JUVENILE CORRECTIONS RESOURCES
These are Juvenile Corrections Resources.
Please also see:
Juvenile Justice (U.S.) || Juvenile Justice (International)
Juveniles Tried/Sentenced as Adults || Youth Violence
ARTICLES/INFORMATION/RESEARCH
(click here for Organizations/Agencies)
At the oldest U.S. reform school for boys, leaders of the prestigious Glen Mills Schools in Pennsylvania have hidden a long history of violence.
"Serious violence is both an everyday occurrence and an open secret at Glen Mills, and has been for decades, an Inquirer investigation has found. Internal documents, court records, incident reports, and more than 40 interviews with students, staff, and others show top leaders turn a blind eye to the beatings and insulate themselves from reports while failing to properly vet or train the school's counselors.
When students and their families try to report these attacks, the Inquirer found, Glen Mills staff uses the school's prestige as a weapon: They say Glen Mills is as good as it gets, and that if students complain, they'll be shipped off to a state-run facility crowded with boys who are mentally ill or have committed sex offenses.
"
Philadelphia Inquirer, February 20, 2019
At juvie from hell, guards get the OK to pepper spray the kids
"Teenage inmates have gotten so out of hand at the city's new Bronx juvenile center, that the state has given correction officers there special permission to use pepper spray, according to the jail guards' union.
Typically officers are not allowed to use the non-lethal deterrent on rowdy juveniles, but with 40 guards injured since last Monday while trying to break up fights using only their hands, the state has issued a one-week waiver on the rule.
"Correction Officers at Horizon have been basically working with their hands tied behind their backs by not being able to use pepper spray to terminate inmate fights," said Correction Officers' Benevolent Association president Elias Husamudeen."
NY Post, October 10, 2018
'Jail juvenile offenders until middle age', Trump health secretary argued in 1991 memo
"Donald Trump's health secretary, who defended the administration's child separation policy as "charity", once argued in a private paper that repeat juvenile offenders cannot be rehabilitated and ought to be jailed until they reach middle age, according to a memo obtained by the Guardian.
A 1991 legal memo written by Alex Azar, a former drug industry executive who is now secretary of health and human services (HHS), rejected the notion that a juvenile who committed a crime was a "salvageable human" who could be treated rather than punished.
Instead, the memo, written for a senior attorney at a private law practice, outlined the legal rationale for a criminal justice policy that favoured reducing and deterring crime via mass incarceration."
The Guardian (UK), September 10, 2018
Lawsuits describe sex crimes and cover-ups at Missouri ranch for troubled boys
"A Missouri ranch for troubled boys covered up rapes and sexual assaults committed against young boys in 2009 and 2010, according to lawsuits filed by three former residents.
Some boys fondled, molested and raped younger boys, the lawsuits say, while the ranch ignored the abuse and sometimes punished boys for reporting it.
According to the lawsuits, Lives Under Construction viewed sexual abuse as consensual acts between residents and fired an employee in retaliation for making a hotline call about it.
There was a "culture of pervasive sexual assault," the lawsuits say."
Springfield News-Leader, January 16, 2017
Private juvenile center conceals abuse inquiries and pressures county to keep its business deal
"Last spring, Caroline Mattson informed her superiors at Minnesota's largest private correctional facility for boys that three boys had told her they'd been sexually abused by an employee. They began an internal investigation, prompted either by that report or another."
www.mprnews.org, May 2, 2016.
Kentucky juvenile justice commissioner and jail staffer fired following death of 16-year-old Gynnya McMillen
" FRANKFORT, Ky. — State justice officials say Kentucky's juvenile justice commissioner has been relieved of his duties amid an investigation into a teenage's death at a state detention center.
The Justice and Public Safety Cabinet says Commissioner Bob Hayter was let go and an employee who failed to carry out required bed checks on the youth has been dismissed."
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, February 9, 2016.
Solitary Confinement to End for Youngest at Rikers Island
"Although experts have spoken for years about the devastating effects of solitary confinement on the mental health of adolescent prisoners, such seclusion has long been the primary form of punishment at the Rikers Island jail complex, where inmates as young as 16 can spend days, weeks and sometimes months locked in a cell for over 23 hours a day."
The New York Times, September 28, 2014.
Juvenile jail escape latest for troubled Nashville facility
" NASHVILLE, Tenn.—The juvenile detention center where more than 30 teens escaped under a fence has a long history of violence, allegations of sexual abuse and previous efforts to break out."
Daily News, September 03, 2014.
- New Disturbance at Tennessee Detention Center Spotlights How Teens Are Treated
"Three days ago, 32 teens broke out of a Tennessee juvenile detention center. There was another disturbance Thursday. Juvenile–justice reform advocates say the way teens are managed in confinement needs to improve."
Christian Science Monitor, September 04, 2014.
Major Young Offender Institution Compared to Lord of the Flies
"Frances Crook, chief executive of the Howard League for Penal Reform, said: "This prison is dangerous for teenagers and this sounds more like an extract from William Golding's Lord of the Flies than a report on an institution that is meant to help young people turn their lives around." She challenged the government to "take these young people out of such a toxic environment before more of them die, or take responsibility for the consequences."
