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News and Information as of Mar 10, 2010 |
For Juveniles in NY Family Court, Judges Seek Safer Alternatives to Prison
Tue, 9 Mar 2010 08:06:20 - Pacific Time
Standing to address Judge Daniel Turbow in Family Court in Brooklyn, a city prosecutor confidently listed the reasons why the 16-year-old boy in the courtroom should be sent upstate to a juvenile prison. He was a member of the Bloods, the prosecutor said, and he later joined another gang. He was arrested once for grand larceny and twice for assault. He went to school drunk and spat on the dean of students. He admits to going out to Bergen Beach to rob people, the prosecutor continued, as the courtroom fell silent. He stated that this is the way that he gets his money. Judge Turbow, looking anguished, was still reluctant to issue the harshest penalty: sending the teenager to a juvenile prison run by the state. A recent series of reports on the grim conditions at upstate juvenile prisons has made the decisions of Family Court judges even more difficult. The reports detailed violence, broken bones, suicidal behavior and deficient mental health services at the prisons. Some judges have said they are now in an excruciating position: armed with the knowledge that the prisons are unacceptably dangerous places, but unable to stop sending young people there. And so they send them, one judge said, every day. Family Court judges, by and large, have tried hard to find alternatives to prison, and lawyers for the children facing charges credit them for the effort. The result has been the slowing, if not the end, of the procession to prison. There is a greater inclination to explore whatever other resources there are out there - even resources that they might not have in the past deemed to be ideal or appropriate for a child, said Martin Feinman, the lawyer in charge of the Legal Aid Society’s juvenile-rights office in Brooklyn. Some judges say they have been more willing to consider probation, even in cases with repeat offenses. Other judges, frustrated with the lack of mental health services at state facilities, have chosen to assign juveniles to the care of the Administration for Children’s Services, the city’s child welfare agency, leaving it to officials there to find foster homes or residential facilities.Those placements have rankled officials of Children’s Services, who say they have neither the money nor the facilities to take in children who would normally be headed to secure detention in an upstate institution. Read More...
1 in 4 Parents Link Autism to Vaccines
Tue, 9 Mar 2010 08:01:38 - Pacific Time
Most parents believe that vaccines protect their children against disease, but one in four think some vaccines cause autism in healthy children, and nearly one in eight have refused at least one recommended vaccine, a new study has found. The vaccine most likely to have been rejected by parents was for human papillomavirus, or HPV, to protect against cervical cancer, according to the report. It was based on questions asked of more than 1,500 parents of children 17 and younger. Many parents also rejected the chickenpox vaccine, the meningococcal conjugate vaccine against bacterial meningitis and, to a lesser extent, the MMR, which protects against measles, mumps and rubella. Just last month, the British medical journal The Lancet retracted the 1998 study that first linked the MMR vaccine to autism and set off widespread fears about vaccine safety. We were sobered to find that one in four parents erroneously believe that vaccines can cause autism in an otherwise healthy child,” said Dr. Gary L. Freed, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Michigan and the lead author of the paper, published online on March 1 by the journal Pediatrics. “Fortunately, they are still overwhelmingly vaccinating their children. Nine of 10 parents agreed that vaccines protected children from disease, but more than half said they were concerned about serious adverse effects. Read More...
