Blog May 9, 2012
Class counts
A recent CJCJ blog by Selena Teji brings up a point that is rarely discussed these days, namely “social class” which is two words rarely heard in public discourse — except when republicans holler about “class warfare.” Social class does count — a lot more than anything else. Indeed, social class is one of the most important factors in human life. Social class position has some direct and indirect consequences, especially in terms of what sociologists refer to as life chances (which is…
Blog May 8, 2012
Perceived improvements to confinement
It’s all relative, as the saying goes. It is true that there have been recent improvements to California’s youth correctional facilities, Division of Juvenile Facilities (DJF). Youth are no longer being fed blender meals and are no longer being educated in cages as they were just a less than a decade ago. However, the recently touted successes include meeting provisionary goals as outlined in the 21st Special Master Report of the Farrell lawsuit, such as developing implementation plans and…
A recent ACLU report found that that 24 of the 25 largest California counties plan on using realigned state funding to pay for dramatic expansions of jail beds. CJCJ’s Brian Heller de Leon reviewed the report in his blog, Adult realignment and the county jail building boom . The ACLU report notes, “Counties that have chosen a path of jail expansion — as many of the Big 25 county realignment plans indicate they have — are trying to solve the wrong problem. They seek to absorb the realigned…
A March 2011 study through the federal Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) concludes that long-term juvenile incarceration does not decrease reoffending, and may actually increase recidivism rates for lower-level youth offenders. Researchers conducted more than 21,000 interviews over 8 years with more than 1,300 felony offenders ages 14−−18 in the cities of Philadelphia and Phoenix. Researchers also interviewed parents and peers and examined arrest records. Their…
The National Lawyer’s Guild Western Regional Conference on Saturday, April 28th, featured a panel on “Realignment and Juvenile Justice in California.” The one day conference centered on the prominent “Occupy” movement and focused on the future of the socially and economically disenfranchised. It asked, what does justice for the 99% look like? Youth comprise one of the most vulnerable and pertinent populations for this discussion. They are marginalized in the political process and their…