Volume 70 Number 1
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Juvenile Focus
 

By Alvin W. Cohn, D.Crim.
Administration of Justice Services, Inc.

Juvenile Lifers
American prisoners are serving life sentences for crimes they committed before they could vote, serve on a jury, or gamble in a casino—in short, before they turned 18. A survey conducted by the newspaper found that criminals convicted as juveniles are serving life terms in 48 states. The story cites a recent study by Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International that found that more than 2,200 inmates in the U.S. serving life sentences with no chance for parole for crimes they committed as juveniles. The study found only three other countries with such inmates: South Africa (with four), Israel (with seven), and Tanzania (with one).

Homework
Most parents say their children get the right amount of homework and most teachers agree, according to an AP-AOL Learning Services poll. Even among the parents and teachers who say the load assigned these days is out of whack, more of them say it is too light; i.e., not too heavy. In fact, 57 percent of parents and 63 percent of teachers say the amount is just right; 23 percent of parents and 25 percent of teachers say there is too little homework assigned. Parents are generally content with the demands that homework places on their own time, with 64 percent saying they have little trouble finding time to help, and 57 percent saying they spend just the right amount of time helping out.

Preemies
Many very premature infants appear to play catch-up by early adulthood, reaching levels of education and employment similar to those of normal-weight children, report Canadian researchers. The mostly reassuring results come from a study of the development of 166 premature babies born in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The babies weighed two pounds or less. The infants have been tracked from their birth into childhood and beyond. The results contrast with less favorable outcomes in other long-term studies, but the Canadian children had benefits other preemies lacked. Most were white, from economically stable two-parent families, and their health care was insured by Canada’s national health care system.

More than 80 percent of those in both the preemie and normal-weight groups graduated from high school; about a third of each group was pursuing college or other postsecondary education when the study was written. Nearly half of the preemies and only slightly more of their peers had permanent jobs. More preemies were unemployed and not in school in early adulthood (39 vs. 20) because of mental and/or physical disabilities related to their premature births. Forty of the preemies had a disability.

Illegal Drug Use
Americans 12 and older who say they have illegally used the following drugs recently, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration:

Marijuana—14.6 million
Prescription Drugs—6 million
Cocaine (non-crack)—1.5 million
Inhalants—600,000
Methamphetamine—600,000
Crack Cocaine—500,000
Ecstasy—500,000
Heroin—200,000
LSD—100,000

The nation’s most extensive study of drug use among youths indicated recently that illicit drug use is down or holding steady. However, the 2005 “Monitoring the Future” study by the University of Michigan found that abuse of sedatives, OxyContin, and inhalants is rising. It said 55 percent of high school seniors reported using OxyContin during the previous year, which represents a jump of nearly 40 percent since 2002.

However, teenage girls, having caught up to their male counterparts in illegal drug use and alcohol consumption, now have the dubious distinction of surpassing boys in smoking and prescription drug abuse. In fact, more young women than men started using marijuana, alcohol, and cigarettes. Adolescent girls who smoke, drink, or take drugs are at a higher risk for depression, addiction, and stunted growth. And because substance abuse often goes hand in hand with risky sexual behavior, they are more likely to contract a sexually transmitted disease or become pregnant. In 2004, the last year for which data are available, 1.5 million girls began drinking; 730,000 started smoking cigarettes, and 675,000 began smoking marijuana.

Child Support Enforcement
To help with planning outreach to the changing client population, child support enforcement professionals can check out the following reports:

Nonmarital Births in 2004

  • 88 percent of births to teenage women were nonmarital
  • 52 percent of births to women in their twenties were nonmarital
  • Hispanics: 32 percent of births were nonmarital; Blacks: 62 percent; Asians: 24 percent; Whites: 25 percent.
  • Cohabitation increases the likelihood that a woman will have a nonmarital birth.

For the overall U.S. population:

  • Less-educated women, with a high school diploma or less, have higher birth rate.
  • Women not in the labor force have a higher birth rate and higher average number of children.

