Juvenile Defender Delinquency Notebook (PDF) - The National Juvenile
Defender Center has revised and updated this manual for its 2nd edition, which
is intended as an advocacy and training guide for juvenile defenders. Thirteen
chapters cover everything from the initiation of the attorney-client
relationship to appeals and related proceedings. Over 500 downloadable pages in
which case you should stock up on ink cartridges and invest in several reams of
paper. Available as a free PDF document.
D.C. Juvenile Reform Official Quickly Shakes Up Attitudes - Vincent
Schiraldi made the rounds, forgoing the handshake in favor of the chest bump, a
greeting not in the standard repertoire of most city officials.
MI
Audits of Privatized Program Show Overpayments, Conflicts of Interest -
Five years after Wayne County became the first in Michigan to hire private
companies to care for delinquent youths, its juvenile justice system is awash in
accusations of financial mismanagement, cronyism and fraud.
MI
BALDWIN YOUTH FACILITY:
Prison Is At The State's Mercy - Deep in the
scrubby jack pine forests of Lake County, an unlikely battle is brewing over the
state's so-called punk prison. At issue is whether to close the maximum-security
prison for 484 teenage boys convicted as adults. Most communities might be glad
to see it go, but most aren't Lake County.
The National Association
of Counsel for Children (NACC) is a non-profit child advocacy and
professional membership association. The NACC is dedicated to providing high
quality legal representation for children. Our mission is to improve the lives
of children and families through legal advocacy. The NACC provides training and
technical assistance to attorneys and other professionals, serves as a public
information and professional referral center, and engages in public policy and
legislative advocacy.
Also see:
Education on
Lockdown:
The
Schoolhouse to Jailhouse Track (PDF).
FL
Records:
Cops Used Tasers Against 24 students Since '03 -
Officers too eager to use stun guns, critics say.
At least 24 Central Florida students have been zapped by Tasers in the past 18
months as police officers working at public schools turned the controversial
stun guns on children as young as 12. "Simply, we meet force with force," said
Lt. David Ogden, who heads the training division of the Orange County Sheriff's
Office.
IL
Schools Faulted for Calling Cops on Students -
The Chicago Public Schools funnel alarming numbers of African-American students
into the Cook County Juvenile Court system through a zero tolerance policy that
criminalizes them for minor misbehavior, a national study to be released today
charges.
MA
Dad: System Punishes Sick Kids - Joshua Sarao's
father had no idea that his son's three-month stint for a probation violation
would turn into an eight-month nightmare of psychiatric hospitals and suicide
attempts. But the anguished Haverhill dad has been forced to watch as his son is
bounced from program to program in a juvenile justice system meant for
delinquents, not mentally ill kids.
Children of the Code Interview:
Dr. Peter E. Leone on Juvenile Injustice - Reading
Difficulties, Special Education and Juvenile Delinquency
- Dr. Leone is a Professor of Special Education who specializes in
Behavior Disorders at the University of Maryland. He is the Director of The
National Center on Education, Disability, and Juvenile Justice which is a
collaborative project involving partners from the University of Maryland,
Arizona State University, the American Institutes for Research in Washington,
DC, and the PACER parent advocacy center in Minneapolis.
It's Been 7 Years of 'Tough Love' For One of Nation's Youngest Convicted Killers
- Since 1997 Judge Eugene Arthur Moore and Nathaniel Abraham, one of
the country's youngest convicted killers, have sat feet apart, exchanging frowns
and apologies, promises, ultimatums, encouragement and the occasional
spontaneous laugh. Their relationship has been a strange kind of periodic
parenting for Abraham, a virtually fatherless teenager now in the home stretch
of his incarceration for murder.
"Get Tough" Youth Programs are Ineffective, Panel Says -
Boot camps and other get-tough programs for adolescents do not prevent
criminal behavior, as intended, and may make the problem even worse, a new study
has found. Further, laws transferring juveniles into the adult court system lead
these teenagers to commit more violence, the study said. More promising, reports
Laura Meckler, are programs that offer intensive counseling for families and
young people at risk.
