Louisiana Tries Again; 5/30/2008
NEW YORK TIMES: Two years have passed since the federal courts relinquished control of Louisiana’s notoriously troubled juvenile justice system. The state regained its autonomy by reducing the number of children held in detention and by promising to embrace reforms based on Missouri’s system, which long ago abandoned sprawling, prison-style facilities in favor of small, regional facilities that focus on rehabilitation. Despite those promises, Louisiana’s system was never fully reorganized and the regional facilities never got built.
Dallas ISD's chronic truants back on the radar with GPS devices; 5/25/2008
DALLAS MORNING NEWS: For Joshua Cervantes, the black pouch clipped to his belt is a daily reminder of where he was, and where he's now headed in high school. Instead of being lostin the blur of truancy, Joshua Cervantes and eight others at Bryan Adams High School wear GPS devices that track their location. Last year, 46 students improved their attendance while wearing the units. Inside is a black Global Positioning System device that allows a truant officer to zero in on his location 24 hours a day. As a result, Joshua is now in school every day and, he said, thinking seriously – for the first time – about where he's headed in life.
Hurst teen facing capital murder charges poses challenges for jail; 5/23/2008
STAR-TELEGRAM: His cell measures about 8 feet by 9 feet. Meals come through a slot in the door three times a day. For an hour a day, when other inmates are not around, he's allowed to use a gym or recreation area while a guard watches. As the youngest inmate in the Tarrant County Jail, Russell Dow is usually alone. For the 15-year-old capital murder suspect, isolation is protection.
Dozens fired from Texas psychiatric hospitals rehired for similar state jobs; 5/20/2008
DALLAS MORNING NEWS: Dozens of employees fired from Texas' psychiatric hospitals since 2005 have been rehired for similar state positions, records show – including jobs with juvenile offenders and people with profound disabilities. Most were terminated for routine problems like failing to show up for work or to disclose a criminal record – not for mistreating patients. But a Dallas Morning News analysis indicates some went on to commit abuse or neglect in their next jobs.
Congress Must Act to Protect Young Detainees from Abuse; 5/19/2008
HUFFINGTON POST: In recent years, the Children's Defense Fund has received horrifying reports of the physical and sexual abuse of children and teens in juvenile correctional facilities. There are accounts of children being forced to eat their own vomit, of children being left naked for weeks in small isolation cells with nothing but a hole in the floor for a toilet, and of children being hog-tied--placed face down on the floor with their shackled hands and feet drawn together--for 12 or 13 hours.
Are some grand juries too friendly? 5/14/2008
HOUSTON CHRONICLE: A guard pins an unruly teen inmate against a wall in a small room at a Texas Youth Commission facility in Crockett. The youth isn't going anywhere. His ankles are shackled, his wrists bound to waist chain. A pair of guards loiter nearby. One sporting a blue letter jacket displaying the letter "C" seems to find the scene humorous and smiles broadly as he walks away.
To Curb Truancy, Dallas Tries Electronic Monitoring; 5/12/2008
NEW YORK TIMES: DALLAS — Jaime Pacheco rolled out of bed at dawn last week to the blaring chorus of two alarms. Then Jaime, a 15-year-old high school freshman, smoothed his striped comforter, dumped two scoops of kibble for the dogs out back and strapped a G.P.S. monitor to his belt. By 7:15, Jaime was in the passenger seat of his grandmother’s sport-utility vehicle, holding the little black monitor out the window for the satellite to register. A few miles down the road, at Bryan Adams High School in East Dallas, he got out of the car, said goodbye to his grandmother and paused to press a button on the unit three times.
Survey of youths in custody finds half have mental health problems; 5/8/2008
HOUSTON CHRONICLE: Nearly half of the youths locked up in the Harris County Juvenile Detention Center suffer from mental health problems — far more than the estimated 20 percent with mental disorders in the general youth population — figures released Thursday show. These youngsters, mostly teenagers, have been diagnosed with maladies including bipolar and attention deficit disorders, according to data compiled by a group of organizations studying the issue. Nearly 20 percent have severe emotional problems, the data show, and a quarter had never been diagnosed previously.