FBI Data
The volume of juvenile arrests for drug abuse violations involving all drug types increased 23 percent from 1994 to 2003, the FBI reports. When an individual is arrested for a drug abuse violation, the reporting agency indicates the type of drug in one of four categories: opium or cocaine and their derivatives, marijuana, synthetic narcotics, and dangerous non-narcotic drugs. The number of arrests of juveniles for three of the four drug types increased, except for opium or cocaine, which decreased 51 percent. In 1994, 61 percent of juveniles arrested for drug abuse violations were white; however, by 2003, that number had risen to 75 percent. Male juveniles were more frequently arrested for drug abuse violations than female juveniles at an average rate of 6:1. However, the report indicates that female juveniles were arrested at a younger age for drug abuse violations than male juveniles. For additional information: www.fbi.gov/ucr/ucr.htm

The FBI also reports that the 2004 Uniform Crime Reports included an analysis of violent crimes against infants, based on a limited amount of information that was available. Even with incomplete data, the FBI said the infant victimization report is the most comprehensive ever provided and is one of the few sources of information on victimization of infants and young children. (See the source above for additional information.)

Rights of Youth
The National Center for Juvenile Justice has prepared a guide for protecting the rights of youth under supervision. The guide covers the laws and regulations that govern research involving human subjects. See: http://ncjj.servehttp.com/irb/index.html.

CASA
The National Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) Association has conducted a survey of judges and juvenile court commissioners who hear juvenile dependency cases to solicit their views regarding the role played by CASA and guardian ad litem (GAL) volunteers in supporting judicial decision-making and court processes.

Overall, respondents reported that the work of these court-appointed volunteers has proven beneficial to judicial decision-making and to the children and families served.

Survey results will be used to improve services provided by CASA/GAL programs and volunteers.

The executive summary and full report of the survey’s findings are available at http://www.casanet.org/program-management/evaluation/judges_servey_report.htm.

For additional information about CASA, visit http://www.nationalcasa.org.

Tech Innovations
Teenagers have some high expectations about what technology might bring over the next decade, according to a study conducted at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. For example, 33 percent of teens predicted that gasoline-powered cars would go the way of the horse and buggy by 2015. Just 16 percent of adults agreed. Meanwhile, 22 percent of teenagers predicted desktop computers will become obsolete a decade from now, while only 10 percent of adults agreed.

 Crime Reporting
The National Institute of Justice sponsored research that has found that only one-third of colleges and universities comply with federal rules for reporting campus crimes. The study “Sexual Assault on Campus” investigates the strengths and weaknesses of response policies and practices, formal and informal adjudication processes, and individual and institutional barriers to reporting. See: www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij/pubs-sum/205521.htm.

OJJDP Announces Updates to Statistical Briefing Book
The following updates to the specified data analysis tools in the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency’s (OJJDP’s) Statistical Briefing Book have been prepared:

  • Census of Juveniles in Residential Placement Databook provides access to national and state data detailing the characteristics of juvenile offenders in residential placement facilities. Users can view profiles for the United States and particular states or create state comparison tables. This tool has been updated to include data through 2003.

  • Easy Access to the FBI’s Supplementary Homicide Reports: 1980–2003 provides access to more than 20 years of national and state data detailing the characteristics of homicide victims and offenders. This tool has been updated to include data through 2003.

  • Easy Access to Juvenile Populations: 1990–2004 provides access to 15 years of national, state, and county population data. Users can view population profiles for a single jurisdiction or create state or county comparison tables. This tool has been updated to include data through 2004.

Access OJJDP’s Statistical Briefing Book at http://ojjdp.ncjrs.org/ojstatbb/index.html.

Publications of Interest

  • “NIJ Journal 253” (32 pp.) (JR 000253). This issue of the NIJ Journal features articles on a wide range of topics, beginning with a look at new uses for DNA identification. Other features address domestic violence, how technology serves criminal justice, and law enforcement issues.

  • “ How the Justice System Responds to Juvenile Victims: A Comprehensive Model” (NCJ 210951) (12 pp.) introduces the concept of a juvenile victim justice system. Part of OJJDP’s Crimes Against Children Series, the bulletin reviews the case flow processes for the child protection and criminal justice systems and describes their interaction.

  • “National Drug Control Strategy” (41 pp.) (NCJ 212940) discusses President Bush’s drug control strategy. This strategy seeks to prevent the initiation of drug use, describes initiatives that treat drug users, and outlines the Administration’s work at home and abroad to disrupt the availability of illicit drugs.

  • OJJDP announces the availability of “ How the Justice System Responds to Juvenile Victims: A Comprehensive Model.” This 12-page bulletin was written by Drs. David Finkelhor, Theodore Cross, and Elise Cantor.

