Missouri: Project to Disrupt ‘School-to-Prison Pipeline’ Gets a Boost
“Missouri students of color with disabilities face harsher school disciplinary practices than their white peers, which can lead them into the juvenile justice system. Disrupting this path is the goal of the Missouri Juvenile Justice Association’s SToPP Project, with a $275,000 grant from the Missouri Developmental Disabilities Council.” Miranda Fredrick, communications coordinator for the council explained, “When […]
A Look At Recent Research Shows That Youth Incarceration Continues To Fail Kids And Their Communities, While Negatively Impacting Public Safety
“Jurisdictions should invest in community-based alternatives to incarceration that improve outcomes for kids while also saving the government money — strategies like offering wraparound services, with focused, individualized care plans, to kids and their families. One such program, Wraparound Milwaukee, works with 1,000 young people with serious psychological needs, 40 percent of whom have been […]
“How Children End Up in Cleveland’s Adult Courts: A Bindover Explainer”
The Marshall Project: “Cuyahoga County transfers more children to adult court than any other county in the state. In the past decade, 94% were Black, according to state records. “When children are placed in adult facilities, they usually face very brutal conditions,” Leah Winsberg, an attorney with the Children’s Law Center, told the crowd. Winsberg […]
New “Standards for Health Services in Juvenile Detention and Confinement Facilities” Released
The National Commission on Correctional Health Care launched a Juvenile Standards Task Force, which included physicians, nurse practitioners, nurses and mental health experts from around the nation. Corrections1 reports “the revised and updated standards are up-to-date with best practices and knowledge gained over last seven years.” “‘Not only does this revision reflect our current understanding […]
Alabama: AMI Kids equips youth & families to overcome barriers toward more positive future
Reporting from the Greenville Advocate: “According to regional director and licensed clinical social worker, Korah Skuce, since 2018, AMI has offered comprehensive services nationwide, from preventative to residential programs. AMI partners with the Alabama Department of Youth Services to offer family services like Functional Family Therapy (FFT), a nationally recognized, family- and community-based model designed […]
Medical Incarceration: A Minnesota teen struggling with severe mental illness and charged with numerous crimes sat in juvenile detention, often isolated.
This young person’s mental illness has led to many inadequate treatment and housing options, and extensive dual involvement in both the mental health system and juvenile justice system. This reporting explains why one young man, despite being deemed incompetent to serve trial by the court, chose to go to prison in an attempt to get […]
Lousiana: Juvenile offender with mental illness tried as an adult, sent to solitary confinement on death row.
Placing inmates in solitary confinement for their physical and/or mental safety is a form of medical incarceration. It’s extremely counter-productive due to the astronomical exacerbation of mental illness done by solitary, especially for youth. According to reporting by eyewitness investigator Mike Perlstein, Alonzo Defillo Jr. ended up on death row at the nation’s bloodiest prison, […]
John Bel Edwards launches second investigation into Ware Youth Center
From the Louisiana Illuminator by Julie O’Donoghue: “The allegations are so serious that one of the state’s leading child welfare advocates said it is not enough to just investigate Ware’s operations. The state needs to move children and young adults at Ware to another facility, he said. “Other adults need to make sure those children […]
Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice hosts states working toward juvenile justice reform
“IDJJ is hosting cohorts of juvenile justice administrators and practitioners from other states because of its designation as a National Promising Practice site. The Center for Juvenile Justice Reform at Georgetown, the Center for Children’s Law & Policy, and the Council of Juvenile Justice Administrators have formed a collaborative to reduce the use of isolation and promote best practices […]
Louisiana: Black mothers are at the center of a fight to keep youth out of adult prison
“Legal advocates say moving incarcerated youth to the once notoriously-violent Angola prison will traumatize them and limit their access to needed programs and services.” Reporting from The 19th: “‘I do not believe Angola is a place for any child, and as a parent, I strenuously disapprove of the decision to move my son and any […]