National Academy for State Health Policy to hold 23rd Annual Conference
The National Academy for State Health Policy will be holding their 23rd Annual State Health Policy Conference October 4-6, 2010 in New Orleans, Louisiana. This year’s conference, Implementing Health Reform: When the States Go Marching In, will provide participants with a more in-depth understanding of the roles that states play in implementing critical health care reform. A Preconference session sponsored by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, entitled Innovative Collaborations: Working Together to Improve Systems of Care for Juvenile Justice-Involved Youth, will spotlight behavioral health and juvenile justice, focusing on successful service delivery models of evidence-based practices, as well as promising practices to address the challenges of state, local, and community-based collaboration. This session takes place on October 4, 2010 from 10 a.m.-4:15 p.m. To learn more about this conference and to register, visit
Council of State Governments Unveils Reentry Programs Database
On July 21, 2010, the Council of State Governments announced the launch of a new online Reentry Programs Database, which was developed with support from the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services and the Bureau of Justice Assistance. This database provides a catalogue of both juvenile and adult reentry programs nationwide, including those that target offenders dealing with mental health issues, and provides a range of programming, from community-based to statewide initiatives. This database was developed with three goals: to promote peer-to-peer exchanges, to highlight progress made around reentry in the field, and to act as a tool to connect those reentering into their community and their families connect with community programs that can help facilitate their reentry. To view the database, visit
http://reentrypolicy.org/reentry-program-examples/reentry-programs-start
New Report Provides Data in Juvenile Court Cases
The National Center for Juvenile Justice, with funding from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention recently announced the release of “Juvenile Court Statistics, 2006-2007,” which profiles nearly 1.7 million delinquency cases handled in juvenile courts between 2006 and 2007. The report also provides trends in the cases processed in juvenile court between 1985-2007, as well as for status offense cases between 1995-2007. To view the report in its entirety, visit
http://www.ncjjservehttp.org/ncjjwebsite/pdf/jcsreports/jcs2007.pdf
National Juvenile Justice Network Releases Report Focused on Fiscal Reform
The National Juvenile Justice Network recently released their report The Real Costs and Benefits of Change: Finding Opportunities for Reform During Difficult Times. This report is intended to be a guide for juvenile justice advocates and offers two core recommendations for funding juvenile justice reform: Realigning/reducing spending without sacrificing effective programs and using the current budget crisis as a means to leverage deinstitutionalization. NJJN provides various strategies such as employing a fiscal realignment model, seeking administrative or legislative evaluations of existing program and institutions, and redirecting funding from adult corrections to progressive youth programming. The full report can be viewed at
Results from a MAYSI-2 National Meta-Analysis Study
“Sex and Race Differences in Mental Health Symptoms in Juvenile Justice: The MAYSI-2 National Meta-Analysis” by Gina M. Vincent, Ph.D., Thomas Grisso, Ph.D., Anna Terry, B.A., and Steven Banks, Ph.D., which is featured in the March issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry (47:3), addresses the fact that many studies have suggested there is a higher prevalence of mental health issues among girls and Caucasians in comparison to boys and other races. Using data that included scores on the Massachusetts Youth Screening Instrument (MAYSI-2) for 70,423 youths from various juvenile justice programs, the authors’ findings examined whether sex and race differences were consistent in juvenile justice programs across the U.S. A copy of the abstract is available at
New report on reform efforts in New York
A recent report, written by Fight Crime: Invest in Kids New York entitled “Getting Juvenile Justice Right in New York: Proven Interventions Will Cut Crime and Save Money”, discusses reform efforts in New York State that seek to decrease the rates of re- offending among juveniles. To obtain a copy of the report, visit