  • Part of OJJDP’s Crimes Against Children series, the bulletin introduces the concept of a juvenile victim justice system and reviews the case flow processes for the child protection and criminal justice systems, describing their interaction.

  • OJJDP has released a guide for planning community-based or regional facilities to provide secure confinement for serious, chronic, and violent juvenile offenders. The publication, Planning Community-Based Facilities, also outlines a process for their development within a comprehensive juvenile justice plan.

Marijuana and Brain Disorder
Heavy use of marijuana may put adolescents who are generally predisposed to schizophrenia at greater risk of developing the brain disorder, according to researchers at the Zucker Hillside Hospital in Glen Oaks, NY. They studied the brains of a group of adolescents: healthy, non-drug users; heavy marijuana smokers; and schizophrenic patients. The researchers said the language/auditory pathway continues to develop during adolescence, making it most susceptible to neurotoxins introduced into the body through marijuana use. The National Institute of Drug Abuse estimated 5.6 percent of 12th-graders reported daily use of marijuana in 2004.

Youth Risks
In the course of an average day, children routinely face risks as high as one in 250 of an injury requiring hospitalization or a visit to the emergency room. For young people 15 to 19, the cumulative risk of dying in an accident is as high as one in 100,000 each day. For healthy children older than six years, according to the American Medical Association, American Sports Data, Inc., the number of permanent disability injuries per million instances of participation include (with Level IV injuries resulting in emergency room contact or hospitalization in parentheses). [The total number of injuries is in brackets]

  • Football: 42 (500) [3,800]
  • Soccer: 38 (300) [2,400]
  • Basketball: 58 (300) [1,900]
  • Baseball: 61 (300) [1,400]
  • Skateboarding (800) [800]

 Foster Care
Lacking proof from most of the states, federal officials are concerned that many foster children are not being visited regularly by caseworkers. Only 19 states and the District of Columbia were able to produce computer-based reports detailing how often such visits occurred in fiscal 2003, according to a report prepared by the Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services. Seventeen of those states required monthly visits; yet, five reported that fewer than half of their foster care children were visited that frequently. Another five states reported a visitation rate of 75 percent or less. Nationally, about 500,000 children are in foster care, a number that has been declining in recent years.

Substance Abuse
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration released a study on the relationship between a youth’s propensity for substance abuse and the mental health of the mother. According to the report, an adolescent living with a mother who had a serious mental illness had an increased risk of alcohol or illicit drug use compared with a youth living with a mother who did not have a serious illness. See: http://oas.samhsa.gov/2k5/motherSMI.cfm

Family Violence
The rate of family violence fell by more than one-half between 1993 and 2002, reflecting the general decline in overall crime during the same period, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics. Family violence accounted for 11 percent of all reported and unreported violence between 1998 and 2002. Of these offenses against family members, 49 percent were a crime against a spouse, 11 percent a parent attacking a child, and 41 percent an offense against another family member. Seventy-three percent of family violence victims were female and 76 percent of persons who committed family violence were male. Simple assault was the most frequent type of family violence. Drugs or alcohol were involved in 39 percent of the cases of victimization. In 20 percent of the incidents, the offender had a weapon. See: www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/abstract/fvs.htm.

Juvenile Victimization
Juveniles 12–17 years old, like all other age groups, experienced a decline in violent crime victimizations from 1993 through 2003, with younger teens, 12 to 14 years old, having the largest decreases. The Bureau of Justice Statistics said the violent crime victimization rate fell from an estimated 130 victims per 1,000 teenagers in 1993 to about 60 per 1,000 in 2003 for juveniles ages 12 to 17. The decline occurred in all crime categories and among all racial and ethnic groups. The violent crime rate for younger teens fell by about 59 percent during the decade, compared to 50 percent for those ages 15 to 17 and 53 percent for adults. Juveniles were more than twice as likely as adults 18 years old and older to be victims of violent crime. See: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/abstract/jvo03.htm.

