Kids in Detention

By Dave Maass

14 states still allow the use of pepper spray in youth facilities as a ‘last resort.’

Kids Behind Bars: John Jay/Tow Foundation National Symposium for Journalists

Why does the U.S. lead the world in youth imprisonment?  What should a truly effective juvenile justice system look like?  How can the media stay ahead of the story?

On April 23-24, 2012, 30 journalists from around the nation joined some of the country's most prominent juvenile justice experts, practitioners and advocates to explore those questions at a special symposium at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York, organized by John Jay's Center on Media, Crime and Justice with the support of the Tow Foundation and in cooperation with John Jay's Center for Research and Evaluation.

The 30 journalists, selected as Reporting Fellows, examined current sentencing and detention practices, the impact of race, treatment of mental health and substance abuse, and the role of police, courts, schools (and parents) in the so-called "school to prison pipeline."  The year-long fellowship also includes the establishment of a "juvenile justice news network" for reporters to assist them in following trends in this area, and new research--with the aim of providing the tools that can help foster informed public debate at local and national levels in 2012 and beyond.

The symposium entitled  Kids Behind Bars: Where's the Justice in  America's Juvenile Justice System, Covering the Juvenile Justice Reform Debate in 2012 featured keynote speeches from Gail Garinger, The Child Advocate of the State of Massachusetts;  attorney Bryan Stevenson who argued the Supreme Court case related to juvenile Life Without Parole;  and Mike Bocian, Pollster & Founding Partner, GBA Strategies.

Panelists included: Vincent N. Schiraldi, Commissioner, New York City Department of Probation, James Bell, Founder and Executive Director, W. Haywood Burns Institute, C. Jama Adams, Professor and Chair of John Jay College's Africana Studies Department and Joseph Gaudett, Chief of Police, Bridgeport, Connecticut.

Proceedings of the conference, including podcasts,  research materials provided by speakers, are covered below. For a full list of speakers, panelists and the agenda click here.

NOTE: this page will be updated regularly with articles by Fellows and other information as it becomes available.

Violence, Out-of-Control Youth Reported at TX Giddings State School

Long before a state ombudsman made public an alarming report about safety and security issues at Texas' Giddings State School, attacks on workers and reports of violence and out-of-control youth had been on an upswing, say reports quoted by the Austin American-Statesman. The documents show a deep division among leadership of the Texas Juvenile Justice Department over whether to run the lockup more like a prison or whether incarcerated teen-agers should be counseled in a softer treatment environment.

When a member of the agency's governing board visited the 300-bed lockup in March, he reported troublemaking youths were roaming freely, staff members dressed like gang members, and other staffers said they were afraid to come to work because of the continuing violence. A youth threw a rock at the official visitors, then ran laughing into the gym. Guards took no action. So tense was the atmosphere, said board member Michael Meade, that "my staff and I all felt concern for our own safety and (wondered) would we be having to fight our way out of here?" Meade questioned the management philosophy to counsel the youths into behaving. "The result of this well-intentioned but misguided management operating philosophy is that it has created a very unsafe environment for youth and staff alike with (the) lack of any true rehabilitation occurring in those out-of-control units."

Texas Legislators Question Efficacy of State Juvenile Justice Reforms

A legislative inquiry in Texas is focusing on whether sweeping juvenile justice reforms instituted five years ago are still working, reports the Austin American-Statesman. "It would appear that the management of the (Texas Juvenile Justice Department) has not been properly managing or protecting the youth and staff," said Senate Criminal Justice Committee Chairman John Whitmire, a Houston Democrat who authored many of the reforms. "You could change the names and dates, and it would be 2007 all over again."

Meanwhile, the former superintendent of the Giddings State School claimed in a lawsuit that he was fired in March for reporting violations of state law and growing safety issues at the troubled lockup. A week ago, in an inspection report that quickly triggered a legislative investigation, Ombudsman Debbie Unruh detailed allegations that youths at Giddings were being "bought and owned" by other youths for cigarettes, illicit drugs and money at a facility that was chaotic and unsafe for some youths and staff alike. The nine-page report listed an array of other issues: Youth ringleaders are "controlling the culture on this campus," staff have a lack of control over youths, youths have refused to leave security detention for fear of their safety, and bullying and extortion of food are common.

Kids Behind Bars: Live Blogging from the John Jay/Tow Foundation on Juvenile Justice Day 2

By Cara Tabachnick

Journalists and juvenile justice experts gathered on day two to discuss covering the juvenile justice reform debate in 2012 at John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

Kids Behind Bars: Live Blogging from the John Jay/Tow Foundation on Juvenile Justice

By Cara Tabachnick

Journalists and juvenile justice experts gathered to discuss covering the juvenile justice reform debate in 2012 at John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

Failure to Success

By Ronnie Hurtado

Ronnie Hurtado, a lifer from  Pelican Bay State Prison in Crescent City, CA.  shares his thoughts.The letter was originally published by The Beat Within, a juvenile justice system writing workshop, which has generously allowed The Crime Report to share.

Gardening Work Said To Reduce Inmate Recidivism

Youth Today, now under new management, writes about The Garden Project and other similar programs for inmates to work on gardening. Correctional facilities that have offered such activities for awhile have significantly reduced recidivism rates, studies show. The WorldWatch Institute says the Sandusky County Jail in Ohio finds a recidivism rate of only 18 percent from those inmates who participate in its garden program, as opposed to 40 percent for those who don’t.