LA County probation workers going unpunished
Thu, 4 Mar 2010 05:27:20 - Pacific Time
Dozens of Los Angeles County Probation Department employees found to have abused youngsters in the juvenile justice system remain on the job because there isnt enough staff to mete out discipline, the departments interim chief said. About 170 employees await punishment while another 112 misconduct investigations are pending, including some involving allegations of excessive force. Some investigations have been pending for months. We have too many cases and not enough staff, department chief Cal Remington told the Los Angeles Times for its Wednesday print edition. Im not happy with the time it takes to complete an investigation and determine the discipline. The county Board of Supervisors on Tuesday asked the countys Office of Independent Review to work with the probation department to review its operations. Probation department spokeswoman Kerri Webb told The Associated Press on Wednesday that she welcomes the review, adding: We do have some bad apples. The department is in charge of overseeing 3,000 youths in one of the nations largest juvenile justice systems. Department investigators review complaints against employees and determine whether there was wrongdoing. The 14 investigators handle hundreds of complaints filed each year against 6,200 employees. If misconduct is found, a special unit determines the punishment, which can range from a written reprimand to firing. The unit also handles older cases in which employees have appealed to the Civil Service Commission. All of the 170 misconduct investigations occurred within the past year and about half involved allegations of abuse involving juveniles, the Times said. The misconduct ranged from insubordination to having inappropriate relationships with youngsters, and some of those awaiting internal discipline also are facing criminal charges, Webb said. She did not have details of specific allegations and did not immediately know how many of the employees awaiting punishment had engaged in serious abuses. Theyre not the majority, she said. While most of the employees awaiting discipline remained on the job, those guilty of misconduct involving juveniles have been reassigned and no longer work directly with youngsters, Webb said. She did not have details of specific allegations and did not immediately know how many of the employees awaiting punishment had engaged in serious abuses. Theyre not the majority, she said. While most of the employees awaiting discipline remained on the job, those guilty of misconduct involving juveniles have been reassigned and no longer work directly with youngsters, Webb said. The Times reported two weeks ago that it had identified 11 cases of serious misconduct by probation officers, including beatings and molestation. One case involved a woman who was sentenced to four years in prison after pleading guilty to having sex with juvenile hall inmates. Read More...
No Child Left Behind Advocate Shifts Position
Thu, 4 Mar 2010 05:16:58 - Pacific Time
Former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Education, Diane Ravitch, supported No Child Left Behind during her time with the Department of Education. Like many, including the late Edward Kennedy and George W. Bush, Ravitch saw No Child Left Behind (NCLB) as policy that would give much needed improvement to America’s lowest achieving schools. As almost a decade has passed since the bill was passed in May of 2001, evidence has come out against many of its components, and Ravitch has changed her tune entirely. In her new book, iThe Death and Life of the Great American School System/i, Ravitch details the ways NCLB has failed our students and our communities. It is refreshing that while many school superintendents, mayors, governors, and even a president, have spoken highly of many of NCLB’s policies and outcomes, such as last week’s mass firing of the Central Falls High School teaching and support staff, Ravitch is looking at the actual data, and concluding that in fact NCLB has not worked, that its policies are unrealistic, and that in fact it discourages improvement altogether. In an interview Tuesday with NPR, Ravitch cited one of the major components of NCLB, standardized testing, and said it lowered the standards in schools across the nation. While certainly setting a standard for student achievement is important, Ravitch says NCLB’s strategy has encouraged cheating, It turns out as a result of putting so much emphasis on the test scores, there’s a lot of cheating going on, there’s a lot of gaming the system. Instead of raising standards it’s actually lowered standards because many states have ‘dumbed down’ their tests or changed the scoring of their tests to say that more kids are passing than actually are. The pressure put on everyone from the states to the superintendents to the teachers fosters this kind of result, and while standards are certainly crucial, the fact that students cannot graduate and teachers and administrators can be fired has not fostered the kind of change lawmakers expected when NCLB was signed into law. Using test scores as an indicator of needed attention and then providing necessary funding, aid, and additional staff may be a better way to go. Read More...
Teens With More Screen Time Have Lower-Quality Relationships
Wed, 3 Mar 2010 05:09:07 - Pacific Time
Teens who spend more time watching television or using computers appear to have poorer relationships with their parents and peers, according to a report in the March issue of Archives of Pediatrics Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. Over the past 20 years, teens have used an ever-expanding array of screen-based tools for communication and entertainment, according to background information in the article. The availability and attractiveness of screen time activities has provoked excitement about the opportunities afforded by these options, as well as concern about whether these displace other activities that are important for health and development, the authors write. One area of interest is how screen time may affect the quality of relationships with family and friends. Rosalina Richards, Ph.D., of the University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand, and colleagues studied 3,043 adolescents age 14 to 15 in 2004. The teens completed a confidential questionnaire about their free-time habits, as well as an assessment of their attachment to parents and peers. Overall, the more time teens spent watching television or playing on a computer, the more likely they were to report low attachment to parents (in other words, difficulty forming a relationship or emotional bond). The risk of having low attachment to parents increased 4 percent for every hour spent viewing television and 5 percent for every hour spent playing on a computer. Conversely, teens who spend more time reading and doing homework reported a higher level of attachment to parents. Read More...
