Teen Prostitution–Criminal Behavior?

By: Madeline Levitt, CfJJ Intern

The number of children who become victims of sexual exploitation in the country is truly shocking. The Children’s Defense Fund estimates that about 100,000 American children between the ages of 11 and 14 enter into prostitution each year. Sadly, the average age of these girls has been declining, the number of girls involved is increasing, and the problem is spreading to more towns and cities annually.

Society’s response has traditionally been to prosecute both these girls and the men who take advantage of them. But in the last decade, new attention has been drawn to the issue and multiple states have begun to consider teen prostitution as a child welfare issue: Why are these girls living on the street rather than with a loving family in a safe home?  Furthermore, will criminal prosecution help or will it simply traumatize them further and hamper their reintegration into society? Just recently, Connecticut, Washington, Illinois, New York, California, and Texas have passed legislation to decriminalize teen prostitution.

Mass. courts’ juvenile cases plummet

The Boston Globe (12/6/10) featured two front page articles on the real stories behind juvenile crime.  In stark contrast to expert predictions and the nearly constant warnings of rising youth crime, Massachusetts is seeing a significant drop in its juvenile caseload.  Another article highlights the complex issues facing many of these young people.

Drop unexpected in hard times

A 15-year-old left Middlesex Juvenile Court in Lowell with her mother after a recent hearing. (Joanne Rathe/ Globe Staff)

By Peter Schworm Globe Staff / December 6, 2010

LOWELL — Criminal and child welfare caseloads in the state’s juvenile courts have fallen sharply over the past three years despite economic turmoil that has placed enormous strain on many families, a dramatic decline that confounds social workers, lawyers, and child and family advocates.

Juvenile Offenders and Jobs: Time for CORI Reform

This post first appeared on Beacon Broadside (10/27/10). David Chura, a writer and educator, worked with at-risk youth for many years and shares the voices of young people that he met as a teacher in a New York prison in his new book I Don’t Wish Nobody to Have a Life Like Mine: Tales of Kids in Adult Lockup. We highly recommend David’s excellent blog, Kids in the System, and are so grateful to him for letting CfJJ share his post.

At the beginning of my ten years teaching teenagers in a county lockup, years I chronicle in I Don’t Wish Nobody to Have a Life Like Mine: Tales of Kids in Adult Lockup (Beacon Press), I was always surprised, and yes, disappointed, when one of my students got rearrested.

Jail’s a sobering place no matter how tough you want to think you are. The deprivation, brutality, and oppression gets your attention especially if you’re 15 years old. So once locked up, many of the kids I taught saw my jailhouse classroom as an opportunity to do something productive. Along with education, some got counseling to deal with their addiction and anger problems; others reconnected with family and church. When they were released, they talked about changing their lives for the better. They were sincere and determined, and I was hopeful that they would do just that.

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).

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?”

Making an Issue

About 22 percent of Massachusetts residents are under 18, according to the U.S. Census. As political debates heat up from the local to the national level, are you hearing candidates talk about how they’ll serve that 22 percent? Vague references to “our children’s future” don’t count.

It falls to adults who care about children to make sure that issues such as educational equity and juvenile justice get front-burner treatment this election season.  The good news is: You don’t need a multi-million dollar advertising program to make that happen. Something as simple as posting a question on a campaign’s Facebook wall lets candidates know that voters care about kids’ issues. A letter to the editor, a question at a candidate forum, even a chat with a door-to-door volunteer can get kids on a candidate’s radar. Imagine if everyone committed to doing just one such thing a month.

Troubled Over Bridgewater

Last week, The Boston Phoenix had a front-page article on problems at Old Colony Correctional Center in Bridgewater, MA.  Among other problems, this facility, where mentally ill inmates are concentrated,  is experiencing the highest rate of inmate suicide of all correctional facilities in Massachusetts (which itself has an inmate suicide rate three times the national average).

Old Colony Correctional Center has been plagued by suicide, overcrowding, and brutality — and things are only getting worse

By CHRIS FARAONE |  September 13, 2010

On a winter evening around 11 pm, the former superintendent of Old Colony Correctional Center walked into a Rhode Island restaurant with a gun in his pocket.Paul Murphy made his way through the dining room to the table where his recently estranged wife, Joan, was sitting with some friends. He sat down at the table and pointed the gun at her face. “I love you,” he said. Then he squeezed the trigger. He shot his wife in the hand and neck, injuries she would survive. Murphy, a man who had overseen a prison of 750 souls, then turned the gun on himself and ended his own life.

The Need for Transparency in Probation

Lael Chester, CfJJ Executive Director, was featured on WHDH Monday night discussing the importance of transparency in the Probation Department.  See the clip here.

From “Juvie” to Worse

As a response to the Op-Ed on youth finding greater safety in juvenile facilities than their own communities (reposted on this blog last week), the Boston Globe featured a letter to the editor discussing another side of the phenomenon– what happens to young people as they move into the world of adult corrections.

August 10, 2010

TAISHA STURDIVANT describes a phenomenon among some youth in tough neighborhoods that I have observed in my 24 years of work in the adult correctional system (“When a safe haven for youth is a lockup,’’ Op-ed, Aug. 2). She asks, “Are things so bad in Boston neighborhoods that some young men willingly get themselves sent to juvenile detention in order to be safe?’’ Unfortunately, young offenders who graduate, so to speak, from “juvie’’ to the adult system tend to bring expectations about the correctional system, developed in “juvie,’’ with them to the adult facility. They soon discover that the adult system is less tolerant and forgiving.