| January 26, 2012
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Have San Diego County officials been misreporting staff sexual misconduct?

Prison corridor with cells inside Alcatraz main building san francisco califforniaIt would seem that San Diego country juvenile facilities have developed a sudden credibility gap. According to investigative reporting by CityBeat it would seem that their reporting numbers for the past several years just don’t add up.

Here is an excerpt from the City Beat report by Dave Maas in which he looks at the absence of vital information from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Statistics’ required annual Survey of Sexual Violence:

>San Diego County Probation has filed 15 such survey forms for juvenile facilities since 2004 and not one discloses any allegation of sexual misconduct by staff, giving the false impression of a perfect record. Presented with inconsistencies between the surveys and other public records, the Probation Department now admits it does not disclose cases that are investigated by its internal-affairs unit. Since all allegations against staff are investigated by internal affairs, this policy has resulted in the omission of all staff-misconduct cases from the federal surveys.

‘Information for the survey was gathered from data entered into the probation case management system, which does not include internal affairs reports due to their sensitive nature,’ probation spokesperson Tammy Glenn said in an email to CityBeat. ‘We do plan to review our department’s process for gathering data to determine if internal affairs reports should be captured for the purposes of the survey in the future.’

Probation’s internal-affairs unit has investigated at least six allegations of staff sexual misconduct at its facilities since 2008, Glenn says. Chief Probation Officer Mack Jenkins has also said in previous news stories that its internal-affairs unit launched 10 such investigations between 2004 and 2010 at the East Mesa Juvenile Detention Facility and the Kearny Mesa Juvenile Detention Facility, through which roughly 9,000 kids pass each year. Probation says that some of these cases occurred at facilities that were not surveyed and therefore would not have been reported to the BOJS anyway. However, Glenn acknowledges that the department failed to report one case on a federal survey it filed in 2011.

Read the entire article- there is much, much more.

While it is hardly surprising that the perpetrators of illegal acts of this nature would want to conceal themselves, this sort of defiance of federally mandated standards is frightening if true.

Not only are these incidents tragic, but the obscuring of the events proves a huge and long term issue. How can we address the issues of juvenile justice when the data has been fudged? How can we prevent prison rape if we don’t know it is happening?

Let us hope that the six investigations just launched by the Probation Department help drag the facts into the light. Just think, those investigations only cover the last four years. That might merely be the tip of the iceberg.

Read the whole story on City Beat – County misreports data about sexual violence in juvenile jails.

Category: Humane Exposures, Juvenile Justice, Prison Reform | Tags: , , , , ,
| January 24, 2012
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Special Report: An interview with Dana Kaplan of the Juvenile Justice Project of Louisiana

Today Humane Exposures brings you a special report from New Orleans, Louisiana. Today we interviewed Dana Kaplan, the executive director of the Juvenile Justice Project of Louisiana.

In a city with a history of poverty and violence the challenges facing those in the field of juvenile justice are massive but not, as you will see, insurmountable.
Humane Exposures- Juvenile Justice Project of Louisiana: An Interview with Dana Kaplan by socialgumbo

About Executive Director Dana Kaplan

Since becoming the Executive Director in the fall of 2007, Dana Kaplan has been steadfast in her dedication to the reform of Louisiana’s juvenile justice system. Prior to joining JJPL, Dana Kaplan was a Soros Justice Fellow at the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) in New York City, focused on detention reform. At CCR, Ms. Kaplan worked with community groups and government on developing alternatives to detention and downsizing local jails in states including Tennessee, California, Ohio, New Orleans, and New York. She was also the State-wide Organizer for the New York Campaign for Telephone Justice, a partnership between CCR and two prison family organizations that successfully reduced the cost of all phone calls from New York State prisons by fifty percent. Ms. Kaplan has also been on staff at the Brooklyn-based Prison Moratorium Project, where her efforts helped stop the construction of a youth prison in upstate New York and two youth jail expansions in New York City. She has consulted with national organizations including The National Resource Center on Prisons and Communities and the National Education Association (NEA), developing a curriculum for teachers on “Education not Incarceration”. Dana holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of California at Berkeley and was a recipient of the John Gardner Fellowship for Public Service.