Teen pot smokers at high risk of mental illness
Tue, 2 Mar 2010 06:23:16 - Pacific Time
Young people who use marijuana (cannabis) are at increased risk of suffering hallucinations, delusions or other reality-distorting psychoses. And the more time thats passed since first use, the higher the risk. The findings from a study by Dr. John McGrath, of the Queensland Center for Mental Health Research in Wacol, Australia, and colleagues confirm previous smaller studies that have suggested that pot smoking may be linked to mental illness. The study, appearing in the Archives of General Psychiatry, involved roughly 3,800 people born in Brisbane between 1981 and 1984, who were followed up at age 5, 14 and 21 years. When they were 20 years old on average, researchers asked them about marijuana use and assessed their mental health. About 18 percent of the group said they smoked marijuana for three or fewer years, 16 percent admitted smoking pot for four to five years and 14 percent for six or more years. A total of 65 participants had been formally diagnosed with a psychotic disorder such as schizophrenia, and 233 had hallucinated at least once. Compared with those who had never used marijuana, those who first smoked marijuana when they were 15 or younger were twice as likely to be diagnosed with schizophrenia or other psychotic illness, four times as likely to suffer delusions, and nearly three times as likely to suffer hallucinations. The association between marijuana use and psychotic symptoms remained true after the researchers analyzed 228 sibling pairs separately. Our study is the first to look at siblings, McGrath noted. That allowed the team to limit the effect of other factors. Put bluntly, it makes the findings stronger and more convincing, he said. So does pot smoking causes mental illness? Its not that simple, according to McGrath and colleagues. The young adults in their study who suffered hallucinations early in life, and were therefore more vulnerable to psychosis, were also more likely to report using marijuana early in life. Read More...
Do Toxins Cause Autism?
Mon, 1 Mar 2010 07:00:20 - Pacific Time
Autism was first identified in 1943 in an obscure medical journal. Since then it has become a frighteningly common affliction, with the Centers for Disease Control reporting recently that autism disorders now affect almost 1 percent of children. Over recent decades, other development disorders also appear to have proliferated, along with certain cancers in children and adults. Why? No one knows for certain. The article cites “historically important, proof-of-concept studies that specifically link autism to environmental exposures experienced prenatally.” It adds that the “likelihood is high” that many chemicals “have potential to cause injury to the developing brain and to produce neurodevelopmental disorders.”Concern about toxins in the environment used to be a fringe view. But alarm has moved into the medical mainstream. Toxicologists, endocrinologists and oncologists seem to be the most concerned. Suspicions of toxins arise partly because studies have found that disproportionate shares of children develop autism after they are exposed in the womb to medications such as thalidomide (a sedative), misoprostol (ulcer medicine) and valproic acid (anticonvulsant). Of children born to women who took valproic acid early in pregnancy, 11 percent were autistic. In each case, fetuses seem most vulnerable to these drugs in the first trimester of pregnancy, sometimes just a few weeks after conception. One peer-reviewed study published this year in Environmental Health Perspectives gave a hint of the risks. Researchers measured the levels of suspect chemicals called phthalates in the urine of pregnant women. Among women with higher levels of certain phthalates (those commonly found in fragrances, shampoos, cosmetics and nail polishes), their children years later were more likely to display disruptive behavior. Read More...