Police and Teens
The National Crime Prevention Council in conjunction with The Allstate Foundation has developed a program to improve relations between police and teenagers. The new publication, The Law and You, revises the first edition released in 1998. NCPC said the new version features a series of video vignettes to provide neutral ground for an informed discussion by teens and law enforcement officers about what young people should —and should not—do if they are stopped or visited by police. Four vignettes represent possible encounters: shoplifting arrest, traffic stop, loud party, and a drug bust. The vignettes are designed to launch discussions of the viewpoints of both officers and youth and how encounters such as these can produce the best possible outcomes in any set of circumstances. For additional information, contact (800) 607-2722, select option 6.

Youth Courts
The American Youth Policy Forum has announced the availability of an overview of youth court programs, including their characteristics and benefits. Topics covered include program completion and cost, results, return on investment, and sustainability. See: www.aypf.org/pubs.htm.

For youth court data for 2000 that profiles more than 1.6 million delinquency cases, see: http://ojjdp.ncjrs.org/publications/PubAbstract.asp?pubi=12208.

School Vandalism
The Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) has released an 80-page guide discussing the problem of school vandalism, risk factors, and solutions. The guide, entitled School Vandalism and Break-Ins outlines questions police can ask to analyze their local problem; and describes response strategies, citing information from evaluative research and police practice. See: www.cops.usdoj.gov/mime/open.pdf?item=1560.

Seat Belts
The percentages of people aged 8 and older wearing seat belts have increased:

Males:

  • 2002 – 72 percent
  • 2003 – 77 percent

 Females

  • 2002 – 79 percent
  • 2003 – 84 percent

 Mentoring
The National Mentoring Center, supported by OJJDP, announces the availability of Sustainability Planning and Resource Development for Youth Mentoring Programs . The guide features a comprehensive look at how youth mentoring programs can create their own custom resource development plans. Subjects covered include planning strategies, corporate giving, foundations, government grants, individual giving, local events, ethics of fundraising, and board involvement. See: www.nwrel.org/mentoring/pdf/sustainability.pdf.

Among the solicitations to be found on the OJJDP’s Current Funding page are the following recent additions that address mentoring:

  • Mentoring Initiative for System Involved Youth: OJJDP’s Mentoring Initiative for System Involved Youth was established to support the development and enhancement of mentoring programs for youth involved in the juvenile justice system, reentry, and foster care. The initiative seeks to promote collaboration among community organizations and agencies committed to supporting mentoring services for such system involved youth.

  • Evaluation of Mentoring Initiative for System Involved Youth: This evaluation will assess the four mentoring sites receiving awards under OJJDP’s Mentoring Initiative for System Involved Youth, which will provide funds to faith- and community-based, nonprofit, and forprofit agencies to enhance and expand existing mentoring strategies; programs to develop, implement, and pilot test mentoring strategies and programs designed for youth involved in the juvenile justice system, reentry, or foster care. For further information, including eligibility requirements, for the above programs, visit their respective solicitations as follows:

For additional OJJDP funding opportunities, visit the Current Funding page at http://ojjdp.ncjrs.gov/funding/FundingList.asp

Diabetes
Roughly two million U.S. children ages 12 to 19 have a pre-diabetic condition linked to obesity and inactivity that puts them at risk for full-blown diabetes and cardiovascular problems, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health. Researchers examined the prevalence of abnormally high blood sugar levels after several hours without eating, a condition called impaired fasting glucose. One in 14 boys and girls in a sample had the condition; among the overweight adolescents, it was one in six. Intensive lifestyle interventions, including physical activity and improving diet may help prevent prediabetes from progressing in children, the study finds. More healthful school lunches are also recommended.

Youth and Gambling
The number of young people who gamble with cards at least once a week has risen 20 percent over the past year, according to a survey of 24 to 22-year-olds by the 2005 National Annenberg Risk Survey of Youth. Researchers estimate that nearly three million young people in the U.S. gamble with cards on a weekly basis, and may also gamble online regularly. According to the self-identified weekly online gamblers surveyed, more than half said they had at least one of the symptoms of a gambling addiction, such as preoccupation, overspending, and withdrawal. About 10 percent of those who acknowledged gambling at least once a month said they had owed an average of $74 in gambling debts at least once. The study found that monthly gambling of all types occurred among 37 percent of high school and 50 percent of college males in 2004.

 Lead Levels
Lead in paint, soil, water, and elsewhere may not only affect children’s intelligence, but also cause a significant proportion of violent crime, a researcher at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine reports. They suggest that the federal government needs to do more to lower lead levels in the environment, and that parents need to think more about where their children may be getting exposed. One study cited indicates that the average bone lead levels of 190 juvenile delinquents were higher than those of adolescents not charged with crimes. The study suggests that between 18 and 38 percent of delinquencies in the Pittsburgh area could be attributed to lead toxicity. Another tested 300 delinquents and found that those with higher lead levels reported more aggressive feelings.

