-juvenile http://theadvocate.posterous.com/ky-coa-march-30th-bell-statement-by-juvenile

Commonwealth v. Bell; and T.C.
11-CA-562, Rendered March 30, 2012; To be published

The Commonwealth appealed a denial of a writ of prohibition seeking to overturn the suppression of a thirteen-year old boy’s statement in a first degree sodomy case in Fayette County District Court. The Court of Appeals affirmed the suppression, finding that even though the detectives did not deprive T.C. of sleep, food, had Mirandized T.C., and had used a calm conversational tone, these factors do not provide the same assurance of voluntariness in a thirteen year old as it does for an adult. 

The Court of Appeals focused on the fact that T.C. was interrogated at school, stating, “The fact is a school is where compliance with adult authority is required and where such compliance is compelled almost exclusively by the force of authority. Like it or not, that is the definition of coercion.”  The Court found that the Detective’s questioning in the school setting made it reasonable to believe that T.C. felt he had to say “something, whether true or not.” Further, it was unreasonable that T.C. would believe he had the right to say nothing and get up and leave the interrogation.

The Court noted, “T.C., alone, was ordered by school officials into a room, facing adult authority figures with considerable power, who also feigned superior knowledge (“I know what happened [and your cousin] has not lied to me about anything”), and who repeatedly demanded answers that he, if he was to be an obedient child, would have to provide.  How could T.C. not perceive such a situation as subjectively coercive?”

Note that the Court of Appeals did not cite the recent U.S. Supreme Court case J.D.B. v. North Carolina, 131 S.Ct. 2394 (2011), in making its decision.  The J.D.B. decision provides additional support for suppressing a juvenile’s statement when it is made in a school setting since it discusses the viewpoint of a child interrogated at school and requires consideration of a defendant’s age when determining if the child was in custody under Miranda.

Contributed by Robert Yang

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Tue, 03 Apr 2012 05:39:00 -0700 KY SC March 22 - Jackson - Juvenile Code. Jurisdiction. Preservation. http://theadvocate.posterous.com/ky-sc-march-22-jackson-juvenile-code-jurisdic http://theadvocate.posterous.com/ky-sc-march-22-jackson-juvenile-code-jurisdic

James Jackson v. Com., 2012 WL 975708, (Ky., 2012) decided on March 22, 2012.
Juvenile Code.  Jurisdiction.  Preservation.


The district court certified Jackson as a youthful offender and transferred him to the circuit court, where he entered a guilty plea and was sentenced as an adult. He collaterally attacked his conviction on the grounds that the transfer was improper and argued that the circuit court never acquired jurisdiction over him or his case. In addition to failure of the indictment to charge a public offense, issues that survive a guilty plea include competency to plead guilty, certain types of sentencing issues, and whether the trial court had general subject-matter jurisdiction. "Lack of jurisdiction or the failure of the indictment or information to charge an offense shall be noticed by the court at any time during the proceedings." RCr 8.18.

Because the district court's transfer order was legally sufficient on its face, and no other jurisdictional defects appear in the record, this Court concludes that the transfer was proper and the circuit court had jurisdiction.  But since the Commonwealth did not seek discretionary review of the Court of Appeals' decision to remand for a determination of voluntariness of the guilty plea, the remand for that determination stands.

Contributed by Susan Balliet

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Tue, 20 Mar 2012 12:48:00 -0700 Juvenile LWOP - SCOTUSblog recap of Tuesday's SC oral arguments http://theadvocate.posterous.com/juvenile-lwop-scotusblog-recap-of-tuesdays-sc http://theadvocate.posterous.com/juvenile-lwop-scotusblog-recap-of-tuesdays-sc

Analysis

Moving further along the constitutional line between adults and children in the criminal courts, the Supreme Court on Tuesday turned to life-without-parole sentences for youths who commit murder, and appeared to be reaching for a compromise.  If the indications from a one-hour hearing hold, the Court might allow such sentences to be imposed on youths, but not as a mandatory matter for younger teenagers.  And it could choose to forbid that penalty at all for some, but where that line might be drawn was far from clear – although it might wind up at 12 or younger.  In more than 90 minutes of argument in two cases, there was no sign that a majority would come together on a flat ban for such a sentence for anyone under age 18 — the preferred outcome sought by two youths’ lawyer.