The Independent, August 06, 2014.
Bing Time: What It's Like to be 16 & in Solitary on Riker's Island
"In New York, 16 and 17–year–olds are automatically charged as adults. Those who are arrested in the five boroughs and cannot afford bail are sent to Rikers Island, where they are separated from the adults and housed in RNDC, the Eric M. Taylor Center, or the Otis Bantum Correctional Center, which houses the punitive segregation units. Those facilities were constructed in 1972, 1964, and 1985, respectively."
Gothamist.com, August 05, 2014.
Riker's Island Cycle of Violence Violates Teen Inmates' Constitutional Rights: DOJ
"'There is a pattern and practice of conduct at Rikers that violates the constitutional rights of adolescent inmates,' Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said, announcing the findings of a two–year investigation by his office into the treatment of inmates ages 16 through 18, "most of whom have not yet been convicted of crime, and about half of whom have been diagnosed with a mental illness.'"
Daily News, August 04, 2014.
Justice Department slams violent treatment of teens at Riker's Island
"In a 79–page report sent to Mayor Bill de Blasio, investigators cited a "deep–seated culture of violence" and a "powerful code of silence" among jail staff. They concluded that there is "a pattern and practice of conduct at Rikers that violates the constitutional rights of adolescent inmates."
Center for Investigative Reporting, August 04, 2014.
Locked Up and Locked Out
When Terrick Bakhit turned 18 while incarcerated in a juvenile correction facility, the foster care system that had watched over him for the previous five years abruptly cut him off. On June 13, 2012, Bakhit emerged from San Diego County's Camp Barrett homeless and broke.
California state law ensures that youths who turn 18 in foster care are eligible for support up to the age of 21 if they choose, to help the transition into adulthood and self–sufficiency. But a small percentage of foster youth can become ineligible for extended benefits if they happen to turn 18 inside a correctional facility without a foster care placement order waiting for them on release.
The Chronicle of Social Change: Children and Youth, Front and Center, June 02, 2014.
Closing a Loophole that Keeps Kids Locked Up
"Skipping school, running away from home, violating curfew. These are the "crimes" that incarcerate thousands of children every year in the United States. The juvenile justice system refers to these behaviors as status offenses that are only prohibited due to the youth's age and would not be considered criminal if committed by an adult.
In 2010 alone, 137,000 status offense cases were processed in courts and in more than 10,000 of these cases, youth were removed from their homes and incarcerated alongside other young people charged with, in some situations, serious crimes."
The Hill—Congress Blog, May 21, 2014.
How Extreme Isolation Warps Minds
Report on the effects of solitary confinement on prisoners, abductees, and others.
BBC.com, May 15, 2014.
Thinking Outside the Box: Why Santa Cruz County Juvenile Hall is considered a model facility when it still places youth in 23–hour isolation, sometimes for days on end
Part of a series by Trey Bundy regarding the use of 'punitive' solitary confinement on juveniles.
Medium.com, April 17, 2014
- Inside CA Juvenile Hall, rare glimpse at solitary confinement cells
"SANTA CRUZ, Calif—Although solitary confinement for extended periods is considered one of the most psychologically damaging forms of punishment—particularly for teenagers—no one knows how many juveniles are held alone in cells in California. Neither the state nor the federal government requires juvenile halls to report their use of isolation for minors—and no laws prohibit them from locking down youth for 23 hours a day. [...] The Center for Investigative Reporting was given a rare glimpse inside juvenile isolation cells at the Santa Cruz County Juvenile Hall. Considered a model youth detention facility by many juvenile justice experts, Santa Cruz still places youth in 23–hour isolation, sometimes for days on end."
CIR Online, April 17, 2014. - Q&A: Solitary Confinement and teens shouldn't mix.
A neuroscientist explains the effects of isolation on the developing brain
Medium.com, April 08, 2014 - Report: for teens at Rikers Island, solitary confinement pushes mental limits
"Solitary confinement at Rikers is officially called punitive segregation. Officials say the practice is reserved for the most dangerous inmates. But Rikers' rules say 16– and 17–year–olds can be sent to the box for horseplay and 'noisy behavior' or if they 'annoy' staff members. Teenagers with 'unauthorized amounts' of clothing or art supplies can go to solitary, too."
CIR Online, May 04, 2014 - 'Alone: Teens in Solitary Confinement' debuts on CIR's I–Files Channel
"Capping a year of reporting about teens held in solitary confinement, The Center for Investigative Reporting is releasing our documentary 'Alone,' which can now be seen on our YouTube channel, The I Files. This follows stories we've done in print, for broadcast on PBS NewsHour, as part of CIR's new 'Reveal' radio show, and in an animation ('The Box') and graphic novel."
Center for Investigative Reporting, June 26, 2014.
Jailed Teens' Brain Trauma
"Are younger victims likely to suffer in more severe, emotional ways than adults?
