MJDA

Ideas and Opinions, Juvenile Justice News

The 2012 Supreme Court decision in Miller v. Alabama held that mandatory sentences of life without parole for juveniles were unconstitutional.

The court’s 2016 decision in Montgomery v. Louisiana said the Miller decision was retroactive, meaning that everyone sentenced to life without parole as a juvenile is entitled to have their sentences reconsidered.

The next legal question for juvenile lifers that could potentially come from the United States Supreme Court is whether a jury or judge should be the one to consider and impose the new sentences.

Dec 20

Dec 20 St. Louis County Family Court signs agreement with feds to correct racial inequities

After 16 months of negotiations, the St. Louis County Family Court and the federal Department of Justice struck a formal agreement Wednesday to correct alleged racial inequity in the court’s handling of juvenile delinquency cases.

The agreement also addresses conflicts of interest and failures to provide fair legal representation.

Dec 15

Dec 15 Michigan House paves way for less strict school discipline policies

Juvenile Justice News, Local News

A vote in the Michigan House this afternoon will upend many of the strict, zero-tolerance policies in schools that many say are unfairly kicking kids out of school — sometimes for months at a time — for offenses that could be handled differently.

The House voted 107-1 today to provide the final legislative approval of a package of bills aimed at giving schools greater flexibility in meting out punishment to students — and ultimately cutting back on the number of kids expelled or suspended from Michigan schools.

The House vote came after the Senate voted 37-0 Tuesday night. The House originally approved the bipartisan, seven-bill package in June, but had to vote again today because of changes made to the legislation in the Senate.

Dec 14

Dec 14 Juvenile diversion program steers kids back on the straightened path

RAPID CITY, S.D. ( KOTA TV ) The State of South Dakota is awarding funds to 25 counties for successfully diverting juvenile offenders from the criminal justice system.

The counties will share a total of $242,500 in funding under a fiscal incentive program as part of the Juvenile Justice Reinvestment Initiative (Senate Bill 73) passed by the 2015 Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Dennis Daugaard.

Dec 13

Dec 13 Juvenile detention centers struggle with transgender inmates

Juvenile Justice News, Criminal Justice News

PORTLAND, Maine – The nation's juvenile detention centers are largely ill-equipped to handle transgender teens, leaving them vulnerable to bullying, sexual assault, depression and suicide, advocates say.

Young transgender people are too often sent to girls' or boys' lockups based on their anatomy, not their gender identity, and can end up suffering psychologically and getting picked on by other inmates or staff members, according to advocacy groups. Even when they are assigned to detention centers that correspond to their gender identity, they are often victimized.

Dec 12

Dec 12 Sgt. Paul Pardue: Initiative has reduced juvenile arrests

Ideas and Opinions, Juvenile Justice News

The Racial and Ethnic Disparities Initiative of the Alachua County Sheriff's Office is not only working, it is changing the lives of our citizens.

The R.E.D. initiative started back in 2012 long before it had a name. The School Resource Bureau changed its policies when our on-campus arrest numbers reached the hundreds and were way out of control. We stopped arresting for probation violations and petty misdemeanor crimes and started doing what we were supposed to do - educate our children.

Dec 12

Dec 12 Juvenile offenders face new restorative justice program

The North Bend Police Department has adopted a new program to help juvenile offenders, one that also gives power back to the victims.

Chief Robert Kappelman first heard of "restorative justice" when he was still working for his old department in Wisconsin, where troubled youth had no place to go. The juvenile detention center had closed, so his department was forced to find an alternative method, and "rightly so, because locking kids up is not the best way to change future behavior and we know that," Kappelman said.

Dec 8

Dec 8 Clash of Views on Treating Juvenile Offenders

Juvenile Justice News, Facility News

Local juvenile justice advocates opposed to incarceration of youth offenders attended a public meeting Wednesday to criticize Milwaukee County administrators who havE recommended building a state-financed 36-bed secure facility here as an alternative to the troubled Lincoln Hills boys prison in northern Wisconsin.

Dec 8

Dec 8 Task Force Recommending Six Ideas for Juvenile Justice System Reform

Criminal Justice News, Juvenile Justice News

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — Next month, Tennessee lawmakers will consider changing the way juveniles are prosecuted. A juvenile justice task force has come up six tentative recommendations that would help rehabilitate juvenile offenders.

