5 takeaways from effort to re-design juvenile justice in Muskegon

Edward J. Latessa from the University of Cincinnati Correctional Institute has been hired by Muskegon County to re-design the county's juvenile justice system.

He spoke about his vision March 20 to a diverse group of court employees, judges, politicians and other public officials at Grand Valley State University's Innovation Hub on the waterfront in Downtown Muskegon. Muskegon County Circuit Court Administrator Eric Stevens and Family Court Presiding Judge Gregory C. Pittman also spoke.

Wake County leaders push “Raise the Age” legislation

As Policy Watch has noted in recent weeks, support for “raise the age” legislation seems to be growing in North Carolina among both political parties and law enforcement. This week, it’s getting another thumbs up from leaders in Wake County, which operates the state’s largest public school system. - See more at: http://pulse.ncpolicywatch.org/2017/03/20/wake-county-leaders-push-raise-age-legislation/#sthash.H7kuVNmo.dpuf

Juvenile justice expert hired by Muskegon County

MUSKEGON, MI - Muskegon County Family Court will hold a community event open to the public 9 - 11 a.m. Monday, March 20. 

Dr. Edward J. Latessa from the University of Cincinnati Correctional Institute will speak on "What Works in the Juvenile Justice System" at the Innovation Hub, 200 Viridian Drive in downtown Muskegon. His team will also present on a project it's undertaking in Muskegon.

Report says costs and juvenile crime are down in some states trying 17-year-olds as juveniles

Three states that have led a trend toward once again trying 16- and 17-year-olds as juveniles have seen falling juvenile crime and stable costs.

That’s a major finding of the Justice Policy Institute’s report, “Raising the Age: Shifting to a Safer and More Effective Juvenile Justice System,” according to the organization’s press release. The report, released March 7, looks at the results of “raising the age” in seven states that have done that in the past 10 years: Connecticut, Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Hampshire and South Carolina.

Florida lawmakers bring back bill to reform how juveniles are tried as adults

A proposal to limit the discretionary power prosecutors wield in charging juveniles as adults in Florida has surfaced once again in the Legislature.

For several years, versions of a bill to change how minors end up in adult court have failed. But state Sen. Darryl Rouson, D-St. Petersburg, a co-sponsor of this year's SB 192, said he is optimistic the measure will move forward this time given the shift in valuing rehabilitation over punishment.

Hamilton County juvenile court program keeps kid felons out of Ohio's juvenile system

In juvenile court circles, the program is loosely referred to as the mental health docket. Its more formal title is IDD, which stands for Individualized Disposition Docket. Loosely modeled after a similar program in California, it has been a quiet collaboration between the court, Lighthouse Youth Services, Hamilton County Mental Health and Recovery Services Board and Mental Health Access Point. Based on early successes, it expanded to include the Pretrial Diversion Docket (PDD) that seeks to catch kids earlier in the court system.

New Guide Documents that Over Half of Girls in California’s Juvenile Justice Facilities Are LGBTQ or Gender Nonconforming

San Francisco, CA, February 13, 2017 – Today, the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) and Impact Justice announce the release of a trailblazing publication entitled “Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Questioning, and/or Gender Nonconforming and Transgender Girls and Boys in the California Juvenile Justice System: A Practice Guide.” The guide, written by Angela Irvine and Aisha Canfield at Impact Justice and Shannan Wilber at NCLR, provides California probation officials with the tools to protect the safety and well-being of LGBTQ and gender nonconforming (GNC) youth in their care and custody.

Bridging Research and Practice for Juvenile Justice

Translating research into practice requires a systematic approach grounded in implementation science and input from practitioners. This document details such an approach for The Bridge Project— an effort designed to facilitate translation of juvenile justice research into actionable policy and practice changes through the development of practitioner-friendly, application-ready products. The underlying decisionmaking framework for this project includes: a continuous consideration of evidence, stakeholder feedback, and input carefully weighed and considered at multiple decision points

Department of Juvenile Justice to award grants for prevention programs

FRANKFORT – On February 15, the Department of Juvenile Justice will begin accepting applications for the Title II Formula Grants Program, which supports initiatives to keep low-level juvenile offenders out of the criminal justice system.

Approximately $300,000 will be available through the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention in the U.S. Department of Justice. Individual grants of up to $100,000 may be awarded.

Juvenile justice advocates look to raise age of criminal responsibility to 18

Austin high school student Elijah Corpus spent one month behind bars for drug possession when he was 17. An alternative school, though, had the bigger impact, he said.

Now 18, he's helping lawmakers, advocates and other students push the state to raise the age of criminal responsibility from 17 to 18. Under state law, 17-year-olds are treated as adults in criminal cases. Supporters say 17-year-olds are minors and that throwing them in lockups with adults can put them in harm's way, cause mental anguish and usher them toward a life of crime. Treatment, in the juvenile justice system, is the better answer, they say.