Graduates of the Greenhouse Program at the Rikers Island jail in New York City experience a 5-10 percent recidivism rate, as opposed to 65 percent in the general inmate population. Participants in The Garden Project at the San Francisco County Jail have a 24 percent recidivism rate, rather than 55 percent otherwise. Gardening programs that involve people at even younger ages show promising positive effects in not only reducing recidivism but also helping youth avoid first-time offenses. Sidney Morgan, the Community Works Leader for the Department of Community Justice in Multnomah County, Or., sees big changes in youth when they work in a garden.

Examining U.S. Corrections Policy

By Ted Gest

 A blue-ribbon panel of national scholars inaugurates a major project to study why U.S. incarceration rates are among the world’s highest.

Half of Texas Youth Prison Inmates Need Mental Health Care

More than half of the people in Texas' youth prisons have a moderate or high need for mental health care, and officials should improve their early intervention efforts to help those young people before they end up behind bars, reports the Associated Press. Cherie Townsend, executive director of the Texas Juvenile Justice Department, told legislators this week that more than 52 percent of teens and other youngsters held at the state's six juvenile detention facilities have been diagnosed with at least moderate mental health problems.

Including those with at least some kind of mental health care needs would make that tally much higher, she said. "The numbers are increasing," Townsend told members of the Texas House Corrections Committee. Townsend's department was created after the Legislature voted last year to merge the Texas Youth Commission, which had run the prison system for teens, and the Texas Juvenile Probation Commission, which had been in charge of county-run youth probation programs. Supporters said the merger could save Texas as much as $150 million in the first two years of the new department's existence, while also improving mental health and rehabilitation programs for troubled youth.

High Court, CA Legislature Offers Some Hope for Teen Murderers

At least 2,500 inmates nationwide who were convicted of murder as juveniles have been sent to prison with no chance of parole. The Los Angeles Times say that the U.S. Supreme Court and California legislators may give some of these inmates another chance. The court will hear arguments March 20 in two cases involving 14-year-olds, on whether it is unconstitutional cruel and unusual punishment to put young juvenile murderers in prison without hope of release.

In Sacramento, a state Senate-passed bill to make juvenile murderers eligible for parole fell two votes short in the Assembly last year but is up for reconsideration this week. In the Supreme Court, attorneys for the 14-year-olds point to forensic evidence that a teenager's brain is not fully developed and that youths consequently take too many risks. Laurence Steinberg, a psychology professor at Temple University, says, "Adolescents, because of their immaturity, should not be deemed as culpable as adults.  But they also are not innocent children whose crimes should be excused." Even if these inmates win in Washington or California, it does not mean they will all be released. They would have to prove to judges and parole boards that they deserve to go home, probably after they have served 25 years. They would need to show near-unblemished prison records, true remorse and proof they can function in society.

Report: CA Counties Can Absorb Juvenile Offenders Held by State

California Watch reports that county governments in that state have invested nearly a half-billion dollars over the past 15 years to modernize juvenile lockups and now have the capacity to absorb offenders currently housed in the state’s youth prisons, if those facilities are closed.  A report by the San Francisco-based Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice offers fresh data in support of Gov. Jerry Brown’s renewed push to shutter the state’s three remaining youth prisons as part of a historic realignment of California’s criminal justice system.

A total of $455,779,103 was allocated to renovate county facilities, according to the report, with 96 percent going to new maximum-security juvenile halls in 41 jurisdictions. “These state-of-the-art buildings stand in stark contrast to the dilapidated and archaic 19th-century relics that DJF (Division of Juvenile Facilities) utilizes to house its remaining wards,” reads the report. Counties that allocated the most money for construction of juvenile facilities as of November 2007 include San Mateo, $21.1 million; Fresno, $24.1 million; San Bernardino, $27.2 million; Alameda, $33.1 million; San Diego, $39.2 million; Ventura, $40.5 million, and Los Angeles, $49.5 million.

Suicide Prompts Call for Youth Agency Probe in Kentucky

A top official with Kentucky’s Court Appointed Special Advocates program has asked Kentucky State Police to investigate operations of the program that serves abused and neglected children in the court system, reports the Louisville Courier-Journal. The request comes two weeks after the death of Executive Director Alex Blevins, 31, who was found dead in his car Jan. 22 near his Indiana home in an apparent suicide. Addia Wuchner, president of the CASA board, said she asked state police special investigations to handle the case and the agency has agreed. She said the CASA executive board supported the decision.

Wuchner, a Republican state representative from Burlington, declined to say why she asked state police to get involved. “Obviously there were some areas of concern,” she said. Wuchner said following Blevins’ “tragic death” the CASA executive committee wants to ensure the agency is on sound footing as it plans for the future. CASA assigns trained volunteers to represent children in the state’s family court system. It receives no state money and its annual budget of about $227,000 comes from fundraising and private donations. Blevins served as CASA director for seven years and was considered a tireless advocate for the program.

Juvenile Justice Realignment in 2012

California's proposed criminal justice realignment gains support from the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice (CJCJ), which issued a report with policy recommendations focusing on youth detention.

Ma You Told Me

Families, or the lack of them, loom large in the following writings from teens in juvenile detention. They are participants in The Beat Within, a national writing workshop, which allows the imprisoned teens to express themselves in a safe place.