[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 »

On any given night in America, 10,000 children are held in adult jails and prisons.

 
Via the Campaign for Youth Justice: “During the month of April, thousands of individuals and organizations will be calling on their governors to cease the practice of placing youth in adult jails and prisons in order to comply with the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA). Passed unanimously by Congress in 2003, PREA restricts the placement of youth in adult jails and prisons. The U.S. Department of Justice regulations state: “as a matter of policy, the Department supports strong limitations on the confinement of adults with juveniles.” The regulations ban the housing of youth in the general adult population, prohibit contact between youth and adults in common areas, and limit the use of isolation.” 

Children in adult jails and prisons are:

- At the greatest risk of sexual victimization … Read More »

In the wake of the beyond devastating events of last Friday (http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/us/connecticut-school-shooting/index.html), wherein a young man entered an elementary school heavily armed and proceeded to kill 6 adults and 20 children, I am forced to mourn again the case of firearms ending up in the wrong hands. In my work, I encounter story after story where children acquire guns, sometimes with fatal consequences. I remember talking to one young man and asking him where he got the gun he used in his crime, his response was,”Where do you get a gun? You just get a gun.” While vague, his statement reflects the ease with which a person, even a child, can access a deadly weapon. In Connecticut, the gunman, a 20-year-old man, used three of his mother’s guns in the massacre.

This is all  leaves me wondering, what can we do? … Read More »

The Harris County Psychiatric Center is not exclusively for juveniles, but the Harris County Juvenile Probation Department pays for 16 beds at a cost of $2.1 Million dollars per year. According to the Juvenile Probation Department Executive Director Tom Brooks, it’s money well spent– on sub-acute, severe mental health needs and treatment. Some of these kids are the offspring and result of a severe 90s crack epidemic. The point of the program is to treat these kids without criminalizing them and prevent them from becoming part of the juvenile justice system. According to Baylor University Faculty Dr. Dawnelle Schatte, the facility gets about 150 children out of the 20,000 juvenile arrests in the county per year.