MI
Fund Cuts Imperil Youths - Through treatment and counseling at a Growth Works program Chris Allen has been sober for more
than year and enrolled at Schoolcraft College, with dreams of becoming a drug counselor. Now he's worried others may not have that same opportunity. As part
of a 15 percent cut in the juvenile justice system budget, Growth Works today faces funding losses from Wayne County that have leaders scrambling to figure
out how they will offer high-level service to adjudicated youth from 17 western Wayne communities with limited resources.
MI
Children in Crisis: Mental Health - In this three-part series, the
Detroit Free Press examines how children with bipolar disorder, anxiety,
schizophrenia, depression and other mental illnesses succeed or fail in
getting mental health services. Through the eyes of children who are in
treatment, locked up, or on the brink, we explore what it takes to get
services, what's available and the impact on families when a child needs
mental health care.
CHILDREN IN CRISIS:
Family of Boy Overcoming Abuse Makes Tough Choice
to Get Him Help He Needs - Not when he is
reminded of the fire that killed his three adopted siblings and nearly took
his own life. Not when he thinks of the years of horrific neglect, physical
and sexual abuse and constant shuffling from place to place. Not even when
he's plucked out of his home and locked up in a juvenile detention center.
MI
Lack of Mental Help
Keeps Kids Locked Up - Thousands of children sit
needlessly in the nation's juvenile-detention facilities because
they need mental health services, costing those facilities more
than $100 million a year, according to a survey commissioned by
two lawmakers to be released today in Washington.
Violent Marriages May Make Violent Children - Children of violent
marriages may be more than twice as likely to set fires intentionally or be
cruel to animals than those from nonviolent homes, according to new research.
The study shows that problems in the family, especially violent behavior among
father figures, significantly increase the risk of fire setting and animal
cruelty in children, and these behaviors set the stage for later adolescent
delinquency.
MI
Adrian Training School to
Become Female Facility - The Adrian Training School, which for
decades has housed delinquent youth, will be converted into a juvenile
justice facility for girls. Department of Human Services Director Marianne
Udow said the conversion will best meet the needs of single-gender juvenile
justice programming for girls in the system.
Dependent Youth Aging Out of Foster Care: A Guide for Judges (PDF) - The
Juvenile Law Center announces a new publication to guide judicial
decision-making in cases involving older youth in foster care. This 8-page
publication includes analysis of the Foster Care Independence Act, the Adoption
and Safe Families Act, and special concerns affecting older foster children. It
shows how judges, child welfare agencies and children's lawyers can ensure that
youth have safe passage to adulthood by ensuring their access to education,
physical and behavioral health care, housing, and other services. Includes
checklists for ensuring comprehensive decision-making in these areas:
Permanency; Independent Living Skills; Education and Vocational Training;
Physical Health, Mental Health and Other Needs; Youth With Disabilities; and
Discharge of Youth On or After Age 18.
Juvenile Law Center -
Advancing the rights and well-being of children in jeopardy. A Pennsylvania
based site providing national coverage of juvenile justice initiatives and
issues as well as excellent summaries of recent court cases.
Fight
Crime: Invest in Kids Michigan -
Fight Crime - Invest in Kids Michigan is a bipartisan anti-crime
organization of police chiefs, sheriffs, prosecuting attorneys and victims of
violence. It is a project of the national Fight Crime - Invest in Kids, a
nonprofit supported by tax-deductible contributions from foundations,
individuals and corporations. It receives no public funding. The
organization calls on public officials to adopt a four-part plan to reduce crime
and violence, and help young people learn the skills and values they need to
become responsible adults. The four-steps are: 1. Provide all school-age
children and teens access to after-school youth development programs to shut
down the "Prime Time for Juvenile Crime"; 2. Provide all families access to
quality pre-kindergarten, school readiness, and educational child care programs
proven to dramatically reduce crime; 3. Help schools identify troubled and
disrupted children at an early age, and provide children and their parents with
the counseling and training that can help kids get back on track; 4. Improve
deficient parents and prevent child abuse and neglect by: * Offering high-risk
parents in-home parenting-coaching; * Making sure child protective, foster care,
and adoptive services have comprehensive policies and enough well-trained staff
to protect and heal abused and neglected children. For more information,
contact K. P. Pelleran, State Director at
kppelleran@fightcrime.org or
517-371-3565.
MI
ACLU Studying
Effect of Teen Life Sentences - With Michigan being one of 40 states that
still allow life without parole for juvenile offenders and one of 13 with no age
limit on such sentences, the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan has
undertaken a study of the effect of those sentences on communities.