Autism signs appear in babies first year, but parents dont notice
Wed, 24 Feb 2010 06:53:09 - Pacific Time
The social disengagement that is the hallmark of autism-spectrum disorders begins to appear in the second half of a babys first year of life, according to a new study. But California researchers found that parents typically do not notice the decline in their childs behavior until well into his or her second year. The study, published in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, is among the first to glean the pattern of autisms emergence in very young children by following babies from the age of 6 months. At that age, babies who would go on to be diagnosed as autistic and babies who would develop typically showed no significant differences in social behaviors, including smiling, making eye contact and vocalizing responsively.The study calls into question the bases on which much early speculation about and research on autism and its causes have been based: parental observation. For starters, the study found little to support the observations of some parents that their baby showed symptoms of extreme social disengagement from birth. But it also cast doubt on the accuracy of parents reports that their babys descent into autism was sudden and dramatic. In its detailed comparison of 50 babies — half of whom would go on to be diagnosed with autism — the researchers found a steady loss of sociability and responsiveness in the babies who would progress to an autism diagnosis. Those babies loss of social skills looked more like regression and less like a slowing of progress that allowed normally developing babies to pull far ahead of them. And that regression was most marked between 6 and 18 months, though it continued more gradually to the 3-year mark, where the study left off. But while the reduced rates of face-gazing, vocalizations and social engagement were evident to researchers who systematically evaluated the babies every six months, 83% of the parents did not observe the changes chronicled by researchers — not, at least, in the first year they were happening. Read More...
Records reveal problems in L.A. County juvenile probation office
Mon, 22 Feb 2010 07:24:15 - Pacific Time
At least 11 Los Angeles County juvenile probation officers have been convicted of crimes or disciplined in recent years for inappropriate conduct involving current or former probationers, including several cases of molesting or beating youths in their care, a Los Angeles Times investigation has found. Additionally, two other officers are the focus of internal affairs investigations for allegedly having sex with probationers. The Times identified the cases through court documents, law enforcement records and department sources. Probation officials said they were prohibited by law from discussing the details of officers misconduct. Among the incidents: A probation officer had sex with three youths in the detention hall where she worked -- in laundry, supply and interview rooms. She was sentenced last year to four years in prison after pleading guilty to five counts of felony sexual abuse. A probation officer caught on tape beating a youth in a juvenile hall recreation room was convicted last year of battery and sentenced to 24 months probation. A probation officer was sentenced to a year in jail last year for directing five teenagers under her care to beat another youngster who she mistakenly believed had stolen her cellphone. Los Angeles County probation officers are responsible for protecting 3,000 youths in 21 halls and camps, one of the nations largest juvenile justice systems. The department, with an annual budget of about $700 million, has been the subject of federal investigations in recent years for failing to prevent, report and document child abuse. The Los Angeles Times examined records from the last four years -- a period during which county officials hired Robert Taylor to head the agency with the mandate of reforming the department, including providing better oversight of officers. At the time he took over, the department was struggling with violence in its halls and camps and persistent criticism that it was doing little to help the juvenile offenders in its care. Probation officials have sustained 102 allegations of officer misconduct involving youths at the countys halls and camps over the last three years, according to a department source who asked not to be identified because he was not authorized to release the information publicly. The source said many of the sustained cases involved complaints of excessive force. Department officials did not disclose how many officers were involved in misconduct or the extent of any discipline. Read More...
News Archive
Obama to announce new effort to improve No Child Left Behind: Mon, 22 Feb 2010 07:17:58 - Pacific Time: Read More...
Commonly Used ADHD Medicines Questioned by Study: Thu, 18 Feb 2010 06:51:41 - Pacific Time: Read More...
Lawmakers to launch bipartisan effort to rewrite No Child Left Behind: Thu, 18 Feb 2010 06:43:05 - Pacific Time: Read More...
Advice on who should consider genetic testing: Wed, 17 Feb 2010 09:59:46 - Pacific Time: Read More...
Reading to Kids a Crucial Tool in English Language Development: Wed, 17 Feb 2010 09:50:51 - Pacific Time: Read More...
Hormone May Help Autism Symptoms: Tue, 16 Feb 2010 07:04:52 - Pacific Time: Read More...
High-achieving disabled teens shatter stereotypes: Mon, 15 Feb 2010 06:26:29 - Pacific Time: Read More...
County opens blinds on juvenile detention: Sun, 14 Feb 2010 20:23:05 - Pacific Time: Read More...
ADHD Brain May Be a Little Different: Fri, 12 Feb 2010 04:24:38 - Pacific Time: Read More...
Throw-Away Children: Juvenile Justice in Collapse: Wed, 10 Feb 2010 07:56:09 - Pacific Time: Read More...
