Models for Change Newsroom

Closing 2 Adult, Juvenile Prisons is the Right Move

05/07/2012 05:13 PM

May 7, 2012 | Paula Wolff | Chicago Sun-Times | NEWSROOM

Despite a drop in crime and the need to close a multibillion-dollar budget hole, politics again threaten to derail plans to cut spending on prisons. Bowing to pressure by those opposed to closing any state facilities to save money, a legislative commission rebuffed Gov. Pat Quinn’s recommendation to close two adult prisons and two juvenile prisons. Fortunately, the commission does not have the last word. Quinn should reject the advice and proceed with closing those prisons. Closing two…

Redeploy Illinois Program Helps Juvenile Offenders Stay Out of Jail

05/03/2012 02:51 PM

May 3, 2012 | Jennifer A. Bowen | Belleville News-Democrat (Illinois) | NEWSROOM

EAST ST. LOUIS, IL -- A federal government official, state officials, judges and local leaders met in East St. Louis Wednesday to discuss and learn about Redeploy Illinois, a state program that works to keep juvenile offenders out of detention centers. Participants in the program that was launched in Illinois in 2004 also attended the event to share their experiences in the program. Melodee Hanes, the acting administrator for the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Juvenile Justice and…

4th District Court a Model for Change

04/30/2012 08:25 AM

Apr 30, 2012 | Louisiana Models for Change | The Monroe News Star | NEWSROOM

4th District court a model for change Written by Sarah Eddington The 4th Judicial District Court has become the state's model for change in the juvenile justice system thanks to the efforts of multiple local agencies over the past two years. The district was selected two years ago to be a pilot site for the Louisiana Models for Change initiative to develop a model program for juvenile drug courts and the juvenile justice system. The project was funded by a $385,000 grant from the John D.…

Minority Youth Arrested at Disproportional Rate

04/18/2012 12:00 PM

Apr 9, 2012 | Eric Francavilla | The News Tribune | NEWSROOM

Tri-City minority youth are being arrested at a disporportional rate, which is similar to a statewide trend that recently gained the attention of the Washington State Supreme Court. Last week, justices took time away from court cases to hear a presentation in their chambers made by members of the Task Force on Race and the Criminal Justice System. Carl McCurley, manager of the Washington State Center for Court Research, told the justices that blacks and Latinos make up 41 percent of youth…

Even Youths Who Offend Deserve Chance to Grow Up

04/18/2012 11:58 AM

Apr 12, 2012 | Joshua Sohn and the Rev. David Kelly | Chicago Sun-Times | NEWSROOM

America stands alone among industrialized nations in telling children as young as 13 that they are beyond hope or redemption. More countries around the world impose sentences of caning, amputation or stoning than impose juvenile life without parole or “JLWOP.” It is intellectually, legally and theologically wrong to punish adolescents for their emotional and psychological immaturity in a manner that denies them the opportunity to grow up and to discover their potential. To…

Locked up Since 14, Adolfo Davis Makes Plea for Clemency

04/18/2012 11:56 AM

Apr 11, 2012 | Linda Paul | WBEZ-FM | NEWSROOM

Adolfo Davis of Chicago was sentenced to life in prison with no chance for parole for a crime committed when he was 14. Tomorrow, in a process little known by the public, Adolfo's advocates will step before the Illinois Prisoner Review Board to make his case for clemency. This is the story of what brought him to that place. At Stateville, a maximum security prison in Joliet, Illinois, I'm meeting again with Adolfo Davis, who surprises me a little. He’s more self-assured and optimistic…

Justice Department Expands Youth Violence Prevention Program

04/18/2012 11:52 AM

Apr 5, 2012 | Nancy Lewis | Juvenile Justice Information Exchange | NEWSROOM

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder announced this week that the Justice Department will expand to 10 – from six – the number of cities participating in the National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention. The planned expansion comes as the original participants continue to struggle through breaking down walls among government agencies and with community-based groups. The National Forum, established 18 months ago, is designed to allow the cities involved to fashion their individual crime…

Kids-for-cash laws signed at scene of crime

04/10/2012 09:00 AM

Apr 10, 2012 | Dave Janoski | Scranton Times Tribune | NEWSROOM

WILKES-BARRE - Gov. Tom Corbett signed two bills Monday bolstering the rights of juvenile court defendants at the Luzerne County Courthouse, where two judges collected millions for sending juveniles to for-profit detention centers in a "kids-for-cash" scheme. The new laws require that juvenile defendants be represented by counsel in most cases and that juvenile court judges state in open court the reasoning behind their sentencing decisions. In 2009, the state Supreme Court invalidated about…

Career Development Program Influences Positive Change in Juvenile Justice Involved Youth