MI
Senate Panel Gives Youths An Out
From Sex Offender Public Registry - A
Senate committee on Tuesday toughened some aspects of legislation giving a break
to young persons convicted of age-based sex crimes as proponents said they were
trying to strike a new balance in the operation of Michigan's sex offender
registry program.
When
Schools Criminalize Disability/Education Law Strategies for Legal Advocates
(from the Center for Law and Education) - When Schools Criminalize
Disability/Education Law Strategies for Legal Advocates explores various legal
theories and strategies for challenging inappropriate school-initiated
delinquency petitions and crime reports, and addressing their aftermath. This
collection of materials discusses approaches that, while well-grounded in law,
have not necessarily been tested in the courts. It uses education advocacy based
on IDEA, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and Title II of the Americans
with Disabilities Act to hold local schools accountable when they criminalize
the behavior for which they are legally obligated to provide appropriate
educational services; obtain better outcomes for clients in the juvenile courts;
enforce schools’ obligation to address behavioral issues as educational ones;
and reduce the risk of future school-initiated delinquency petitions or crime
reports. When Schools Criminalize Disability includes illustrative hypotheticals
as well as an appendix setting forth guiding principles and criteria for school
policies regarding the filing of delinquency petitions and crime reports.
GAO
Report on Special Education:
Clearer Guidance Would Enhance Implementation of Federal Disciplinary
Provisions.
In the 2000-01 school year, more than 91,000 special education students were
removed from their educational settings for disciplinary reasons. The GAO
(General Accounting Office) was asked to determine
where disciplined special education students are placed, the extent to which
local school districts continue educational services for those students, and how
the U.S. Department of Education provides support and oversight for special
education disciplinary placements.
Michigan Youth ChalleNGe
Academy
Attn: Admissions & Graduate Affairs Office
5500 Armstrong Drive, Bldg. 13
Battle Creek, MI 49016-1099
Web:
http://www.michigan.gov/dmva/0,1607,7-126-2361_3116---,00.html
The MYC Academy is a
17.5-month, three phase program. Cadets start with a two week
Pre-Challenge phase at Fort Custer in Augusta, Michigan. Then, for 20
weeks they live, work, and study on-site with other 16-18 year old
cadets. In that 20 weeks, they will receive 400 hours of
classroom instruction to prepare them for the G.E.D. exam. After
completion of the 22-week resident phases, cadets graduate and
continue their personal growth with an adult mentor, who will provide
each graduate with assistance for the next 12 months in their own
community. There is NO COST to the cadet or his/her family for
participation in this program. There is NO MILITARY OBLIGATION for
participation. Read an article about the Challenge
Program:
MI
Challenge Program Spared in Budget
-
The Challenge Program is Michigan's voluntary boot-camp
style program for dropouts and at-risk youth.
Child Delinquency: Early
Intervention and Prevention - Read the summary of findings from OJJDP
identifying risk and protective factors that are crucial to developing early
intervention and protection programs for very young offenders -
click
here.
TX
When Discipline
Turns Fatal -
Texas lacks
tough law on prone restraint that's banned in three states.
A
Ray of Hope in the Juvenile Justice System
Anti-Crime Study
Boosts After-School Programs
MI
Program gives
problem teens second chance
- Offenders praise
Juvenile Drug Court.
Troubled Kids, Far From Home -
Probing care, oversight at treatment centers.
Monograph Series on
Education, Disability and Juvenile Justice
MI
County's biggest
suburb drops D.A.R.E. - The workhorse
of anti-drug education in Saginaw Township schools is headed to
pasture.
Read the article from the Detroit Free Press -
Success: Juvenile
treatment improves Wayne County helps more, for less per teen
MIRS,
July 13 - Governor's
Appointments
Juvenile Justice - Education:
www.safetyzone.org
Child Welfare League:
www.cwla.org
National Crime Prevention Council:
www.ncpc.org
Street Law:
www.streetlaw.org -
Street Law is practical,
participatory education about law, democracy and human rights. Through
its philosophy and programs, Street Law empowers people to transform
democratic ideals into citizen action. Street Law's programs do not
end at the door of the classroom. Each student gains essential lessons
that can be used for life.
