Models for Change Newsroom

My View: Juvenile justice system broken, needs oversight

06/13/2013 02:12 PM

Jun 13, 2013 | Elizabeth Clarke, President of the Juvenile Justice Initiative | Freeport (IL) Journal-Standard | NEWSROOM

Too often, it takes a crisis — and victims — to bring about a change.

System Failure: Sexual Victimization in Illinois Juvenile Prisons

06/13/2013 02:10 PM

Jun 13, 2013 | John Maki, Executive Director of the John Howard Association of Illinois | HuffPost Chicago | NEWSROOM

In a recently released national study, the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) found that Illinois ranked among the four worst states in the country for rates of reported sexual victimization in juvenile detention facilities. The study found that 15 percent of youth incarcerated in the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice (IDJJ) reported they were victims of sexual assault by staff or other detained youth.

Experts say Illinois youth prisons need independent ombudsman

06/12/2013 01:51 PM

Jun 11, 2013 | Patrick Smith | WBEZ (Chicago Public Radio) | NEWSROOM

The chair of the Illinois Juvenile Justice Commission says Gov. Pat Quinn must act quickly to protect kids in the state’s youth prisons. Retired Judge George Timberlake says incarcerated youth need to be able to complain safely to an independent government employee.

Cruel, Unusual, and a Matter of Law in Illinois

06/06/2013 04:44 PM

Jun 5, 2013 | Paige Sutherland, Bryan Lowry, and Ananth Baliga | The Atlantic | NEWSROOM

The one-year anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark decision to outlaw juvenile mandatory life sentencing without parole is coming up fast, yet Illinois is no closer to being in compliance.

Louisiana Association of Drug Court Professionals (LADCP) sponsors a Motivational Interviewing Training Seminar in partnership with Supreme Court Drug Court Office (SCDCO)

06/06/2013 02:54 PM

Jun 6, 2013 | Kim Cusimano, Louisiana Models for Change | NEWSROOM

In 2009, with assistance from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Louisiana Models for Change initiative, the 4th Judicial District Court Juvenile Drug Court embarked on a pilot program to increase access to evidence-based services in the drug court program. Since this time, both the Louisiana Association of Drug Court Professionals and the Louisiana Supreme Court Drug Court Office have supported an increased use of evidence-based case management and treatment in Louisiana Drug…

In Illinois, a Season of Restorative Justice

06/05/2013 11:11 AM

Jun 5, 2013 | Judge George Timberlake | JJIE Resource Hub | NEWSROOM

It has been a good spring for juvenile justice in Illinois. In a year of great fiscal challenge, the General Assembly approved Gov. Pat Quinn’s proposal to double funding for Redeploy Illinois, a successful program helping teens get services in their communities instead of behind sent away to distant prisons. Legislators also passed a bill to customize Redeploy programs for Cook County neighborhoods and bring the diversion program to the state’s largest county for the first time.

Taking a More Standard Approach

06/03/2013 02:53 PM

Jun 3, 2013 | Rey Cheatham Banks and Sarah Bergen | National Juvenile Defender Center | NEWSROOM

The practice of juvenile defense is often an ad hoc system of representation with no definable structure, guidelines, or standards. Some states have a statewide system of defense, while others rely on counties to provide for indigent defense representation, and a few use an entirely court-appointed system with no centralized structure for providing representation. To address this patch-work quilt of defense practices, the National Juvenile Defender Center (NJDC) produced the National Juvenile…

Gov. Bobby Jindal signs first bills of 2013 legislative session into law

05/24/2013 12:38 PM

May 24, 2013 | Kim Cusimano, Louisiana Models for Change | NEWSROOM

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal signed three bills relative to juvenile justice into law yesterday. The bills were the first pieces of legislation to make it to the governor's desk and be approved during the 2013 legislative session. • House Bill 89, sponsored by Rep. Frank Hoffmann, R-West Monroe: This bill changes an existing law, which allows school employees to restrain and seclude any violent "student with an exceptionality," to exclude "gifted and talented" students. Hoffman said in…

Prevent crime by giving children the right start

05/23/2013 10:37 AM

May 23, 2013 | St. Clair County (IL) State's Attorney Brendan Kelly | St. Louis Post-Dispatch | NEWSROOM

