Objective: To return jurisdiction over first-time, non-violent 17-year-old offenders to the juvenile court, making our communities safer and resulting in substantial savings from reduced costs of law enforcement, court processing, and losses to victims. Background: With the adoption of the Juvenile Code in 1996, the age of adult court...
Youth Justice
Out of the Fire -Into the Furnace for Wisconsin’s federal Juvenile Justice Compliance
On April 21, the Senate held an oversight hearing to address concerns about OJJDP's process for monitoring compliance with the four core protections in the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act most recently authorized in 2002. Wisconsin has been at the center of the firestorm, and the hearing was no less disconcerting as to...
Wisconsin in the Top Ten – That Ain’t Right
The top ten of what you may ask? Well, Wisconsin ranks as the 7th highest state in terms of referral of students in school to police and courts - with 10.2 per 1,000 students referred compared to the national average of 5.8 per 1,000 students. The Center for Public Integrity just analyzed 2011-2012 Education Civil Rights data to point...
Growing Your Own – Opportunities for Youthful Offenders at the Grow Academy
A recent Wisconsin Public Radio story highlighted the Grow Academy - a unique corrections program using hands-on agricultural experience and curriculums as a way to teach youthful offenders the kinds of skills we want all youth to have - academic skills, social skills, peer skills, a work ethic, and giving back to the community. We all...
Positive Youth Justice – Why Not?
There has been a series of articles, with the final installment just released, in the Chronicle of Social Change focusing on the notion of building a system that includes positive youth development principles at its core. And Jeffrey Butts has produced a great briefing paper, Strengthening Youth Justice Practices with Developmental...
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