About JJPL
When the Juvenile Justice Project of Louisiana (JJPL)  first opened our doors in 1997, our state was acknowledged to have one of the country’s worst systems to treat and prevent delinquency. In July of that year, the New York Times called Louisiana home to the “most troubled” juvenile public defender’s office in the country.1 That same month — after earlier reports in 1995 and 1996 by Human Rights Watch and the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) — the DOJ detailed brutal and inhumane conditions in Louisiana’s juvenile prisons, bringing international shame to the system. Louisiana’s juvenile justice system provided virtually no representation for children accused of crimes and then placed them in hyper-violent prisons where they regularly suffered bodily and emotional harm. The large majority of these children were African-American.

JJPL’s mission is to transform the juvenile justice system into one that builds on the strengths of young people, families and communities to ensure children are given the greatest opportunities to grow and thrive. We have three key program objectives to achieve this mission: to reduce the number of children in secure care and abolish unconstitutional conditions of confinement by improving or, when necessary, shutting down institutions that continue to inhumanely treat children; to expand evidence-based alternatives to incarceration and detention for youth; and to build the power of those most impacted by the juvenile justice system.

JJPL litigates on behalf of youth both locally and statewide. Additionally, we educate policy makers on the need for reform, coordinate with parents, youth and other concerned citizens to ensure their visibility and participation in the process, and actively implement media strategies to hold the state accountable for the treatment of its youth. By coordinating our diverse abilities in strategic campaigns to engage policy makers and organize community members and youth, JJPL continues to work on improving the lives of Louisiana’s most vulnerable children. In the past fourteen years of our existence, we have accomplished many achievements.

Category: Criminal Justice, Education, Humane Exposures, Juvenile Justice, New Orleans, Poverty, Prison Reform | Tags: , ,
| January 23, 2012
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The Lottery: Madeleine Sackler’s documentary on charter schools

Charter schools are a different breed. Unlike other schools they operate according to a charter with the city or state, usually for a period of five years, and if they are not producing results at the end they are closed.

While the funding comes from the government, charter schools are independent of the teacher’s unions.  They also boast other qualities that education proponents generally seek – a longer school year,  longer class days, and the ability to fire teachers whose performance is not deemed up to par.

Sounds great, doesn’t it? Unfortunately there are not enough charter schools to go around, particularly in areas that need them most. Harlem is one of those areas. In Harlem there are 23 non-charter schools. Of those 19 have less than half of their students reading at the proper grade level, and the only means of escape into the charter system is completely random – a lottery. A lottery in which 3,000 children compete for less than 500 seats.

This one in six chance of getting a decent education inspired Madeleine Sackler to show the world what was happening. Take a look at the trailer for her recent documentary, The Lottery:

Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle sums it up well:

By the time the lottery takes place, viewers understand all that’s riding on it. You look at all these beautiful kids, with all the potential in the world, and every expectation for a great life, and you know that at most one-sixth of them will come out of the room with a fighting chance. That shouldn’t be.

Let’s follow up with some of the media coverage, including this interview with the director on NBC New York:

View more videos at: http://nbcnewyork.com.

While the situation re: charter vs. public schools will vary from one community to another, the results and findings Sackler presents does make a strong argument for exploring them in other areas.

Education is one of the most fundamental assets a child can have, and it’s lack is a liability of tragic proportions.

Category: Education, New York City | Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
| January 17, 2012
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HumaneExposures is Getting Social

Google Plus logoThe Internet is definitely the way to share information, and these days that means social media.

As we attempt to educate people about the three major social ills that our society faces – Homelessness, Women in Prison, and a broken Juvenile Justice system – HumaneExposures is spreading our reach across the web.

On Twitter we interact with our fans while curating a stream of pertinent news both from this blog and from around the Internet.

Follow HumaneExposures on Twitter

Facebook users can find us easily now and keep up with both our publishing projects and with similar efforts across the country. If you have questions for Susan or the rest of the team this is a great place to ask them.