There is a growing consensus among law enforcement that we need to be doing much more on the front end to prevent crime on the back end. That’s why my office has created a Children’s Justice Division to focus our efforts on truancy, child support, delinquency, and child abuse and neglect in a way traditional prosecution doesn’t. However, we will never be able to arrest and incarcerate our way through the challenge of crime. Luckily for us, there are also other programs for…

A Public-Private Partnership that Works

05/23/2013 10:08 AM

May 23, 2013 | Autumn Dickman | Juvenile Law Center | NEWSROOM

Public-private partnerships are a staple of good government initiatives. Rarely, however, has such a partnership existed in juvenile justice on the scale of MacArthur Foundation’s collaboration with Pennsylvania’s Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Committee (JJDPC). The story of that partnership is told in Pennsylvania and MacArthur’s Models for Change, a monograph published this month by Juvenile Law Center. It begins with MacArthur’s search for partner…

Voice of the Reader: Redeploy Illinois needs support

05/22/2013 01:13 PM

May 21, 2013 | Union County (IL) State's Attorney Tyler Edmonds | Southern Illinoisan (Carbondale) | NEWSROOM

My law enforcement colleagues do a good job addressing juvenile crime and making sure offending juveniles are taken off the streets. But we continually arrest and prosecute the same kids and send them off to state lock-up.

Editorial: Fighting crime the smart way

05/21/2013 09:05 PM

May 22, 2013 | Chicago Sun-Times | NEWSROOM

As recently as three years ago, more than 1,300 young people were locked up in juvenile prisons in Illinois, costing the state a small fortune, from $88,000 to $98,000 per inmate. Now, thanks in part to Redeploy Illinois, a program that has made it possible for counties to handle and treat nonviolent young offenders right in their communities, the state’s juvenile prison population has plummeted to about 850. Gov. Pat Quinn has been able to close two budget-busting juvenile prisons.

Violence in the streets can start in the home

05/20/2013 09:30 AM

May 17, 2013 | Adriana Cardona-Maguigad | WBEZ-FM (Chicago Public Radio) | NEWSROOM

CHICAGO -- Ubaldina is a mother of six, who works the night shift at a packing company so she can be there when her kids come home from school. She’s raising her kids alone now. She said her husband abused her verbally and physically almost every weekend.

Two Major Juvenile Justice Bills Passed in Illinois Senate

05/16/2013 12:44 PM

May 15, 2013 | James Swift | Juvenile Justice Information Exchange | NEWSROOM

On Tuesday, Illinois state senators passed two bills with potentially profound implications on the state’s juvenile justice system.

Juvenile Justice shows progress

05/16/2013 10:19 AM

May 16, 2013 | Patrick Yeagle | Illinois Times | NEWSROOM

When the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice was created in 2006, the state’s youth prisons held 1,500 juvenile offenders. Today, there are fewer than 900 kids behind bars in Illinois juvenile justice system. It’s one sign of progress for the relatively new department, which was previously part of the adult-oriented Illinois Department of Corrections. The youth-oriented IDJJ is working to reduce solitary confinement, increase mental health treatment for troubled youth, and…

‘Math tutoring on steroids’ aims to help troubled Chicago teens, muscle out crime

05/13/2013 12:19 PM

May 12, 2013 | Frank Main | Chicago Sun-Times | NEWSROOM

Math kills crime. That’s the result researchers expect from a program that combines “math tutoring on steroids” with sports-based mentoring for troubled teens in Chicago.

One Case Makes the Case for Community Based Services

05/08/2013 07:14 AM

May 8, 2013 | Judge George W. Timberlake, Ret. | Youth Today | NEWSROOM

CHICAGO -- The national debate continues over the issues of guns and violence, but attention to the subject of mental health services and funding must not be lost. We cannot miss the opportunity to recognize what good policy means to real people -- the police, probation and detention officers, social workers and therapists. Most importantly, we should seize this opportunity to explain how juvenile policy affects a real kid in a real family.