Continue reading »

Transcripts of Tuesday’s oral arguments in Miller v. Alabama and Jackson v. Hobbs

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Thu, 15 Mar 2012 12:35:00 -0700 ABA Resource - Think Before You Plea: Juvenile Collateral Consequences in the United States http://theadvocate.posterous.com/aba-resource-think-before-you-plea-juvenile-c http://theadvocate.posterous.com/aba-resource-think-before-you-plea-juvenile-c

The Juvenile Collateral Consequences Project is an endeavor undertaken by the American Bar Association to document and analyze the significant hardships experienced by youth who have come in contact with the juvenile justice system. These hardships, known as collateral consequences affect youth who have successfully completed a sentence imposed by the court. The hardships include barriers to education, employment, and public benefits.

Juvenile Collateral Consequences in Kentucky

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Mon, 28 Nov 2011 06:52:00 -0800 D.G. - Contempt - No Boykin http://theadvocate.posterous.com/dg-contempt-no-boykin http://theadvocate.posterous.com/dg-contempt-no-boykin

D.G. v. Commonwealth of Kentucky, Court of Appeals, Fayette County, TO BE PUBLISHED

The court vacated and remanded the court’s order finding child in contempt as well as accepting the plea on the underlying juvenile status offense.  The Court held that contempt cannot be found where the underlying guilty plea did not receive the full due process rights guaranteed by the Constitution under KRS 600.020(61)(d) and 610.010(11). 

In this case, there was no Boykin colloquy at the time that D.G. entered the plea, in fact the attorney just stated that there would be a stipulation.  Thus, the court held the plea was not clearly voluntary and intelligent since there was little to no explanation of possible consequences of an admission prior to accepting it.  The court reiterated that juvenile’s should have heightened assurance of the protection of their rights. 

Since the plea was entered without these protections, the court orders that the court held D.G. in contempt of were not valid court orders and thus both findings were required to be vacated and the case remanded back to family court.

Contributed by La Mer Kyle-Griffiths

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Mon, 10 Oct 2011 06:28:00 -0700 No Place for Kids: The Case for Reducing Juvenile Incarceration - Casey Foundation Report http://theadvocate.posterous.com/no-place-for-kids-the-case-for-reducing-juven http://theadvocate.posterous.com/no-place-for-kids-the-case-for-reducing-juven

The Annie E. Casey Foundation released No Place for Kids: The Case for Reducing Juvenile Incarceration, which examines the detrimental impact of America’s over-reliance on incarceration of youth in an in-depth analysis of its effect on youth and public safety. Combining research, data and testimony, the analysis shows that America’s reliance on incarcerating young offenders has not only failed to combat youth crime but also that reducing these rates and closing facilities does not increase juvenile crime rates. Juvenile incarceration facilities:

 •                    Do not reduce future offending of confined youth: Within three years of release, roughly three-quarters of youth are rearrested; up to 72 percent, depending on individual state measures, are convicted of a new offense.

 •                    Do not enhance public safety: States which lowered youth confinement rates the most saw a greater decline in juvenile violent crime arrests than states which increased incarceration rates or reduced them more slowly.

 •                    Waste taxpayer dollars: Nationwide, states continue to spend the bulk of their juvenile justice budgets – $5 billion in 2008 – to confine and house young offenders in incarceration facilities despite evidence showing that alternative in-home or community-based programs can deliver equal or better results for a fraction of the cost.

 •                    Expose youth to violence and abuse: Nearly 50 percent of states have been sued in the last decade alone for persistent maltreatment in at least one of their institutions.  One in eight confined youth reported being sexually abused by staff or other youth and 45 percent feared physical attack according to reports released in 2010.

The report highlights best practices that some states have implemented as alternatives to incarceration. 

 For a copy of the full report, press release and issue brief, visit: http://www.aecf.org/noplaceforkids.

