CJJ Deputy Executive Director Lisa Pilnik wrote an piece for  City Match's journal,  City Lights. CityMatch is a national membership organization of city and county health departments' maternal and child health (MCH) programs and leaders representing urban communities in the United States. The article, entitled "The School to Prison Pipeline: Incarceration Replacing Education is a Public Health Issue" is available  here. 

CJJ National Vice Chair George Timberlake wrote a piece for YouthToday entitled, "Justice System Must Not Worsen Harsh Realities of Life for LGBT Youth." He discusses the need for risk assessment tools that are responsive to the challenges faced by LGBT youth. He says, " Most important to the perception and reality of procedural justice is judicial leadership in refusing to tolerate name-calling, joking and discrimination against LGBT youth by anyone in the justice system. Judicial leadership is necessary to find and use LGBT-compatible services and providers." Click here to read the full op-ed. 

Ashley Sawyer of the Stoneleigh Foundation and the Education Law Center (ELC) authored a blog post for CJJ Today. She writes about her experiences during her fellowship at ELC and their efforts to ensure that youth in juvenile justice facilities receive a quality education. Click here to read, "Collaboration between Advocates, Facilities, and Government to Achieve Positive Education Outcomes for Incarcerated Youth."

The Manchester, New Hampshire DMC Committee has just completed the videos and content for their juvenile training program. "The Mirror Project" was developed to provide a learning event for youth to improve their outcomes when they interact with law enforcement. New Hampshire has already trained more than 130 police officers in an "Effective Police Interactions With Youth" training.

 

A few years ago a group of youths attended the Manchester DMC Committee Meeting as the topic of this Police Training was being discussed.   When the youths were asked, "If a police officer stopped you and said, 'Let me see your hands,' what would you do?" The youths responded in unison: "What for?" 

 

That was the catalyst for developing Effective Youth Interactions With Police, which is intended to "mirror" the training that the police receive. The free, one hour training program is now available to the Manchester, NH School District and in state community service agencies.  Police officers in NH will be certified to deliver this training as requested. Moving forward, the New Hampshire State Advisory Group will decide if it will be offered outside of the state.

CJJ Youth Member Avani Bahl has created a documentary, " Losing A Generation: The Truth About Juvenile Justice." She hopes that the documentary can be used to create change in her community. You can read on her website, how she got involved in juvenile justice reform and more about her most recent reform efforts. 

Alton Pitre, a CJJ Youth Member, co-wrote a blog post for FirstFocus entitled, "Much Needed Reform Comes in New Juvenile Justice Bill." He discusses the JJDPA's strong bipartisan support and writes, "Let's keep fighting and hope that our U.S. Congress votes to repair our juvenile justice system, ultimately enriching the lives of our young children and adults." Click here to read the full blog post.  

The Center for Juvenile Justice Reform (CJJR) at Georgetown University's McCourt School of Public Policy is accepting applications for two certificate programs. First, the 8th Annual Juvenile Justice and Child Welfare: Multi-System Integration Certificate Program will take place in Washington, DC from October 29-November 4, 2015. The program will instruct participants on how to improve outcomes for youth known to both the child welfare and juvenile justice system through a multi-disciplinary approach that highlights integration and collaboration. Applications are due by August 21, 2015.

The application window for the 2015 Juvenile Diversion Certificate Program is open through September 18, 2015. The program will be held December 15 - 18, 2015 at the Georgetown University Hotel and Conference Center. The Juvenile Diversion Certificate Program was created in partnership with the Juvenile Law Center and National League of Cities following publication of the Juvenile Diversion Guidebook. Its goal is to bring together individuals and teams of law enforcement officers, probation staff, prosecutors, school officials, judges, policymakers, and other local leaders committed to strengthening their diversion efforts.

The National League of Cities recently released an issue brief entitled, " Alternatives to Arrest for Young People." The brief highlights cities that are using clear, objective protocols that direct police officers to make evidence-based, developmentally-appropriate decisions in their interactions with youth. Learn more about the brief on the NLC website.

The  National Center for Juvenile Justice (NCJJ) has released a new racial and ethnic fairness section of the  Juvenile Justice GPS-Geography, Policy, Practice & Statistics (JJGPS). This website features national and state information on state laws and juvenile justice practices to help policymakers and stakeholders chart system change. The new section on racial and ethnic fairness explores the increasing diversity of the youth population, including the different state and local approaches to monitoring racial and ethnic fairness. This content area also discusses transparency in the state reporting of racial and ethnic fairness vital signs, as well as recent trends in resources for advancing the issue with state level coordinators. 

The National Juvenile Justice Network has just released its latest policy platform, "Confining Youth for Profit." The platform highlights the serious risks that for-profit prisons pose not just to young people's health, rehabilitation, and future success, but also to the public good. The for-profit youth confinement incentive structure works against the goal of healthy development and successful re-entry for youth by encouraging their incarceration and the minimization of needed services. NJJN recommends an immediate end to the use of for-profit youth confinement facilities. You can download the platform here.

Following a nearly two-year investigation, the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division has released a report documenting "a number of constitutional violations" in the St. Louis County Family Court. Their most serious findings included the failure to provide adequate counsel to young people in trouble with the law, the failure of due process, and the disparate treatment of Black youth at four key points of contact with the justice system. Click here to read the full story.

On August 3, Virginia's Board of Justice voted in favor of new length of stay guidelines for young people in confinement in Virginia's youth justice system. The new guidelines reduce the amount of time young people are required to spend in lockup and provide guidance for length of stay to be determined based on individual needs and risk. Reduced stays in lockup are in step with the latest national research, which has generally concluded that incarceration of young people does not reduce recidivism, and can in many cases be counterproductive. Click here to read the full story.

The following events, publications, and questionnaires related to federal juvenile justice policy have occurred in the last month:

The National Council on Crime & Delinquency issued a process evaluation of a California anti-violence program that engages with shooters to reduce gun violence and improve social outcomes. Learn more. 

M+R Strategic Services is collecting short videos of people answering three questions about why they care about juvenile justice reform. Contact Marjory Garrison for more information.

Grantmakers for Children, Youth, and Families (GCYF) has announced the annual Fred Rogers Leadership Award in Philanthropy for Children, Youth, and Families. For information on the nominations process, click  here.

The following news articles on juvenile justice and related issues appeared over the last month: