Reforming the Juvenile Justice System

The Annie E. Casey Foundation has issued a policy brief on federal juvenile justice reform recommendations:

• Restore the capacity of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) to serve as a national incubator and catalyst for improving juvenile justice policies and practices.
• Focus the energy and resources of OJJDP and other federal agencies on crucial and pervasive shortcomings in juvenile justice practice.
• Improve the juvenile justice workforce.

For state policies to reduce juvenile detention including lessons learned from the highly successful Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative.

Growing Up Healthy

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Commission hosted a webinar about the importance of early childhood health. A recording and the materials from "A Focus on Starting Early" are available.

Listen to Angela Glover Blackwell, Commissioner and PolicyLink founder and CEO, and Robin Mockenhaupt, Ph.D., M.P.H., Chief of Staff for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, on the importance of starting early to give all children the chance to grow up healthy. The recommendations resulted from a year-long investigation into factors outside of the health care system that influence health. Released in April, the recommendations identify programs and policies from across sectors – and from around the nation – that are making a difference in the health of all Americans.

For policies to support healthy childhood development.

Residents of Suburbs Seeking Food Assistance Faster than Cities

The Brookings Institute has issued a report from their MetroMonitor Program that refutes

the notion that big cities have cornered the market on the family and community distress accompanying rising unemployment during this recession. More so than the last recession, suburbs have felt the effects of this downturn alongside primary cities and core urban counties. The trend is fairly consistent across regions, with Western suburbs generally faring the worst. Exurbs have been hit particularly hard by this recession, perhaps owing to their economic reliance on a battered housing market.

For policies to expand food assistance.

New Report: Juvenile Detention Makes Kids Worse

Time Magazine reports that researchers "found that rather than rehabilitating young delinquents, juvenile detention — which lumps troubled kids in with other troubled kids — appeared to worsen their behavior problems. Compared with other kids with a similar history of bad behavior, those who entered the juvenile-justice system were nearly seven times more likely to be arrested for crimes as adults." For policies to reduce juvenile detention.

Poverty, Prosperity, Social Justice and Work

Charles Bruner of the Child and Family Policy Center brings us "Policy Levers to Reduce Poverty and Build Prosperity". This essay provides an overview of two different approaches to poverty reduction: social justice pathways and work pathways. It then discusses policies that can support these approaches. The paper makes clear that

it is not a matter of choosing between “social justice and community-building pathways to community vitality” or “work pathways to economic self-sufficiency” approaches – both are needed to reduce poverty. The challenge is to incorporate them into an overall strategy...

Policies to reduce poverty and increase family economic success.

Foundations and the Issue of Race

Americans are engaged in an important dialog about race in this country. As we examine the roles of government, individuals, laws and policies, it is timely to look at an important symposium from 2008 on the role of foundations. Hosted by Georgetown University's Public Policy Institute the event was titled "Taking Account of Race: A Philanthropic Imperative":

Philanthropy can be a major force in public policy and should address issues of race if social progress is to be achieved. What philanthropic strategies are likely to be most effective? What has worked, and what hasn't? What are the opportunities for creating systemic change? Gara LaMarche, President and CEO of Atlantic Philanthropies delivers the keynote address. Panelists include: Clarissa Martinez De Castro, Director, Immigration & National Campaigns, National Council of La Raza; Terri Lee Freeman, President, The Community Foundation for the National Capital Region; Bill Schambra, Director, Bradley Center for Philanthropy and Civic Renewal, Hudson Institute

For policies to achieve racial equity in child welfare.

Doctors Advocate for Juvenile Justice Reforms

The Physicians for Human Rights' Health and Justice for Youth Campaign is mobilizing health professionals to advocate for young people in the juvenile and criminal justice systems.

Health professionals are uniquely qualified to lend expertise regarding children's health needs, growth, development, and behavior and can guide best practices and polices for creating rehabilitative services that address the medical and mental health needs of children at risk. They advocate for:

• Higher quality health services, including mental health care, for youth
• Greater options for alternatives to detention and incarceration
• Limiting the transfer of youth to the adult criminal justice system

For policies to reduce juvenile detention.

(Hat tip to the Reclaiming Futures blog)

Conditions and Trends in 10 American Cities

A new report by the Urban Institute, "Metropolitan Conditions and Trends Changing Contexts for a Community Initiative", reviews recent trends for social and economic conditions in 10 metropolitan areas. It analyzes key indicators of metropolitan conditions and trends —the economy, the labor market, race, immigration, income, housing, mortgage lending, and more.

[The report] finds that the sites are strikingly diverse along many dimensions and are in many ways representative of the diversity in conditions and trends across America’s metropolitan areas. Although there were important differences in magnitudes, all sites shared in a number of trends: minority groups growing as a share of total population and improvements in several social indicators (e.g., in crime and teen pregnancy) but, disturbingly, notable increases in child poverty.

For policies to reduce child poverty.

Does the 2010 Federal Budget Help Americans Build Assets?

The New America Foundation has issued a new report, "The Assets Report 2009: An Assessment of President Obama’s FY 2010 Budget and the Changing Landscape of Asset-Building Opportunities for Low- and Moderate-Income Americans". The report looks at:

the current and potential landscape of opportunities for Americans to acquire assets and move up the economic ladder. We examine recently enacted legislation and President Barack Obama’s Fiscal Year 2010 budget proposals. The programs we identify help Americans acquire assets for postsecondary education, homeownership, entrepreneurship, savings and investment, and retirement security. Such programs are supported by direct spending or subsidies provided through the tax code.

For policies to improve family economic success.

America's Children, a National and State-by-State Look

Counting What Counts: Taking Results Seriously for Vulnerable Children and Families: The 20th annual KIDS COUNT Data Book "profiles the well-being of America’s children on a state-by-state basis and ranks states on 10 key measures of child well-being. The Annie E. Casey Foundation's Data Book essay calls for a “data revolution” that uses timely and reliable information to track the progress and improve the lives of vulnerable children. The essay outlines a series of action steps to improve the nation's use of data in creating policies that improve outcomes for children and families." For research-informed policies to achieve better results for children and families.