Short documentary sheds light on shortcomings of a zero tolerance policy

You’ve seen the news headlines—fear and violence widespread in our schools. Some of you might have seen the movie, “Lean on Me ,” about the New Jersey school principal, Joe Clark, who took matters into his own hands to keep “those kids” out of his school. The response of “zero tolerance” made sense—or did it?

In only 12 minutes, you can learn a lot about how we got to where we are and how we might do something better for our youth.

Film highlights the dangers of incarcerating youth with adults 

Imagine your 17-year-old daughter got in a school fight with a 16-year-old classmate. Hair pulling, scratching. No weapons involved. What do you think is the appropriate consequence for such behavior? Suspension from school? Grounded? Not allowed to attend the prom or other school activities? What about community service? Restitution? Probation? Think that may be going too far for a youthful mistake? Well, depending on the state you live in, that 17-year-old could be charged with felony child abuse and incarcerated in an adult correctional facility. As a parent, you would have no control over that process.

Organizers are asking you to take action 

The Campaign for Youth Justice (CFYJ) is a national initiative dedicated to ending the prosecution, sentencing and incarceration of youth younger than 18 in the adult criminal justice system. 

CFYJ was started in 2004 by a distraught parent whose juvenile son was prosecuted in adult criminal court. The mother became determined to change policies that allow hundreds of thousands of youths to be tried in adult court every year. And she put her money where her heart was. Her actions led to the Campaign for Youth Justice officially opening in July 2005.

The Proportion of Girls Arrested for Drug Crimes Is Higher Than Males

There has been some good news and statistics in the juvenile-justice world recently. One is that juvenile-drug arrests fell to about 52% since 2010. However, examining this data more closely finds something disturbing: girls now account for a larger percentage of drug charges, ranging from simple possession to manufacturing and sales, than their male counterparts. Also worrisome is, writes Jeffrey A. Butts of the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in a recent brief, “the growing proportion of females among juvenile drug arrests was seen among arrests for drug manufacturing and sales as well as arrests for simple drug possession.”

For their sake and ours, we need to stop locking up kids

A talk at the recent Blueprints for Healthy Youth Development conference in Denver made me think of a show I love, “The West Wing.” In one of my favorite episodes, after hearing of the death of a secret-service agent, a politician wonders out loud, “Crime. Boy, I don’t know.”

We all want to live in safe communities, free of crime. As a parent, this feels like an increasingly urgent need as I send my children more and more out into public without me. Levels of risk I was willing to accept in the past are now too scary to tolerate. Before, I have ignored the news of local crime, and now, there are times I have to force myself to stop thinking about it. 

So, I join the public in the wish for a silver bullet. We want safety. We want something to guarantee it. Crime. Boy, I don’t know. What are we going to do?

How one community successfully established MST

Adopting an evidence-based practice such as Multisystemic Therapy (MST) is not for the faint of heart, as Maria Picone, Family and Community Services Department director at Catholic Charities of Buffalo, discovered. But she also discovered, it is well worth the effort. 

Jeremy Kohomban will explain how to use EBPs to get juveniles out of placement at the MST pre-conference at Blueprints

How does a large organization that provides residential treatment to children and teens change direction to decrease residential care by using evidence-based practices (EBPs)? Not only will Jeremy Kohomban answer that question, but at the MST pre-conference kicking off this April’s Blueprints for Healthy Youth Development Conference in Denver, he will also relate how his organization accomplished this, becoming a key player in national change.

Why MST booster trainings?

It’s just human nature. You did things one way, are accustomed to that way, and you drift back into that comfort zone without even realizing it. Without continual focus and attention it’s difficult to stick to new habits and skills. In the case of Multisystemic Therapy (MST), staying true to the treatment model is of utmost importance if the best results are to be achieved. Back row left to right: Alexandra Westcott, Magnus Irvine, Kerry Jayne Lambert, Rose Amado-Taylor, Shelley Stel Front row left to right: Anna Davies, Georgina Privett, Gordon Wilson, Thomas Burke

Police in our schools—There is a better way

Watching the news this week, I came across an unsettling story.  

An 8-year-old, third-grade student diagnosed with ADHD and PTSD was handcuffed above the elbow by a sheriff’s deputy for not following directions at school. It is a disturbing image, yet one that may become increasingly more common. 

A Parent's Opinion of Police Presence in Schools 

My oldest child just turned 12. There are so many new experiences coming our way, rites of passage as she stands on the threshold of adolescence. She is bright, creative (read: dramatic), and loves school. We are lucky that her friends are polite, sweet, “good kids” with like-minded parents.

The age of 12 represents a lot for me as a parent. Not only are the teen years less than a year away, but my daughter has started middle school—a setting where I can only worry more and protect her less from the trials of growing up. Elementary school was a little bubble, a protective cocoon where all the kids felt like part of our big family. As parents, we had the goal of protecting them all.

Middle school is different. My daughter told me that sometimes there are police in the school cafeteria to stop occasional fights. This revelation made me catch my breath. Gone is the protective bubble of those elementary-school years. I was horrified and completely torn.