We got a copy of the suggestions from State Senator Mark Norris's office. He's the chairman of that task force.

Dec 8

Dec 8 Ed. Dept. Releases Resources for Young People Exiting the Juvenile-Justice System

In an effort to help young people transition from juvenile-justice back to their original schools or other educational settings, the U.S. Department of Education released various resources last week to help them, educators, and other navigate the process.

The new set of materials includes a guide for those leaving juvenile-justice facilities, a toolkit for administrators and other educators to assist youth in the juvenile-justice system, as well was

Dec 6

Dec 6 How States Are Making the Holidays Merry, Even for Prisoners

The “most wonderful time of the year” may be the hardest for tens of thousands of young people locked up for the holidays.

But many states try — within the confines of security rules, budgets and protocols — to make the season a little brighter for youthful offenders, who often are housed far from home

Dec 6

Dec 6 California Wraparound Program Reduces Juvenile Recidivism by Focusing on Mental Health

LOS ANGELES — Manuel Dircio, 20, a business administration student at Fullerton College boasts a 4.0 GPA.

He is also a recovering alcoholic with a history of arrest and incarceration in juvenile detention — not quite what you’d expect from a seemingly model college student with a stellar grade point.

Dec 6

Dec 6 Prop. 57 sends minors on new path through court system

Weeks after voters overwhelmingly passed Proposition 57, the Ventura County District Attorney's Office and prosecutors across the state have initiated their own policies concerning juvenile offenders who face criminal charges as adults.

Under the Public Safety and Rehabilitation Act, which took effect the day after the Nov. 8 election, prosecutors no longer have the ability to directly file complaints in adult court involving felony crimes allegedly committed by minors. It also includes

Dec 6

Dec 6 Trump Taps Carson, Not Woodson, To Lead Housing and Urban Development

National News, Juvenile Justice News

In late November, Youth Services Insider reported on the possibility that Robert Woodson, Sr., president of the Center for Neighborhood Enterprise, would lead the Department of Housing and Urban Development for President-Elect Donald Trump. Woodson has worked at HUD before, is an advisor on poverty issues for Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.), and has overseen the development of a successful violence prevention model.

Dec 6

Dec 6 Reducing Recidivism for Justice-Involved Youth

The U.S. Department of Education has released new guides and resources to help justice-involved youth make a successful transition back to traditional school settings. These resources promote successful transitions by emphasizing the importance of early planning and working with family, mentors, facility staff, and school employees at every stage of the process.

The resources include a guide written for incarcerated youth; a newly updated transition toolkit and resource guide for practitioners in juvenile justice facilities; a document detailing education programs in juvenile justice facilities from the most recent Civil Rights Data Collection; and a website that provides technical assistance to support youth with disability as they transition out of juvenile justice facilities.

Dec 2

Dec 2 Maryland juvenile justice task force recommends severely curtailing strip-searches

A task force recommended Thursday that Maryland lawmakers drastically curtail when the state's juvenile justice system can strip-search young people in its custody.

The panel voted 10-9 to ban strip searches unless there is an "articulated, reasonable belief" that a youth is concealing drugs, keys or anything that could be used as a weapon. Such searches could only be authorized by a juvenile detention facility's superintendent, administrator or a designee.

The Department of Juvenile Services oversees facilities that detain youths ages 11 to 20.

Dec 2

Dec 2 Civil citations gain popularity as alternative to arresting minors

A policy encouraged by Gov. Rick Scott to not arrest non-violent juvenile offenders and instead give them alternative sanctions, for example, make them take part in teen court.

Dec 2

Dec 2 Advocates Want Juvenile Justice Overhaul, Clash Over Direction

When it comes to overhauling its juvenile justice system, Virginia has garnered a reputation as a model of teamwork and progress. Yet even in a state poised to set a national standard, it’s still bedeviled by some of the same problems seen in other states, thanks in part to an outdated national attitude that juvenile offenders only deserve punishment.

Dec 2

Dec 2 ACLU 'pleased' with charges against St. Charles youth home guards