03/30/2012 09:22 AM

Mar 21, 2012 | St. Helena Echo | NEWSROOM

Northshore Technical Community College in Greensburg, La., started a career development program in the fall of 2011 for youth at risk of penetration into the Juvenile Justice System. This program has since set eight children on a path to success through guidance, education, encouragement and skill development. “Our program has given these youth a chance to focus and excel in areas they’re interested in,” said Sharon Hornsby, dean of the Florida Parishes campus. “Their…

Supreme Court sizes up teens who murder

03/21/2012 09:39 AM

Mar 16, 2012 | Editorial | Christian Science Monitor | NEWSROOM

Two cases involving life sentences for 14-year-olds who murdered will test the Supreme Court's past rulings that teens are not small adults and must be given a chance for redemption. By the Monitor's Editorial Board / March 16, 2012 One measure of how a society balances justice and compassion lies in how it deals with teens who commit crimes. In America, that particular balance has often shifted between the extremes of lock ’em up and let ’em go. In recent rulings, however,…

Teens change, given a chance

03/19/2012 10:30 AM

Mar 19, 2012 | Edwin Desamour | Philadelphia Inquirer | NEWSROOM

I pick up a call on the hotline. It's one of several services the organization I cofounded provides for at-risk youths in my Philadelphia neighborhood. The kid on the other end of the of the line sounds scared. He's trying to be macho, projecting anger, but he's coming across as unsure. Most of all, he sounds young. "I'm thinking about doing something," he says. "These guys at school, they keep on jumping me. I may have to deal with it. I may have to bring my gun tomorrow." "OK," I say.…

Don't put juveniles in jail for life

03/19/2012 10:26 AM

Mar 19, 2012 | Laurence Steinberg | CNN.com | NEWSROOM

Laurence Steinberg is a professor of psychology at Temple University and former director of the MacArthur Foundation Research Network on Adolescent Development and Juvenile Justice. He is the author of "You and Your Adolescent: The Essential Guide for Ages 10 to 25." (CNN) -- There are more than 2,500 people serving life sentences without the possibility of parole for crimes they committed when they were juveniles. Some were as young as 13 when they were sent to prison. In 2010, the U.S.…

Preckwinkle: ‘Blow up’ Juvenile Jail and Put Kids in Smaller Regional Centers

03/16/2012 04:24 PM

Mar 9, 2012 | Lisa Donovan | Chicago Sun-Times | NEWSROOM

CHICAGO -- Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle said Friday she’d like to “blow ... up” the juvenile jail on the West Side and house troubled kids in smaller regional centers. Preckwinkle was responding to a report issued Friday by the Jane Addams Juvenile Court Foundation and the National Council on Crime and Delinquency.

Giving jailed juveniles a second chance at life

03/16/2012 03:25 PM

Mar 15, 2012 | Marian Wright Edelman | Washington Post | NEWSROOM

Edwin Desamour was driving with his 3-year-old son in their Philadelphia neighborhood recently when the little boy looked up and said, “Daddy, look at the moon! I want to go there!” So this father did what many parents would: He bought his son books on science and space voyages and encouraged him to believe that his dreams can come true. Edwin’s son has been blessed with a vastly different childhood than Edwin had. Edwin grew up poor in a violent neighborhood in Philadelphia,…

SAMHSA, MacArthur Collaborate to Improve How Juvenile System Responds to Youth with Behavioral Health Needs

03/08/2012 02:14 PM

Mar 8, 2012 | MacArthur Foundation | NEWSROOM

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation are collaborating on a $1 million effort targeting the behavioral health needs of youth in contact with the juvenile justice system. The project is aimed at diverting youth with behavioral health conditions from the juvenile justice system to community-based programs and services. Most youth in contact with the juvenile justice system have a diagnosable mental or…

Juvenile Shelter Now More Like Home

03/08/2012 01:56 PM

Feb 24, 2012 | Ann Marie Ames | Janesville Gazette | NEWSROOM

It's still a long way from feeling like home. But recent renovations at the Rock County Youth Services Center are making things more comfortable for some kids court-ordered to stay in the center's shelter, said Rock County Juvenile Justice Division Manager Lance Horozewski. New, home style furniture, fresh paint and—most notably—youth-created murals are the changes that are the easiest to see in the facility, he said. Similar changes are in the works for the detention facility at…

Youth Advocates Applaud Quinn's Plan to Close 2 Juvenile Detention Centers

02/27/2012 09:03 AM

Feb 25, 2012 | Karen Hawkins | Associated Press | NEWSROOM

Illinois houses juvenile offenders in eight detention centers across the state, including one in downstate Murphysboro that is only a third full, has little outdoor recreation space and costs $84,000 a year per youth to operate. It has nearly 100 staffers for its 53 inmates. Gov. Pat Quinn's proposal to close that Murphysboro detention center and another in Joliet is winning the praise of judicial reform advocates, who say the move will not only save the state money but allow young offenders…

