North Carolinians have long recognized that children are one of our state’s most valuable resources and their success is our success. Investing in the health, safety, education and financial security of our children are among the most important duties of our society. As the recession continues to stress North Carolinians, it is critical that policymakers focus on preserving services for children and families.
White House Call-in Day for Juvenile Justice!
Thursday, January 5, 2012
The Evergreen Foundation has awarded a $30,000 grant to Shared Vision Consulting, LLC to create an on-line curriculum to teach and support the Juvenile Justice Treatment Continuum (JJTC) model of service used by Meridian Behavioral Health Services.
The model is used in the seven western counties of North Carolina and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians land. The JJTC model depends upon a multi-agency commitment to provide integrated behavioral health, substance abuse, and restorative justice services to youth who become involved in the judicial system.
There are lots of things about New York one wishes North Carolina would emulate.
For instance, wouldn't it be great to be able to get some decent soul food or egg foo yung at 3 in the morning? How about catching a Fellini or, if your taste runs to slapstick, Three Stooges film festival in the middle of the day?
Around here, we can't even get a hot Krispy Kreme doughnut after midnight - and we invented the suckers.
RALEIGH – When youths act up, a new report says, locking them up is the wrong thing to do in most cases.
The report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation provides evidence that youth correctional facilities don’t keep kids from committing crimes later, don’t benefit public safety, waste taxpayer dollars and expose young people to violence and abuse.
by Representative Marilyn Avila
Crime is everyone’s problem, as sheriffs and police, judges and district attorneys know all too well. It’s equally apparent that a system that creates career criminals only makes things worse.
Yet career criminals are what North Carolina’s justice system all too often turns out. Because of the outdated way we treat children who commit low-level crimes, we unwittingly turn one mistake into a revolving door of crime and incarceration, with taxpayers picking up the tab.
When people ask her why 16- and 17-year-olds shouldn’t be tried as adults, Lisa Dodson likes to tell them a story.
Several years ago, a young woman graduated with honors from UNC-Charlotte and sought employment with an insurance firm in Connecticut. As a 16-year-old in Alamance County, the woman was charged with underage drinking, says Dodson — the director of Alamance County Dispute Settlement and Youth Services.