 Juvenile Crime Data
The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) has released “Co-Offending and Pattern of Juvenile Crime.” Observers of juvenile crime have long noted the prevalence of co-offenses, i.e., offenses that involve more than one offender. Drawing on NIJ-funded research, this report focuses on how cooffending is related to the age of offenders, recidivism, and violence and discusses the implications of these findings for policy and practice. See: http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/210360.pdf.

Project Safe Child Initiative
The growing threat of sexual exploitation crimes committed against children through the Internet is a disturbing and unacceptable trend. The Department of Justice is committed to the safety and well-being of every child and has placed a high priority on protecting and combating sexual exploitation of minors. As a consequence, Project Safe Childhood, an initiative designed to protect U.S. children as they navigate the Internet, was announced.

The need for Project Safe Childhood: As technology advances and as the Internet becomes more accessible, the number of computer-facilitated sexual exploitation crimes committed against children—including child pornography offenses and “traveler” or enticement crimes—will only continue to grow. The goal of Project Safe Childhood is to enhance the national response to this growing threat to America’s youth.

  • In fiscal year 2005, federal prosecutors charged 1,447 child exploitation cases involving child pornography, coercion and enticement offenses against 1,503 defendants.

  • This year, the Department of Justice will award more than $14 million to the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) program, a national network of 46 regional task forces funded by the Department’s Office of Justice Programs. The ICACs are key partners in Project Safe Childhood.

  • Although progress has been made, a more coordinated partnership involving the state, local, and federal law enforcement entities and nonprofits involved in Internet safety and the prevention of child exploitation is needed.

  • Integrated federal, state, and local efforts to investigate and prosecute child exploitation cases: Each U.S. Attorney will partner with ICAC Task Forces that exist within his or her district and other federal, state, and local law enforcement partners working in the district to implement Project Safe Childhood. Working with these partners, U.S. Attorneys will develop district-specific strategic plans to coordinate the investigation and prosecution of child exploitation crimes; efforts to identify and rescue victims; and local training, educational, and awareness programs.

  • Major case coordination by the Criminal Division: The Department’s Child exploitation and Obscenity Section, in conjunction with the FBI’s Innocent Images Unit, will fully integrate the Project Safe Childhood Task Forces into pursuing local leads generated from its major national operations.

  • Increased federal involvement in child pornography and enticement cases: Given the beneficial investigative tools and stiffer punishment available under federal law, U.S. Attorneys and the federal investigative agencies will be expected to increase the number of sexual exploitation investigations and prosecutions. The goal is to ensure the worst offenders get the maximum amount of jail time possible.

  • Training of federal, state, and local law enforcement: Members of the Project Safe Childhood Task Forces will attend training programs facilitated by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), the ICAC program, and other ongoing programs, in order to be taught to investigate and prosecute computer-facilitated crimes against children, as well as to pursue leads from national operations and from NCMEC’s CyberTipline and Child Victim-Identification programs.

  • Community awareness and educational programs: Project Safe Childhood will partner with existing national public awareness and educational programs that exist through NCMEC and the ICAC Task Force program, in order to raise national awareness about the threat of online sexual predators and to provide the tools and information to parents and youngsters seeking to report possible violations.

Juvenile Populations: 1990–2000
These data are available online at: http://ojjdp.ncjrs.org/ojstatbb/ezapop/. This web application provides access to 15 years of national, state, and county population data. Users can view population profiles for a single jurisdiction or create state or county comparison tables. This tool has been updated to include data through 2004.

Juvenile Victims: A Comprehensive Model
OJJDP announces the availability of “How the Justice System Responds to Juvenile Victims: A Comprehensive Model.” This 12-page bulletin was written by Drs. David Finkelhor, Theodore Cross, and Elise Cantor. Part of OJJDP’s Crimes Against Children series, the bulletin introduces the concept of a juvenile victim justice system and reviews the case flow processes for the child protection and criminal justice systems, describing their interaction. See: http://ojjdp.ncjrs.gov/publications/PubAbstract.asp?pubi=210951

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