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Thu, 15 Sep 2011 03:44:00 -0700 Children under 10 - Interim Judiciary Hearing http://theadvocate.posterous.com/children-under-10-interim-judiciary-hearing http://theadvocate.posterous.com/children-under-10-interim-judiciary-hearing

Lexington Herald-Leader

No Criminal Charges for Children 10 or Younger, Officials Suggest to Legislators

Each year, the misbehavior of about 400 Kentucky children 10 or younger — some as young as 5 — results in criminal complaints on charges including harassment, assault and being beyond the control of an adult.

On Wednesday, three state officials asked legislators on the Interim Joint Committee on Judiciary for a law that would prohibit children 10 or younger from facing criminal charges. Instead, their misbehavior would be addressed through the social service system.

The legislative committee is hearing testimony to see what changes might need to be made during the 2012 General Assembly to current laws, which according to a state court official have allowed 2,704 children 10 or younger to be criminally charged from 2005 to 2010.

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Thu, 18 Aug 2011 06:12:00 -0700 National Juvenile Justice Network - Safe and Effective School Disciplinary Policies and Practices http://theadvocate.posterous.com/national-juvenile-justice-network-safe-and-ef http://theadvocate.posterous.com/national-juvenile-justice-network-safe-and-ef

NJJN Policy Platform - Safe and Effective School Disciplinary Policies and Practices

NJJN's latest policy platform includes recommendations on safe and effective school disciplinary policies and practices.  The recommendations focus on:

Law enforcement and discipline policies
Suspensions and expulsions
Student rights and family engagement
Students with disabilities
Data and racial and ethnic disparities (Disproportionate Minority Contact

Click here to see all NJJN policy platforms.

Law Enforcement and Discipline Policies

  • Schools must reject the one-size-fits-all prearranged set of sanctions laid out in zero tolerance policies and instead promote discipline policies that provide individualized assessments and interventions that are appropriate to ensure a safe learning environment.
  • Schools must not use law enforcement as a response to non-criminal adolescent misbehavior. If students engage in criminal behavior on school grounds, schools must have graduated responses in place, reserving law enforcement for only the most serious offenses.
  • Schools must establish clear guidelines for school personnel and on-campus law enforcement officials
    regarding the role of each in responding to youth behaviors and exactly which infractions may lead to court
    referrals. Referrals to court should be reserved for only the most serious infractions.
  • To eliminate or curtail the use of mechanical restraints, chemical restraints, corporal punishment, and isolation, law enforcement and school officials must be trained on the traumatic effects of these practices, as well as child and adolescent development, appropriate methods for de-escalation, and safe and effective responses to youth behaviors.
  • Schools must focus on prevention and effective intervention as responses to disciplinary issues. Positive
    Behavioral Interventions and Supports, peer juries, restorative justice processes, diversion, mentoring, mental health counseling, and restitution can be particularly effective in improving school safety and promoting positive youth development.

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Wed, 01 Jun 2011 04:53:00 -0700 Five Emerging Practices in Juvenile Reentry - National Reentry Resource Center http://theadvocate.posterous.com/five-emerging-practices-in-juvenile-reentry-n http://theadvocate.posterous.com/five-emerging-practices-in-juvenile-reentry-n

By Shay Bilchik, Director, Center for Juvenile Justice Reform, Georgetown University Public Policy Institute; Chair, National Reentry Resource Center Advisory Committee on Juvenile Justice

As many as 100,000 youth under the age of 18 are released from juvenile correctional facilities every year. These young people often return to their communities with complex needs, such as physical and behavioral health issues and barriers to education and employment.

The National Reentry Resource Center’s Advisory Committee on Juvenile Justice is developing resources for the field to increase the likelihood of successful juvenile reentry and promote safer communities. The Committee’s work is currently focused on five emerging areas in youth reentry policy and practice:

  1. Integrating the science of adolescent brain development into the design of reentry initiatives.
  2. Ensuring that reentry initiatives build on youths’ strengths and assets to promote pro-social development.
  3. Engaging families and community members in a meaningful manner throughout the reentry process.
  4. Prioritizing education and employment as essential elements of a reentry plan.
  5. Providing a stable, well-supported transition to adulthood that helps to create lifelong connections.

Click here to read more about these five emerging practices and the resources the National Reentry Resource Center has made available for each of them.