Editorial: State can be a leader in juvenile justice

05/06/2013 03:42 PM

May 7, 2013 | Chicago Sun-Times | NEWSROOM

In 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that juveniles should not be sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole. But the court didn’t address two issues. What about juveniles who already had been sentenced to life without parole? And what about very long sentences, say for 100 years, that are effectively life sentences anyway? As Justice Samuel Alito said in a dissent, “Nothing in the court’s opinion affects the imposition of a sentence to a term of years without the…

Transforming the Justice System by Partnering with Families

05/06/2013 03:15 PM

May 6, 2013 | Neelum Arya | Campaign for Youth Justice | NEWSROOM

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Juvenile Law Center Named Best "Law" Website in the 17th Annual Webby Awards

05/02/2013 02:53 PM

May 2, 2013 | Models for Change | Juvenile Law Center Blog | NEWSROOM

Reposted from: Juvenile Law Center Blog The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences (IADAS) announced today that Juvenile Law Center has been named the Best "Law" Website in the 17th Annual Webby Awards! Hailed as the "Internet's highest honor" by The New York Times, The Webby Awards, presented by the IADAS, is the leading international award honoring excellence on the Internet. The IADAS, which nominates and selects The Webby Awards Winners, is comprised of web industry…

Tavis Smiley Spotlights Washington Models for Change Programs on National Stage

05/02/2013 12:37 PM

May 2, 2013 | Washington Models for Change | PBS | NEWSROOM

Truancy is a major issue in Washington state and is at the forefront of Washington Models for Change efforts. These efforts now have more national recognition thanks to the recent Tavis Smiley Reports education special, “Education Under Arrest”, which aired on PBS on March 26, 2013. Watch Tavis Smiley Reports: "Education Under Arrest" on PBS. See more from Tavis Smiley. In the special, Tavis Smiley, a national broadcaster, author, and advocate, explored the connection between…

After Years of Slow Progress, Illinois Finds Traction In Efforts to Meet Needs of Mentally Ill Youth

05/01/2013 08:59 PM

May 1, 2013 | Ed Finkel and Dick Mendel | Juvenile Justice Information Exchange | NEWSROOM

Early in 2000, after a groundbreaking study revealed epidemic levels of mental illness among detained youth in Cook County – plus a severe lack of counseling and treatment – the Illinois Department of Human Services launched an ambitious new Mental Health and Juvenile Justice Initiative. Ever since, the program has been diverting hundreds of emotionally disturbed and behaviorally troubled youth out of the justice system each year and into community-based treatment. Outcomes have…

Juvenile Justice: Program in Illinois leaves some wondering whether the concept of fairness is being served

05/01/2013 08:53 PM

May 1, 2013 | Jamey Dunn | Illinois Issues magazine | NEWSROOM

If a 17-year-old were caught stealing an iPod in Illinois, he or she would likely end up in the juvenile justice system. However, if the same teenager were caught stealing the newest iPhone, he or she would land in adult court, be held with adult inmates and end up with a record that would follow him or her into adult life. Advocates argue that it is time to change that disparity in the system.

Louisiana Models for Change Grantee Replicates Model

05/01/2013 09:32 AM

May 1, 2013 | Louisiana Models for Change | NEWSROOM

In March 2011, Louisiana Models for Change awarded a $150,000 grant to the Northshore Technical Community College-Florida Parishes Campus to implement a pilot career development model targeting adjudicated youth, both on probation and under state supervision. NTCC, in partnership with the Hammond Regional Office of the Louisiana Office of Juvenile Justice, implemented the model and its success has exceeded all expectations. Further, the model is on its way to being replicated at three other…

Louisiana Juvenile Justice Champion Rep. Walt Leger Passes Resolution Commending the Foundation

04/29/2013 01:57 PM

Apr 29, 2013 | Louisiana Models for Change | NEWSROOM

Louisiana Speaker Pro Tem and Chairman of the Juvenile Justice Implementation Commission Rep. Walt Leger introduced House Concurrent Resolution 27 of the 2013 Louisiana Regular Legislative Session. The resolution, which just recently passed out of both the House and Senate chambers, commends the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation for its efforts in establishing successful and replicable models of juvenile justice reform in Louisiana. The resolution commends the MacArthur Foundation…