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Juvenile Justice News 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...
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 isn't enough staff to mete out discipline, the department's 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. "I'm not happy with the time it takes to complete an investigation and determine the discipline." The county Board of Supervisors on Tuesday asked the county's 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 nation's 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. "They're 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. "They're 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...
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 nation's 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 county's 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...
County opens blinds on juvenile detention
Sun, 14 Feb 2010 20:23:05 - Pacific Time
Something unusual happened in Houston last month. Harris County Judge Ed Emmett and officials from the county's Juvenile Probation Department released a no-holds-barred report that not only described recent accomplishments at the juvenile detention center but also laid bare that facility's weaknesses and failures. What is remarkable about this event is not just that it demonstrated the commitment of multiple stakeholders to improving outcomes for troubled youths and the community; by going public with their self-assessment, county leaders displayed a level of transparency and candor that is sorely lacking elsewhere in the country. For years, juvenile facilities around the country have been marked by pervasive scandals and lawsuits. From dangerous crowding and insufficient medical services to a recent U.S. Department of Justice report indicating that confined youths are frequently sexually victimized by staff, it's clear that public officials have been in denial, hiding commonplace and chronic problems that render facilities unsafe and harm youths. At the core of this problem has been a lack of accountability on the part of juvenile justice officials for the outcomes the public expects — namely, that public safety is maintained while delinquent youths get the services and sanctions needed to move beyond their early missteps to become productive members of society. In stark contrast to this national picture, Harris County's leaders have committed themselves to a more efficient and effective juvenile justice system. Emmett, juvenile court judges Michael Schneider and John Phillips, Commissioner Sylvia Garcia, Interim Probation Chief Tom Brooks, District Attorney Pat Lykos and many others, through the vehicle of the Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative, or JDAI, are altering the system so that transparency and collaboration are the rule, and data and evidence drive decisions. Some recent accomplishments include the development of a risk assessment instrument to better determine which youths can safely be released to community-based programs; the creation of treatment and rehabilitation options for juveniles with mental health problems; the diversion from court of youths charged with minor offenses; and the creation of an evening reporting center to provide neighborhood-based services for kids who otherwise would be detained.These reforms have begun to bear fruit. The community is safer, as evidenced by drops in referrals to the juvenile justice system. At the same time, fewer youths are in detention - down to a daily average of 188 from 263 in 2007. This has allowed Harris County to close a facility and save millions of tax dollars. And, generally, there is a growing sense of ownership for operating the type of justice system we all would want if our own child or grandchild ended up in it. Read More...
Throw-Away Children: Juvenile Justice in Collapse
Wed, 10 Feb 2010 07:56:09 - Pacific Time
The U.S. spends $5 billion a year on juvenile courts, but it’s hard to argue that taxpayers are getting what they paid for. Many criminologists already agree that the country’s criminal justice system is overdue for reform; but no area seems more in need of urgent attention than juvenile justice.Statistics suggest that the huge investment is failing those most in need of help. In New York State, for example, a longitudinal study beginning in the early 1990s found that 85 percent of boys and 65 percent of girls who are incarcerated go on to be convicted of a felony as adults, according to Gladys Carrión, Commissioner of New York State’s Office of Children and Family Services. Seventy percent of adult prisoners in California were once in foster care. According to Carrión, the system allows these these young people to be treated like “throw-aways.”"We obviously don’t value them,” she charges. “We incarcerate them and these are their lives’ future outcomes." Moreover, although Carrión says that nearly 75 percent of incarcerated youth aged 10 to 17 have a diagnosable mental illness, most juvenile facilities have no on-staff counselors. And, if anything, today’s juvenile justice system perpetuates an ugly cycle of crime and racial inequity: as of 2007, 1.7 million American children had a parent in prison, according to a report last year by the Sentencing Project (Incarcerated Parents and Their Children: Trends 1991-2007). In 2008, arrest rates for robbery were 10 times higher for black youth than white, according to National Criminal Justice Reference Service figures cited by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquent Protection. The problems are exacerbated from the moment a juvenile is caught up in the system. Juvenile detention centers around the nation have been hit by a succession of scandals involving sexual and other types of physical abuse. "We are in the midst of a national crisis of abuse," says Barry Krisberg, a long-time youth advocate and distinguished senior fellow with the National Council on Crime and Delinquency. Krisberg, who spoke at last week’s John Jay/H.F Guggenheim Conference on Crime in America, cited a recent Department of Justice study that found 12 percent of incarcerated youth report having been sexually abused. “It’s a complete collapse of care,” he said. "In these facilities young women are given dirty and torn underwear. The place smells bad. There’s a fundamental breakdown of humanity that’s allowed to go on." Read More...