National Juvenile Defender Center Receives Creative and Effective Institutions Award from MacArthur Foundation

02/16/2012 04:08 PM

Feb 16, 2012 | National Juvenile Defender Center | NEWSROOM

National Juvenile Defender Center Receives Creative and Effective Institutions Award from MacArthur Foundation NJDC Recognized as the “go-to” Resource for the Juvenile Defender Community Washington, DC, February 16, 2012 — Joining an international group of prestigious organizations, the National Juvenile Defender Center (NJDC) was selected to receive a 2012 John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Award for Creative and Effective Institutions (MACEI). “This honor reflects…

Jail isn't the only option: Redeploy Illinois helps delinquent teens - and saves you money

02/13/2012 01:41 PM

Feb 13, 2012 | Jennifer A. Bowen | Belleville News-Democrat | NEWSROOM

Things could have ended up much differently for 18-year-old Curtis Warner. A year ago he was staring down at time behind bars. "I was doing the wrong stuff and getting into a lot of trouble I shouldn't have been getting in to," said Warner, of East St. Louis. "Since then, my whole attitude has changed. I don't even want to be around the people I was around before. I am making better decisions and I am a better person." Instead of getting out of jail, Warner is preparing to graduate from high…

Department of Justice, MacArthur Foundation Provide $2 Million to Support Juvenile Justice Reform

01/27/2012 08:57 AM

Jan 26, 2012 | Department of Justice, MacArthur Foundation | NEWSROOM

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Office of Justice Programs (OJP) January 26, 2012 (202) 307-0703 www.ojp.gov Contact: Starr Stepp DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, MACARTHUR FOUNDATION PROVIDE $2 MILLION TO SUPPORT JUVENILE JUSTICE REFORM WASHINGTON– In…

Youth Advocacy Department Director Joshua Dohan Named Champion for Change in Juvenile Justice Reform

01/06/2012 12:21 PM

Dec 5, 2011 | Rey Cheatham Banks | NEWSROOM

ROXBURY, MA – Joshua Dohan, Director of the Youth Advocacy Department of the Committee for Public Counsel Services was honored at a national conference of juvenile justice leaders in Washington, DC for his lifetime of work on behalf of indigent court involved youth in Massachusetts Colleagues involved in the Models for Change Juvenile Indigent Defense Action Network nominated Dohan for the award. Models for Change is the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation’s 16-state…

Change Makers 2012: James Bell, W. Haywood Burns Institute

01/04/2012 09:46 AM

Jan 1, 2012 | Jessica Lum | San Francisco Chronicle | NEWSROOM

Founder and executive director of the W. Haywood Burns Institute, James Bell is dedicated to examining and addressing the ethnic disparity in institutions such as the juvenile justice system. Bell was born in a segregated South Carolina hospital where black doctors weren't allowed to deliver babies. Growing up, Bell said he played a part in the civil rights movement, helping desegregate lunch counters and swimming pools around his community. He eventually moved to San Francisco to attend law…

Editorial: Non-Violent Juveniles Should not be Locked Up

01/03/2012 09:33 AM

Jan 3, 2012 | Chicago Sun-Times | NEWSROOM

Illinois has long been a pioneer in juvenile justice, creating the nation’s first juvenile court as long ago as 1899. But in recent years, Illinois hasn’t looked so much like a pioneer anymore. The wooden wheels have been coming off the covered wagon. A recent report indicates that more than half the youths incarcerated by the Illinois Department of Justice wind up back behind bars. If the original pioneers failed at that rate, they never would have made it west of the…

New Illinois Law Will Require Judges To Consider Sentencing Juvenile Offenders To Treatment In Their Communities

12/21/2011 08:49 AM

Dec 20, 2011 | Juvenile Justice Initiative | NEWSROOM

CHICAGO – Beginning January 1, Illinois judges considering committing juvenile offenders to incarceration in a state juvenile prison must first ensure that commitment to the Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) is necessary and that secure confinement is the least restrictive alternative available. Before sentencing, juvenile court judges must examine evidence that efforts were made to locate less restrictive placements – and review why those efforts were unsuccessful. This…

Robert Listenbee - People on the Move

12/15/2011 02:51 PM

Dec 15, 2011 | Philadelphia Business Journal | NEWSROOM

Robert Listenbee Date added: December 15, 2011 Submission Type: Professional Recognition Current employer: Defender Association of Philadelphia Current title/position: Chief of the Juvenile Unit Reason for being recognized: Robert Listenbee, Chief of the Juvenile Unit at the Defender Association of Philadelphia, was recently honored by the MacArthur Foundation-supported Models for Change initiative as a Champion for Change in juvenile justice reform.