Like HumaneExposures: The Facebook Page.

For those on the cutting edge we have just put together our brand new Google+ page! If you are one of the growing number of people on the platform we would love to hear from you as we get the ball rolling!

Circle HumaneExposures on Google+.

We believe in interacting with our reader on the platform of their choice, hence our embrace of these differing services. With election season looming we need to make sure that as many people as possible are mobilized and informed about the sort of legislation required to fix our broken society.

An emphasis on rehabilitation and re-integration into society is proven to be effective whether the subject is a youth offender or a homeless veteran. It is only by addressing these root causes that we will be in a position to effect real and lasting change.

If you agree with our stance please help us get things rolling by sharing these with your friends. As always, if you have story leads or information on other social justice oriented groups we would love to hear about them, use any platform you like!

Category: Humane Exposures |
| January 17, 2012
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Are The Last Three State Run Juvenile Detention Facilities in California About To Close?

Question mark signOver the past ten years California has reduced the number of incarcerated youths to just over one tenth of what it was in the mid-1990s. Eight of the eleven state run facilities have been shut down in that time, responsibility for non-violent youth offenders now resting at the county level, and hopefully closer to family and community support.

Now Gov. Jerry Brown want to phase out the last three facilities. Facilities that house more serious offenders- 1,100 of them to be exact.

This unattributed editorial from the New York Times shines some light on the path from the mid-90s to the present day:

The California juvenile justice system has a long history of abuses. A 2004 court ruling that required the state to improve services and facilities pushed up costs. Beginning in 2007, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger began to downsize the system after the Legislature passed a law barring counties from sending nonviolent youths to state facilities. California did it the right way: providing generous financing to the counties for therapeutically based juvenile offender programs. Spending on the system has dropped by almost half, from nearly $500 million to about $245 million as crime rates dropped over all, and the state has cut its juvenile inmate population from about 10,000 in the mid-1990s to about 1,100 today.

Critics of the proposed closures point out that without state run facilities courts may well be tempted to try more teenagers in adult courts. If these last three centers get closed we can be sure that legislative oversight will be required in order to monitor for over-prosecution.

Some supporters of the plan worry that certain counties may lack secure facilities to hold juveniles convicted of arson, robbery and other serious crimes and the therapeutic know how to succeed with these young people.

Implementation is key. The way that the closures are handled and the provisions made for the youths being returned to county management will determine a lot of the details as things shake out.

What do you think about the potential closings? Are you for it or against it, and if so why? Let us know, it’s as easy as leaving a comment.

Image Source: Colin K. on Flickr, used under it’s Creative Commons license

Category: Humane Exposures |
| January 12, 2012
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Virginia Places Richmond Juvenile Detention Center on Probation

really, Richmond, *every* way?There are 55 state-regulated juvenile facilities currently on probation. The Richmond Juvenile Detention Center in Virginia might  be the first one to be de-certified and shut down.Opened in 1996, the 60-bed center on Oliver Hill Way has been found to have a number of issues with it’s infrastructure. Considering the age of the building and the beating it received from Tropical Storm Gaston it is hardly surprising.

The State Board of Juvenile Justice made the decision last Tuesday, citing concerns about the physical state of the facility. Numerous upkeep and maintenance issues were mentioned.

This action comes in the wake of The Virginia State Conference of the NAACP bringing up concerns about the conditions and safety at the detention center. Worrisome claims about poor staff training and even more worrisome ones about possible forgery of staff certifications were brought to the table and are currently being investigated.

An audit of the facility by the Richmond City Auditor followed the NAACP complaint, an audit that verified that several of the claims about conditions there were accurate. From malfunctioning intercoms and security cameras to doors with broken locks the evidence was plainly visible.

Will Jones of the Richmond Times-Dispatch notes that some funds to fix the problems have been made available recently. A mere few weeks ago as a matter of fact.