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Wed, 06 Apr 2011 10:18:00 -0700 Resources for Graduated Sanctions and Incentives - Reframing Futures Blog Post http://theadvocate.posterous.com/resources-for-graduated-sanctions-and-incenti http://theadvocate.posterous.com/resources-for-graduated-sanctions-and-incenti

juvenile-drug-courts_graduated-response-gridResearch has shown that punishment alone is not the most effective way to to help a young person change his or her behavior -- the primary goal of juvenile drug courts, and, indeed, juvenile probation generally. Instead, a combination of punishment, or sanctions, with incentives, is most effective.

But if you want to act on this information, you're likely to have a number of questions. Here's just a few of the questions that commonly arise:

  • 1. Is there a ready-made list of sanctions and incentives we could use?
  • 2. Should we start out giving a strong sanction to get the offender’s attention, or should we build up to that?
  • 3. Are we coddling offenders by giving them incentives?
  • 4. Does it matter how long you wait after the behavior is detected to give a sanction or incentive?

And that's just the beginning.  To help you make sense of the options -- and to give you several lists of ideas for your own graduated sanctions and incentives grid -- I'm posting a number of resources here.

From NCJFCJ (and shared with permission):

If your team is working on implementing incentives and sanctions together, you'll probably want these as well, also from the NCJFCJ:

No list like this, however, would be complete without acknowledging the work done by Reclaiming Futures' own Justice Fellows -- the probation officers who helped develop the Reclaiming Futures model in our ten foudning sites. In 2005, they created the colorful incentives/sanctions grid you see pictured in this post.

  • The Illustrative Graduated Response Grid
  • About the grid
    • "The Illustrative Graduated Response Grid is a tool that may be used by treatment providers, corrections personnel and judicial professionals, in responding appropriately to a youthful offender’s behavior."
    • Also, please note that the incentives and sanctions listed are just suggestions. Your community way choose different items.

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Sun, 03 Apr 2011 20:12:00 -0700 New OJJDP Fact Sheet - What Works with Serious Juvenile Offenders http://theadvocate.posterous.com/new-ojjdp-fact-sheet-what-works-with-serious http://theadvocate.posterous.com/new-ojjdp-fact-sheet-what-works-with-serious

The "Pathways to Desistance" research study is a unique study of what works in the juvenile justice system. This large, multi-site research project followed 1,354 serious juvenile offenders for seven years. An informative brief on the study findings was released in 2009 by the MacArthur Foundation; now, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) has released another fact sheet, titled, "Highlights From Pathways to Desistance: A Longitudinal Study of Serious Adolescent Offenders."

Here's what the study found:

  • Most youth quit or reduce their offending over time.  Only 8.5 percent of the youth in the study persisted at high levels of offending. As Dr. Mulvey explains in the OJJDP fact sheet,

"Two factors that appear to distinguish high-end desisters from persisters are lower levels of substance use and greater stability in their daily routines, as measured by stability in living arrangements and work and school attendance."

  • Providing services and sanctions based on individual need -- factors including substance abuse, mental health needs, family background -- could be more effective than providing them based on severity of the crime and prior convictions. Surprisingly, the researchers found that the youth who persisted in offending and those who reduced their offending behavior got about the same kind and intensity of services.
  • In a related finding, the study found that incarceration did not reduce offending. In fact, for the subgroup of serious juvenile offenders who greatly reduced their offending after contact with the justice system -- who spent about 30 percent of the study followup period in institutional care -- incarceration actually increased their offending to a small, but statistically signifcant degree. 

If locking them up didn't help, what did? Community-based services and probation supervision. As Dr. Mulvey writes,

"Youth who received community-based supervision and aftercare services were more likely to attend school, go to work, and avoid further offending during the 6 months after release, and longer supervision periods increased these benefits."

  • For many of these youth -- those meeting their definition of "serious juvenile offenders" -- substance abuse treatment is key, as the MacArthur Foundation brief makes clear:

"Levels of substance use and associated problems are very high in these young offenders. More than one-third qualify for a diagnosis of substance use disorder in the year prior to the baseline interview, and over 80 percent report having used drugs or alcohol during the previous six months. Moreover, the level of substance use walks in lockstep with illegal activity over the follow-up period: more substance use, more criminal offending."

