Arts Programs Help Break the Cycle of Delinquency and Violence

The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention‘s September/October “News @ a Glance” highlighted arts programs working with juveniles.  Massachusetts is home to Shakespeare in the Courts, one of these creative programs.

Originally posted on OJJDP News @ a Glance, September/October 2010

 

©Shakespeare Festival/LA
Youth from Richmond, VA, performing in Will Power to Youth's production of Romeo and Juliet in August 2007.

A growing body of research indicates that arts programs can play a vital role in improving academic performance, school attendance, and critical life skills for youth across the socioeconomic spectrum. For at-risk youth, participation in arts programs can interrupt the drift to a negative lifestyle, helping to replace destructive behavior with positive activities and interests. In one research initiative sponsored by OJJDP and the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), arts programs for at-risk youth in three cities were found to reduce court referrals for delinquency while increasing school achievement, effective communication, and teamwork.

Another OJJDP Candidate: Jane Tewksbury

CfJJ is excited to share the news that Jane Tewksbury, Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Youth Services (and one of CfJJ’s founders)  is among the top candidates for Administrator of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.  CfJJ Executive Director Lael Chester and other advocates quoted in the blog post from Youth Today (please see below) praise her leadership in Massachusetts and her qualifications to head OJJDP.

October 20, 2010 by John Kelly

California judge and former prosecutor Kurt Kumli was the only name that had reached  JJ Today from the recent round of interviews by the Justice Department of Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention candidates. But it appears that Jane Tewksbury, commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Youth Services, has interviewed for the job, too,  and is at least as likely as Kumli to get the nomination.

Sources close to Tewksbury said that, like Kumli, she is committed to going becoming OJJDP administrator if she is the Obama administration’s choice.

Tewksbury, by any measure, is a well-rounded candidate. She has served as commissioner of DYS since 2005, which for a modern state-level JJ director is a lifetime. Tewksbury was nominated by then-Gov. Mitt Romney (R) but was kept on by current Gov. Deval Patrick (D).

Why ‘Adult Time for Adult Crime’ Doesn’t Work

Written by Matt Kelley, the following originally appeared on Change.org’s Criminal Justice Blog (10/14/10).

Trying children in adult courts and locking them in adult prisons and jails is cruel and counterproductive, and a new report from Baltimore shows us just how badly “adult time for adult crime” policies have failed.

Released last week by a coalition called the Just Kids Partnership, the report details the cases of 135 juveniles charged as adults in Baltimore — and the results speak volumes. Most revealing is the fact that only 10 percent of juveniles charged as adults actually ended up sentenced to serve time in adult prison. Most cases were either dismissed outright or transferred back to juvenile court. And while this pointless charade played out, the kids involved spent an average of five months in adult jails, without the education and social services they need.

Parent-Child Privilege

By: Tristan Walsh, CfJJ Intern

Prior to starting my internship here at CfJJ, I had limited experience in the world of juvenile justice.  As such, there have been a number of things I’ve learned in the past few weeks that have surprised me, but perhaps the most was that here in Massachusetts parents can be compelled to testify against their minor children.  When I was asked to work on a memo regarding a proposed bill that would prevent this by establishing a parent-child testimonial privilege here in Massachusetts, my reaction can only be summed up as: “wait, don’t we already have that?”