Blog Sep 27, 2011
Give me that old time religion III
In my previous two blogs I wrote about the investigations surrounding several so-called “Christian” homes for “troubled teens” as reported by Kathryn Joyce . As shocking as these cases are, they are really nothing new, for such abuse extends far back in the history of juvenile justice. The victims — conveniently called “troubled teens” (thereby justifying their incarceration, all “for their own good”) — are like other teenage victims: they are at the mercy of adults who ostensibly love and…
Blog Sep 23, 2011
CA Policy: Beware of vigilante policymaking
There is no disputing that victims of crime deserve to have a voice in the criminal justice system. Organizations like Crime Victims United of California (CVUC) offer an opportunity for victims to convene and access a legal system that can otherwise be difficult to penetrate. In addition, CVUC has taken its victim advocacy to the legislature. CVUC states it is the only organization of its kind, “and its team of expert lobbyists actively engage in the legislative process — to ensure that…
Blog Sep 20, 2011
Give me that old time religion II
My last blog covered a portion of an article about a so-called “Christian” home for “troubled teens. As promised, this is a continuation of that blog. As previously noted there were several rather sad stories about the abuse suffered by teenagers in a program called New Beginnings Ministries . The writer of this story, Kathryn Joyce, noted that there are several of these kinds of “homes” that are part of an “Independent Fundamental Baptist” community that is “a web of thousands of…
Blog Sep 15, 2011
CA Policy: CNOA’s war on rehabilitation
My last blog featured a prominent and successful lobbyist, John Lovell, and described the influential power a lobbyist can wield by representing a collective of agencies with similar agendas. The California Narcotics Officers Association (CNOA) is yet another of the clients John Lovell has in his collection. CNOA was founded in 1964 and has approximately 7,000 members, including local, state, and federal peace officers, prosecutors, and law enforcement personnel. It has historically…
Never have California youth been more numerous (4.2 million age 10 – 17 in the 2010 census), more racially diverse (71% now are Hispanic, black, Asian, or otherwise of color), or of recent immigrant origin. Never have youth been more uncurfewed (lowest level of policing ever recorded), uncaged (the percentage of youth incarcerated in state and local facilities has plunged to an all-time low), and underserved (budget cuts have forced spending on a wide array of youth services). Never in post-Gold…