Last month, Richmond awarded a $344,000 emergency contract to replace malfunctioning intercom systems, install new computer equipment and update video recording and monitoring systems. Officials said they’re also fixing door-security sensors and making operational changes to address state requirements for training and other issues.

While the mayor’s office assures the press that this is prioritized, only time will tell. Crumbling infrastructure is a chronic problem in older facilities. It remains to be seem whether it will mean the end of this one.

Image Source: Richard Winchell on Flickr, used under it’s Creative Commons license

Category: Criminal Justice, Juvenile Justice | Tags: , , ,
| January 10, 2012
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Interagency Homelessness Council to Focus on Homeless LGBT Youth

USICHHomelessness is a plague upon our nation’s youth. Over a million and a half American kids do not have a roof over their heads. Think about that – a million and a half.

The U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) just held their final meeting for the year, a meeting whose focus was youth homelessness. The USUCH website documents that meeting and notes the disproportionate number of LGBT youth among that number.

The [Interagency] Group [on Youth] spoke to the full Council on what we know (and do not know) about youth homelessness currently and federal resources available to serve this population. The Group also spoke about the challenges of serving this population – notably the lack of consistent data available on the number of unaccompanied youth and research on the practices that help this population. We do know, however, that there are sub-populations of youth that have a much higher risk for homelessness: youth exiting child welfare or the juvenile justice system and LGBT youth. At the meeting, all of the member agencies agreed to work together to marshal appropriate resources to improve our knowledge and achieve the goal of ending youth homelessness by 2020. Collaboration will have to be at the forefront of our work at all levels of government and with service providers currently serving this vulnerable population in order to ensure that we have a better understanding of the size of the problem, the needs of different sub-groups, that successful strategies are implemented and progress is made.

This is welcome news! If the goal of ending youth homelessness by 2020 is to be achievable then this is the sort of approach needed. Each subgroup of the homeless population has different needs, and LGBT youth comprise a disturbingly large  percentage of the youth homeless population. Jerome Hunts recently took note of this in a recent guest post on ThinkProgress:

Indeed, a recent report by the National Center on Family Homelessness estimated that 1.6 million children lived on the street, in homeless shelters, with other families or in motels last year and that youth homelessness has risen 38 percent during the economic recession. Considering that an estimated 20 to 40 percent of homeless youth population is LGBT, this commitment by the USICH to work collaboratively across government and with the non-profit sector to help these sub-populations is definitely welcomed — particularly in the wake of a survey conducted by the DC Alliance of Youth Advocates (DCAYA) of close to 500 homelessness youth that resulted in 6 percent (or 19 people) of the respondents identifying as LGBT. (DCAYA believes this was due to the low number of participating sites that provide specific services to LGBT youth.)

While more data  must be collected the USICH have both acknowledged this demographic’s high risk for homelessness and confirmed their commitment to addressing the problem.

With any luck the Interagency Group on Youth will bring some concrete plans and specifics to the USICH that will help us along towards making the 2020 goal a reality.

Category: Homelessness | Tags: , , , ,
| January 9, 2012
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Homeless Woman Becomes Online Celebrity Through Twitter

TwitterLong time readers of this blog might remember when I wrote about Mark Horvath of Invisible People, the homeless man who leveraged YouTube into a way not only out of his plight but also a way to help others amongst the growing ranks of America’s homeless.

Giselle Smith of MSN Money brings us news of another homeless person, a woman this time, who is finding online celebrity in a similar fashion:

Losing her job, getting divorced and a number of health issues caused AnnMarie Walsh to become homeless five years ago, but she found her voice — and a community — on social media.

The 41-year-old suburban Chicago woman slept in an alley when she couldn’t get into a shelter and wrote about her experiences as “PadsChicago” on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and a WordPress blog, mostly using free Internet service through the Arlington Heights Memorial Library or a prepaid hand-me-down cellphone.

Her goal was not to complain about her plight, but to help people understand homelessness better.

Walsh’s activity on social media eventually helped her find a social worker that could assist with transitional housing. It also got her noticed by Horvath who helped to amplify her signal. First he introduced her to a team of documentarians working on a film called “Twittamentary.” He also helped bring her to the attention of the 140 Character Conference (named for the limited length of  Twitter messages).

