All in Juvenile Justice News

Teenage suicide sheds light on lack of oversight for juveniles in county jails

OKLAHOMA CITY — Before his death, 16-year old John Leroy Daniel Applegate was secluded from other juveniles in a cell in the Oklahoma County Detention Center.

The teenager also was placed on suicide watch intermittently during his time at the detention center before jailers ultimately found him unresponsive in his cell in April, said County Commissioner Carrie Blumert.

With fewer juvenile offenders locked up, an unexpected consequence arises for schools that teach them

Schopen teaches at a juvenile detention center for children serving time for committing felony crimes — assault, burglary, murder, manslaughter, arson. Four out of five students have mental-health or substance-abuse issues and struggle to control their emotions. About half have learning disabilities and are many grade levels behind. It’s hard to imagine a more difficult place to teach.

Casey Selects 15 Sites to Train Juvenile Justice Frontline Staff

The Casey Foundation has selected 15 state and local juvenile justice agencies and related organizations to participate in its inaugural Reimagining Juvenile Justice (RJJ) Train-the-Trainer Institute this May. The institute’s goal is to accelerate the spread of the RJJ curriculum, a six-part professional development opportunity for frontline staff working with youth involved in the juvenile justice system and their families.

Youth often become homeless just after leaving juvenile detention. Can Washington state really stop it?

At least 1,800 youths were homeless or unstably housed within a year of exiting those systems, according to the most recent data available.

No other state has made such a sweeping commitment, according to experts, and Washington does not yet know how it will achieve it. But the state has an interest in ensuring today’s homeless youths don’t become the next generation of homeless adults, and officials are exploring solutions.