It is this last unanswered question that is highlighted in a recent study in the Journal of Adolescent Health. The study determined that nearly half of all newly admitted adolescents in the New York City penal system harbored a history of TBI."
Yahoo News, April 22, 2014
Lawyers Fight Placement of Transgender Juvenile in Adult Male Correctional Facility
Attorney Aaron Romano, one of the youth's lawyers, said the legal team would oppose any move to place the youth at Manson, saying her life would be in danger. And Romano said any move to put the youth in an isolation or seclusion unit at York would also be opposed — as a violation of the her constitutional rights.
The Courant, April 10, 2014
State to pay $3.5 million for Bronx boy's death
Daily News, December 07, 2011
Tribal Youth in the Federal Justice System
US Department of Justice, June 2011
Sentenced to Abuse
New York Times, January 14, 2010
Girls in the Juvenile Justice System: The Lack of Appropriate Prevention, Diversion and Treatment Alternatives for Girls in the Juvenile Justice System
GP Solo, May 01, 2008
An Artistic Avenue For Juvenile Offenders
Daily Herald, July 29, 2002
Youth Prison Not Safe For Children
The Observer, May 19, 2002
Protection at a Price?
Newsday, February 16, 2002
- Ex-Guard at Juvenile Center Gets 5 Months for Shakedown
Newsday, July 16, 2002
Federal Inquiry: Justice Department Examines Conditions At State Youth Facilities
Phoenix New Times, June 27, 2002
Incarcerate or Educate?
The Village Voice, February 27 - March 5, 2002
- City Is Urged Not to Add Jail Space for Juveniles
The New York Times, April 5, 2002 - New York Halts Plan to Add Jail Space for Youths
The New York Times, June 26, 2002
County Settles Suit In Hanging
Mercury News, April 12, 2002
Kids in Captivity
The Village Voice, February 27 - March 5, 2002
Segregation of Teenage Inmates is 'Child Abuse'
The Independent, February 11, 2002
States Adjust Adult Prisons to Needs of Youth Inmates
New York Times, July 25, 2001
Stripped and Searched, Even at Age 13
New York Times, July 18, 2001
Youth Board Set to Hear Sex Charges Against Two
The Birmingham News, June 16, 2001
- Sex Scandal Breaks at Girls Prison
The Associated Press, June 17, 2001
New Bill Protects Kids In Prison
The Miami Herald, May 4, 2001
- Fla. Gov. Bush Signs Prison Bill
The Associated Press, June 13, 2001
Boy Raped in Juvenile Center
Orlando Sentinel, May 04, 2001
Health Care for Children and Adolescents in the Juvenile Correctional Care System
Policy statement from the American Academy of Pediatrics, April 2001
Kids in Prison, Part 1
The Miami Herald, March 18, 2001
- Kids in Prison, Part 2
The Miami Herald, March 19, 2001
Age Raising Ethical Questions
Associated Press, December, 3, 2000
Youth Justice Renewal
Information about the youth justice system in Canada, from the Canadian Department of Justice (November 08, 1999)
Paying For Our Inaction
by Andrew Vachss, New York Newsday, April 28, 1989
"Interview with Pirate"
An excerpt from The Life-Style Violent Juvenile, by Andrew Vachss. Before any of his novels were ever published, Andrew Vachss turned his frontline experiences into a textbook in which he detailed a plan for total reformation of incarceration—and treatment—modalities aimed at juveniles convicted of serious, violent offenses.
The Life-Style Violent Juvenile
Information on obtaining the CD version of Andrew Vachss' 1979 textbook with plans for total reform of incarceration and treatment modalities in maximum-security juvenile facilities
ORGANIZATIONS/AGENCIES
(click here for Articles/Information/Research)
Justice for Children
2600 Southwest Freeway, Suite 806
Houston, TX 77098
Phone: (713) 225-4357
www.justiceforchildren.org
Justice for Children is a national non-profit organization which advocates for childrens' rights and protection from abuse through public education, development of effective intervention and prevention strategies, and legal advocacy.
Juvenile Info Network
www.juvenilenet.org
JIN is intended to encourage communications among juvenile justice professionals and to foster the development of new reform programs in systems at the state and local levels.
National Center for Juvenile Justice
710 Fifth Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15219
Phone: (412) 227-6955
http://www.ncjj.org/
National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS)
P.O. Box 6000
Rockville, MD 20849-6000
Phone: (301) 519-5500
TTY local: (301) 947-8374
Toll-free: 1-800-851-3420
TTY Toll-free: (877) 712-9279
https://www.ncjrs.gov/
The NCJRS is an extensive source of information on criminal and juvenile justice, providing services to an international community of policymakers and professionals.
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP)
810 Seventh Street, NW
Washington, DC 20531
Phone: (202) 307-5911
http://www.ojjdp.gov/
The OJJDP is the office of the U.S. Department of Justice responsible for working with states and communities to develop programs to prevent and control juvenile delinquency.