Troubled teens, canines help each other
Mon, 8 Feb 2010 07:06:57 - Pacific Time
A dozen teens from Oakland County's Children's Village are paired with a handful of rambunctious dogs from Oakland Pet Adoption. Both need help to make a better life for themselves on the outside. The teens, placed by the courts into the Oakland County facility for troubled youth and juvenile offenders, have been challenged with the task of training the dogs -- who have lingered at the shelter because of behavioral problems -- into well-behaved, adoptable pets. The pets are there to offer unconditional love to youngsters in the criminal justice system. The animal-assisted therapy program is also in place at the Macomb County Juvenile Justice Center in Mount Clemens, the Kingsley Montgomery School in Waterford and at Crossroads for Youth in Oxford. Teacher's Pet creator Amy Johnson said during the 12-week program, the teens learn the basics of animal handling, identifying stress in dogs and why it's important to be able to put yourself in the dog's "paws." They work on performing commands such as "sit," "stay," "down" and "leave it"; how to walk on a leash; and to not jump on people. "We talk about body language of the dogs, humane responsibility of dog ownership. If we can talk about stress in dogs, we can talk about stress in kids," Johnson said. "We never have to say the program is for them. They are there to help the dogs." It is through the power of the human-animal bond that the teens, many of whom are struggling with gangs and problems at home, are able to experience their own personal growth and behavioral improvements, officials say. "These kids are getting treatment they don't even realize they are getting," said Laura Beale, a Children's Village supervisor. "It teaches them compassion, teamwork, to help each other, even though the 'others' are animals." Read More...
Lines of justice blurred with pens, mugs and tee shots
Tue, 2 Feb 2010 07:13:12 - Pacific Time
In Pennsylvania's ultra-competitive world of juvenile justice, where private agencies and for-profit corporations provide the vast majority of youth treatment and detention services, cheap trinkets and expensive dinners can go a long way in winning a county contract or securing a renewal. The practice, discussed at a state hearing Monday, has blurred the line between an accepted way of doing business for the service providers and the ethical responsibilities of the judges, probation officers and county officials who accept their pens, mugs and meals. Bernadette M. Bianchi, executive director of a trade association for service providers within the state, described it as a "moving line," with no clear definition for where the social courtesies and innocuous swag end and the appearances of a conflict of interest begin. "Providing coffee and snacks during a meeting is accepted as a simple social courtesy," Bianchi told the Interbranch Commission on Juvenile Justice. "However, a catered dinner and open bar at a reception could be construed as an attempt to influence referrals." One private provider, the not-for-profit Glen Mills School in suburban Philadelphia, has hosted lavish parties on its grounds for judges and probation officers who referred juveniles to the institution, including the former judge at the center of the Luzerne County kids-for-cash scandal, Mark A. Ciavarella Jr. Members of the county's juvenile probation staff also attended the parties at the school, which receives more than $100 per day from the county for each juvenile placed there, two of the staffers said at a previous Interbranch Commission hearing. The school may have also paid for hotel rooms for judges and other officials, as well as rounds of golf and lessons on a course located on its grounds, according to the probation employees and commission members. Another provider, the operator of the for-profit detention facilities at the center of the kids-for-cash scheme, sponsored a food-and-alcohol-filled party for county officials around the time the facilities were opening, a juvenile probation officer told the Interbranch Commission. Read More...
JDAI - Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative
Sun, 31 Jan 2010 08:00:40 - Pacific Time
JDAI stands for Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative. This juvenile justice reform effort is winning converts across the criminal justice system, from prosecutors to judges to longtime reform advocates. Why? Well, most think community-based alternatives to large-scale detention — which is what JDAI chiefly pivots on — leads to better outcomes for juvenile offenders without compromising public safety. Heady stuff. But it also purports to help lower recidivism rates and save lots of public dough — a key reason more budget-strapped counties are gradually embracing the concept. Such juvenile justice reform measures were given lip service or largely ignored when the economy was churning and a "lock 'em up" mentality reigned supreme as a response to violent crimes committed by juveniles. The detention rate actually climbed as juvenile offense rates significantly declined. "We had a hammer and for a long time we saw every problem as a nail," Jim Payne told members of the Minnesota Senate Judiciary Committee at a hearing last week about the initiative's reported successes in Minnesota. "Well, if you treat people poorly, they will act poorly." Payne is the JDAI Midwest area team leader for the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the Washington, D.C.-based child welfare advocacy group that developed and partly funds the JDAI effort. He was referring to the across-the-board use of detention nationwide and its unintended consequences — double bunking, crowded conditions and the mixing of hard-core types with delinquent kids locked up for status or nonviolent offenses. In 2006, for example, nearly 80 percent of detained youths nationwide were detained for nonviolent offenses better handled through chemical and mental health treatment and other alternatives. And a disproportionate number of those detained — 69 percent — were youths of color, once again underscoring a well-documented racial disparity in the criminal justice system, both adult and juvenile. Minnesota has one of the highest rates of locking up youths of color. "For decades, research has shown that minority youth are arrested, charged and incarcerated more often than white youth for similar conduct, and are overrepresented at nearly every decision-making point in juvenile justice systems across the country," Payne told state legislators. Minnesota, in fact, ranks among the top eight states in such disproportionate detention rates. Read More...