She appeared on stage with Horvath at the conference without telling anyone she was homeless. When she did the reactions were potent:

‘It was very powerful,’ Horvath told the Daily Herald. ‘Most people would not roll down their windows on the exit ramp to ask homeless people their stories. This changed people’s paradigm.’

Since then her story has been run on NBC Chicago and on The Huffington Post, among other media.

This demonstrates two important things that are often lost on most people:

  • The perceived stereotype of the homeless is often inaccurate, especially during times of economic duress such as we have experienced for the past three years.
  • The power of social media to shine a spotlight on issues such as homelessness. As access becomes more readily available even the homeless have an avenue through which to share their stories.
Fact are vital, but it is so often personal narrative that makes an impression. It’s one thing to hear that the US Department of Housing and Urban Development reports roughly 1 in every 200 persons in the US used the shelter system at some point during the 2008-2009 period. It is another thing entirely to hear the story of one individual’s trials.
It is through these personal stories that we begin to see that true human cost of homelessness. It is these narratives that we present in d0wnTown USA, as we try to provide a view of the real people suffering on our streets.
Image Source: trekkyandy on Flickr, used under it’s Creative Commons license
Category: downTown U.S.A., Homelessness | Tags: , , ,
| January 5, 2012
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For Profit Prison – The Luzerne Decision

Money

The state Supreme Court said Thursday that Berks County Senior Judge Arthur Grim has completed his review of cases handled by former Luzerne County Judge Mark Ciavarella (shiv-uh-REL’-uh) Jr. The justices returned control of all juvenile court functions to the Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas. –The Republic.com

It’s been referred to as the “Kids for Cash” scandal. A few years ago Ciavarella and another ex-judge, both of whom are serving deservedly long prison sentences today, accepted money from the owner and builder of two for-profit youth detention facilities. On Grimm’s recommendation The Supreme Court dismissed the convictions of more than 2,000 juvenile offenders in which the constitutional rights of the accused were disregarded.

It’s a tragic situation that shines a spotlight on the basic flaws inherent in for-profit incarceration. It is almost universally acknowledged that in most cases incarceration is not the answer. At least not for any sort of sustainable improvement. That is an idea that is at odds with a business model whose goal is to fill rooms in those same facilities. Profit margin and effective improvement of our juvenile justice system are directly at odds in this scenario.

For profit detention facilities have become common. I’ve written about them several times on this very blog as a matter of fact.  More states are making attempts to transition to more effective long term policies – initiatives to help prevent delinquency and lower truancy rates; improvements in the coordination of youth services; and provide opportunities for community partnerships to teach youth new skills. One of the big barriers to this transition is economic, quite simply incarceration is big business.

At no point should we allow profit to trump the needs of our communities and their youth, but all too often it does.

Image Source: 401K on Flickr, used under it’s Creative Commons license

Category: Criminal Justice, Juvenile Justice | Tags: , , ,
| January 4, 2012
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Born, Not Raised – The First Review on Publisher’s Weekly

bornnotraisedAs you are probably aware Humane Exposures will be releasing it’s most recent book in the next few months. Today we are pleased to announce that Born Not Raised: Voices From Juvenile Hall has garnered it’s first review from none other than Publisher’s Weekly!

Disputing the notion that delinquents are beyond repair, Lankford argues that most inmates can transform their traumatic histories into productive maturity if sustained by just one “good enough” adult. Questionnaires and interpretations of artwork, published in the inmates’ raw penmanship, convey nuanced perspectives of dreary inevitability, level-headed insightfulness, and hope. Lankford’s earnestness is on display in her humanizing conversations with a handful of girls, including the game-talking yet vulnerable Hui and the unguarded Sands.

Look for more announcements about the third volume in our award winning social justice trilogy!

Category: Born, Born Not Raised, Juvenile Justice, Not Raised, Parenting, Poverty, Prison Reform | Tags: ,
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