Treating youth for at least 90 days, with their family members involved, cut both their substance abuse and their offending, at least during the six months after treatment.  (Tellingly, the sub-study this conclusion was based on, "Substance use treatment outcomes in a sample of male serious juvenile offenders," which appeared in 2009 in the Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, found that only 25% of the serious juvenile offenders in its sample received treatment that included family members. The study authors speculated that this might be partly because these offenders were being treated in secure institutional environments, rather than the community.)

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Tue, 18 Jan 2011 13:43:00 -0800 Drug Court Review Special Edition on Juvenile Drug Courts http://theadvocate.posterous.com/drug-court-review-special-edition-on-juvenile http://theadvocate.posterous.com/drug-court-review-special-edition-on-juvenile

A Special Issue on Juvenile Drug Courts

Introduction to Special Issue on Juvenile Drug Treatment Courts

Adolescent Outpatient Treatment

 

Melissa L. Ives, M.S.W., Ya-Fen Chan, Ph.D., Kathryn C. Modisette, M.A., and Michael L. Dennis, Ph.D

Altering Risk Processes Associated with Delinquency and Substance Abuse

Cindy M. Schaeffer, Ph.D., Scott W. Henggeler, Ph.D., Jason E. Chapman, Ph.D., Colleen A. Halliday-Boykins, Ph.D., Phillippe B. Cunningham, Ph.D., Jeff Randall, Ph.D., and Steven B. Shapiro, M.S

Hearings in a Juvenile Drug Court

Benta Samuelson Christopher Salvatore, M.A., Jamie S. Henderson, M.A., Matthew L. Hiller, Ph.D., Elise White, and

Developing Accountability in the Lives of Youth: Defining the Operational Features of Juvenile Treatment Courts

Pamela Linden, Ph.D., Shelly Cohen, Ph.D., Robyn Cohen, Ann Bader, M.P.A., and Michael Magnani,

Legislative Initiatives

Sean Clark, J.D., James McGuire, M.S.W., Ph.D., and Jessica Blue-Howells, M.S.

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Tue, 21 Dec 2010 12:38:00 -0800 Featured Case - Establishing jurisdiction in habitual truancy cases http://theadvocate.posterous.com/featured-case-establishing-jurisdiction-in-ha http://theadvocate.posterous.com/featured-case-establishing-jurisdiction-in-ha

Juvenile and family courts get subject matter jurisdiction to hear complaints of habitual truancy by a complaint which complies with the requirements of KRS 630.069(2) and by the school performing an adequate assessment of the child prior to bringing the complaint.  If these requirements are not met, the courts have no jurisdiction and the court designated worker should not even receive the complaint.  N.K. v. Commonwealth, 2010 WL 4026085, Court of Appeals, decided 10/15/2010

 

Contributed by Glenn McClister

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Thu, 09 Dec 2010 10:40:00 -0800 New OJJDP Report Provides Detailed Look at Juveniles in Placement http://theadvocate.posterous.com/new-ojjdp-report-provides-detailed-look-at-ju http://theadvocate.posterous.com/new-ojjdp-report-provides-detailed-look-at-ju

OJJDP has released findings from its “Survey of Youth in Residential Placement,” an examination of more than 7,000 young people in secure placement around the country during 2003.


Among the most significant findings:

  • Youth of color are overrepresented in residential placement: 32% of youth in residential placement are African American, and 24% are Latino.
  • Over 1,200 youth in residential placement are under 13 years old.
  • 57% of the detained youth are incarcerated for a nonviolent offense.
  • Despite evidence that girls have not become more prone to offending over the past decade, there has been a steady increase in the proportion of girls in residential placement. For some offenses, such as status offenses and assaults, girls are nearly twice as likely as boys to be in placement.
  • 25% of the youth were not raised by either parent.
  • 20% of young people in residential placement are either parents or expecting (compared to a national average of 2-6%)
  • 30% of the respondents report that they have a learning disability (compared with 5% of the general population). They have also experienced high rates of suspensions (57%), truancy (53%), and disenrollment from school (24%)
  • 30% of youth have not been informed of any post-release plan for them.

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