In 1980, before California and the United States embarked on a massive “War on Drugs” to arrest and imprison rising tens of thousands of drug users, a total of 1,480 residents died from overdoses or chronic abuse of illicit drugs. That constituted 7.7% of the state’s death toll from all external causes (that is, accidents, suicides, murders, and violent deaths of undetermined intent). After nearly three decades of drug war, just-released Center for Health Statistics figures show a record 4,196…
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. The issue brief also recommends state policy reform options. Youth are different from adults. The Court recognizes that youth differ from adults biologically and should be treated as such. Scientists suggest that youth differ from adults…
Newsroom Apr 14, 2010
Close the CA Division of Juvenile Justice
Close the CA Division of Juvenile Justice California Correctional Crisis Blog, April 14, 2010.
Blog Apr 13, 2010
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. This month Executive Director Daniel Macallair was featured in both the LA Times and California Progress Report reflecting on California’s current budget crisis and the state’s inablity to continue to support a youth correctional system that has been…
Blog Apr 13, 2010
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 report mentions several important cornerstones in the treatment of youth with mental disorders. One of the key points is that all juvenile justice involved youth should be “systematically screened for mental illness”. …