[Highlights from the week's juvenile justice and justice related articles, reports, videos and more that are worth your time.]   via Gizmodo: ‘This Ad Has a Secret Anti-Abuse Message That Only Kids Can See’ In an effort to provide abused children with a safe way to reach out for help, a Spanish organization called the Aid to Children and Adolescents at Risk Foundation, or ANAR for short, created an ad that displays a different message for adults and children at the same time. Video embedded below, or watch it here: http://gizmodo.com/this-ad-has-a-secret-anti-abuse-message-that-only-kids-493108460

  via the Campaign for Youth Justice: ‘In Remembrance of Kirk Gunderson: Remembering My Son this Mother’s Day’ A heartbreaking and moving piece written by mother Vicky Gunderson, whose son Kirk committed suicide while incarcerated. This piece serves as a powerful reminder of the importance of family involvement in the youth justice system. Vicky writes, “Every ... Read More »

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A youth prison in Maryland where many of the cells, referred to as rooms, have chalkboard walls free to be drawn on. A California Youth Authority facility where young people serving “juvie life” sentences tack complex photo collages to the walls above their beds and desks. A cell at a detention facility in Multnomah County, Oregon where an 18” painted square on one wall delineates where young inmates can hang photos—all of the other wall space must remain blank. These are all examples of spaces in youth confinement facilities where children are permitted some creative control. My organization, Juvenile In Justice, having documented more than 200 facilities in 31 states in the U.S, can state with some confidence that the range of visuals/art in the youth prison system is overall pretty bleak.

Art can play a significant role in the process ... Read More »

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[Highlights from the week's juvenile justice and justice related articles, reports, videos and more that are worth your time.]   via the Miami Herald: ‘Fred Grimm: For kids in isolation, a shrug from Florida lawmakers’

Crummy news from Florida. A Senate criminal justice committee hearing last week on Florida’s rampant use of solitary confinement for children resulted in nothing. The proposed legislation to regulate the practice was put aside without a vote and while it’s scheduled again for next week it’s not expected to pass. Many kids spending long periods of time in solitary confinement are held within adult jails– where an isolation cell is used to keep the juveniles separate from the adult population. We’re talking children, 17-year-olds, being kept in concrete cells for 23 hours a day, for weeks and months. Apparently, the Senate panel was way more interested in hearing ... Read More »

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Every day in the U.S children under the age of 18 are held in solitary confinement. This is not an irregular occurrence  but a relatively common practice used to isolate, separate from the general population, observe, and punish. Sometimes they get a mattress, but are prohibited from laying on it during the day. Frequently the cells are cold, temperature being an intentional punishing element. In an isolation cell at a youth detention center in Miami the temperature was a brisk 59 degrees. The young boy in the cell, pictured below, was wearing only his cotton t-shirt and shorts. He was cold. He said that he had been in his windowless isolation cell without books or study material for over 72 hours, only coming out for two hours to bathe and exercise.  The existence of the isolation cell in our society is a ... Read More »

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  This year marks the second decade of the The National Council on Crime and Delinquency’s Media for a Just Society Awards. The MJS Awards celebrate excellent films, books, journalistic projects and other media that strives to increase public understanding of criminal justice, juvenile justice, child welfare, and adult protection issues. In exciting news, Juvenile In Justice has been selected this year as a finalist in the book category! In addition to being pleased about the nomination, we think that overall the list of finalists is a killer resource of books, movies and articles that you should read/watch. Peruse the entire list here: http://nccdglobal.org/sites/default/files/mjs-finalists-2013.pdf. Thanks NCCD!

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