Conference Highlights Juvenile Justice Models for Change
Sun, 24 Jan 2010 08:33:00 - Pacific Time
Hundreds of Models for Change representatives from sixteen states were on hand to highlight reform progress in their states and share experiences with peers during the 4th annual Models for Change Working Conference in Washington, D.C. The representatives, comprised of judges, lawyers, state policy makers and juvenile justice system professionals, are part of the national Models for Change initiative that is working on a range of state and local juvenile justice reforms in four states (Washington, Illinois, Pennsylvania and Louisiana), and 12 other states participating in three action networks focused on disproportionate minority contact, mental health, and juvenile indigent defense. The Models for Change initiative seeks to accelerate progress toward a more effective, fair, and developmentally sound juvenile justice system that holds young people accountable for their actions, provides for their rehabilitation, protects them from harm, increases their life chances, and manages the risk they pose to themselves and to the public. The annual Models for Change Working Conference serves as a way for juvenile justice advocates to share strategies and resources to move juvenile justice reform efforts forward. Conference participants attended peer groups sessions and state delegation caucuses and participated in workshops which included topics such as community engagement, front end diversion, new research findings and sustainability of reform in a time of fiscal uncertainty. Southwest Key Programs’ founder and CEO, Dr. Juan Sanchez, delivered the lunch keynote address which included a haunting account of what youth face in detention centers, and eye-opening information about the urgent need to reduce disproportionate minority contact (DMC) within the juvenile justice system. U.S. Department of Justice Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Mary Lou Leary, who co-presented with Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Administrator Pamela Hyde, during a panel on the Federal Perspectives and Progress in Juvenile Justice, acknowledged the need to be more responsive to juvenile justice issues, particularly when dealing with persistent racial disparities. Read More...
News Archive
Juveniles become prey: Sat, 23 Jan 2010 14:36:25 - Pacific Time: Read More...
Maryland's Department of Juvenile Services Has Major Challenges: Sun, 17 Jan 2010 07:56:05 - Pacific Time: Read More...
Culture of Violence' Plagues New York's Juvenile Prisons: Mon, 11 Jan 2010 09:17:09 - Pacific Time: Read More...
12 Percent of Adjudicated Youth Report Sexual Victimization in Juvenile Facilities: Thu, 7 Jan 2010 08:06:12 - Pacific Time: Read More...
Treatment of Youths in New York Prisons Spurs Suit: Thu, 31 Dec 2009 07:26:38 - Pacific Time: Read More...
Teenagers Use Violence to Boost Their Social Standing: Thu, 24 Dec 2009 05:40:56 - Pacific Time: Read More...
New York Can Do Better By Juvenile Offenders: Sun, 20 Dec 2009 10:37:45 - Pacific Time: Read More...
Senate Judiciary Panel Advances Juvenile Justice Bill: Fri, 18 Dec 2009 14:22:39 - Pacific Time: Read More...
De-Criminalizing Children: Wed, 16 Dec 2009 22:02:47 - Pacific Time: Read More...
Justice Department Bulletin Details Declining Juvenile Arrests in 2008: Tue, 15 Dec 2009 06:41:10 - Pacific Time: Read More...
Sensible fixes to youth crime and delinquency policies: Mon, 14 Dec 2009 03:37:15 - Pacific Time: Read More...
Youth Advocates "Ticked Off" At Obama For Juvenile Justice Vacancy: Sat, 12 Dec 2009 19:21:21 - Pacific Time: Read More...
Reform school threw parties for judges, probation officials: Tue, 8 Dec 2009 07:36:12 - Pacific Time: Read More...
Justice for Virginia juveniles: Sun, 6 Dec 2009 12:52:21 - Pacific Time: Read More...
Task force outlines plan for transforming juvenile justice: Fri, 4 Dec 2009 04:20:36 - Pacific Time: Read More...
Juvenile justice group sues judges: Tue, 1 Dec 2009 05:31:34 - Pacific Time: Read More...
Breaking the cycle of youth crime: Sat, 28 Nov 2009 15:58:57 - Pacific Time: Read More...
Juvenile justice: Making it better: Sat, 28 Nov 2009 06:50:56 - Pacific Time: Read More...
Imprisoning children for life is not justice: Fri, 27 Nov 2009 20:27:46 - Pacific Time: Read More...
Suit claims abuse, filth at juvenile detention center: Mon, 20 Apr 2009 11:46:24 - Pacific Time: Read More...
Santa Clara County poised to cut juvenile prevention programs: Sun, 19 Apr 2009 15:45:45 - Pacific Time: Read More...
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