Study praises juvenile justice reforms, says more work needed, By Rob Moritz, March 14, 2012, Arkansas News: “A new study presented to lawmakers today praises recent reforms in Arkansas’ juvenile justice system and recommends additional strategies to save money. ‘There really has been remarkable work done to reform juvenile justice in this state,’ said Pat Arthur, the study’s co-author, a California-based consultant and former attorney at the National Center for Youth Law in San Francisco. ‘It’s truly been an amazing collaboration of stakeholders to behold over the last four years who have come together and collaboratively worked to change what was four years ago safe to say a sinking ship, the Division of Youth Services,’ Arthur told a joint meeting of the Senate Committee on Children and Youth and the House Committee on Aging, Children and Youth, Legislative and Military Affairs.
In 2008, following a series of problems within the juvenile justice system, including poor facilities, overcrowding and physical and emotion abuse of youths, a task force of judges, state officials, advocacy and community groups formed to find solutions…”
Tag: Juvenile justice
Juvenile Justice System – New York
New York courts revisit juvenile justice, By Maggie Clark, March 12, 2012, Stateline.org: “On a recent Thursday afternoon in the shadow of Yankee Stadium, in the South Bronx, five 16- and 17-year-old boys met outside the Bronx Criminal Court building to complete court-mandated community service. After appearing before a judge for nonviolent offenses such as shoplifting and graffiti, they’d been assigned to Bronx Community Solutions, an alternative sentencing organization attached to the criminal court, for an afternoon of cleaning up the sidewalks around a recreation center. Under New York law, most offenders at this age share community service duties with seasoned adult criminals, because at 16, they are automatically charged as adults. These boys were different because they were part of a judicial pilot program that separates 16-and-17-year-old offenders from the rest of the adult criminal population, and also from younger teens. They have been given the chance to do their community service in a custom-designed rehabilitative environment…”
Foster Care Youth – California
More resources urged for high-risk youths in foster care, By Garrett Therolf, November 9, 2011, Los Angeles Times: “As California implements a new law extending foster care benefits to youths until age 21, social workers and policymakers should focus their efforts particularly on the hardest cases, according to a major new study. The study found that substantial amounts of money are being spent on Los Angeles County’s so-called crossover youth – children who start out as foster kids and end up committing crimes that land them in the juvenile justice system. At least 10% of the 20,000 youths under probation supervision were foster children, the study found. Each crossover youth cost taxpayers $35,000 on average in just the first four years of adulthood – more than twice the amount spent on those who were in only the foster care system or the justice system…”