Obamas quest for a renewed, tougher No Child Left Behind: Wed, 10 Feb 2010 07:52:07 - Pacific Time: Read More...
Obamas take on problem of obese children: Tue, 9 Feb 2010 08:05:43 - Pacific Time: Read More...
Tackling the genetic onset of Down syndrome: Mon, 8 Feb 2010 07:00:30 - Pacific Time: Read More...
Study Shows Effectiveness of Abstinence Education: Fri, 5 Feb 2010 07:09:31 - Pacific Time: Read More...
White House Meeting Draws ‘R-Word’ Apology, Pledge From Emanuel: Thu, 4 Feb 2010 07:42:15 - Pacific Time: Read More...
Studies Reveal Why Kids Get Bullied and Rejected: Wed, 3 Feb 2010 07:28:17 - Pacific Time: Read More...
Drugs tested to improve learning in Fragile X syndrome, may give autism hints: Tue, 2 Feb 2010 01:18:05 - Pacific Time: Read More...
Details of Obama Plan for Re-Authorization of NCLB Emerge: Mon, 1 Feb 2010 07:37:24 - Pacific Time: Read More...
Does a Parents Gender Impact a Childs Success?: Sat, 30 Jan 2010 07:29:49 - Pacific Time: Read More...
Kids of bipolar parents at risk for mental woes: Thu, 28 Jan 2010 20:05:50 - Pacific Time: Read More...
Mixed-handedness tied to learning problems, ADHD: Tue, 26 Jan 2010 19:00:07 - Pacific Time: Read More...
Many children hear voices; most arent bothered: Tue, 26 Jan 2010 15:22:37 - Pacific Time: Read More...
Researchers hope to help Down syndrome families: Mon, 25 Jan 2010 07:22:20 - Pacific Time: Read More...
Studies demonstrate link between Alzheimers disease, Down syndrome: Thu, 21 Jan 2010 10:42:20 - Pacific Time: Read More...
Experts urge screening for obesity in kids: Tue, 19 Jan 2010 16:01:49 - Pacific Time: Read More...
What are the long-term effects of ADHD meds?: Tue, 19 Jan 2010 12:58:53 - Pacific Time: Read More...
Seven Years After Accusations, Judge Orders Special Education Teacher Fired: Thu, 14 Jan 2010 05:29:32 - Pacific Time: Read More...
Movies for kids still depict unsafe behaviors: Wed, 13 Jan 2010 18:28:43 - Pacific Time: Read More...
New study links phthalates to ADHD: Wed, 13 Jan 2010 05:17:14 - Pacific Time: Read More...
Disconnect Between Brain Regions in ADHD: Tue, 12 Jan 2010 02:30:12 - Pacific Time: Read More...
Loss of epigenetic regulators causes mental retardation: Sat, 9 Jan 2010 06:37:28 - Pacific Time: Read More...
Court to decide LAUSD battle with charters: Fri, 8 Jan 2010 05:58:45 - Pacific Time: Read More...
Special-Ed Funds Redirected: Thu, 7 Jan 2010 07:59:26 - Pacific Time: Read More...
Studying Young Minds, and How to Teach Them: Mon, 21 Dec 2009 07:11:37 - Pacific Time: Read More...
Rewiring brains of poor readers, dyslexics, autistic, ADHD, developmental disorders: Sat, 12 Dec 2009 08:15:58 - Pacific Time: Read More...
Amount of Gene Surplus Determines Severity of Mental Retardation in Males, Researchers Find: Fri, 11 Dec 2009 07:28:09 - Pacific Time: Read More...
Professionals find their calling in special education: Wed, 9 Dec 2009 06:44:40 - Pacific Time: Read More...
Developmental Delay Could Stem From Nicotinic Receptor Deletion: Fri, 27 Nov 2009 17:13:41 - Pacific Time: Read More...
Doctors are failing to spot Aspergers in girls: Sun, 19 Apr 2009 16:07:12 - Pacific Time: Read More...
Aspergers Syndrome: Stress Hormone a Clue: Sun, 19 Apr 2009 16:05:37 - Pacific Time: Read More...