Policy Center: Juvenile Justice

DJF promotes 85% compliance, but let’s not forget the past…

Recently, the Department of Juvenile Facilities (formerly known as the California Youth Authority) claimed to be in 85% compliance with the consent decree under the Farrell litigation.  This percentage cultivates a skewed perception of the state youth correctional facility’s progress towards reforming into a rehabilitative environment.  In April 2010, CJCJ’s Executive Dire

But We NEED Scapegoats!

Isn’t “Jew violence” a terrible plague? Dave “Son of Sam” Berkowitz whose serial slaughter terrorized New York City, or Joel and Hannah Steinberg’s brutal child murder? Or the “Moslem violence” that killed 3,000 on 9/11?

The Supreme Court and Life without Parole

On May 17, 2010, the Supreme Court ruled in a 6-3 de

Therapy that Works for the Youth

Senior Research Fellow Randy Shelden’s recent blog, titled “Kids with Mental Health Issues Still Languish in Detention Centers”, discusses the dire situation facing youth with mental health issues within the juvenile justice system. 

Juvenile Justice Can be a Death Trap for Kids

We’ve always known that locking up kids is counterproductive, that it promotes isolation and lethargy among youths confined, and that it results in harsher treatment by decision makers throughout the process.  Terry Kupers, an expert on trauma, has observed that these institutions tend to destroy “a prisoner’s ability to cope in the free world.”

Kids with Mental Health Issues Still Languish in Detention Centers

In the early 2000’s several reports began to document the existence of thousands of juveniles with diagnosed mental health issues sitting in detention facilities waiting for placement in a mental health facility. 

Arguing Against a Life Without the Possibility of Parole for Youth

The March 2010, the American Constitution Society (ACS) released, “A Just Alternative to Sentencing Youth to Life in Prison Without the Possibility of Parole” that provides three arguments against utilizing life without the possibility of parole for youth.

CJCJ Exposes Inaccurate Media Reports

Recently, CJCJ has cultivated many policy reports and articles surrounding issues within the juvenile justice system.  Through these recent publications CJCJ exposes inaccurate media reports through the utilization of data and policy analysis.

Category: Public Policy

Model Community Mental Health Programming

The “Blueprint for Change” report released by The National Center for Mental Health and Juvenile Justice in 2007 highlights the need to address mental health treatment from a unified approach that includes both the juvenile justice system and mental health agencies.

 

The epidemic of abuse continues

In my most recent post I said that I would continue my investigation of what I termed an "epidemic" of abuse inside juvenile institutions.  This led me first to the state of Mississippi.