4 Troubled Teens Blog

Carl Bartol has been a prosecuting attorney for over seven years. During the last two, he's worked in a juvenile delinquency unit. His experience with gangs and gang-related violence has prompted him to release the e-book "My Brother's Friends."

Recognizing... that discussion between parents and young children about gangs can be awkward and difficult for many parents to initiate, Bartol devised a solution with My Brother's Friends. "Children under age seven respond very well to stories and pictures." he said. "Because of that, when this e-book was created a lot of thought was put into not only the tone and specific words that were used, but the illustrations as well."

The free e-book can be downloaded at www.PreventDelinquency.org. Source: PR Web

Labels: gangs, juvenile_crime, delinquents

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Jeanne Milstein, Connecticut's child advocate, has criticized the state for sending a number of young girls to the state prison for women.

"[Milstein] takes issue with the state Department of Children and Families over the growing numbers of troubled teens being placed at the New York Correctional Institution for women... Milstein says the maximum-security prison for adult women can't meet the needs of complex and vulnerable girls."

At the time of Milstein's report, 37 girls ages 15 to 17 were incarcerated in the prison. Source: Associated Press

Labels: juvenile crime, girls, delinquents

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Wyoming's juvenile justice program coordinator is pushing for alternatives to jail for the state's juvenile offenders. In Beth Evans' study, which was funded by the U.S. Department of Justice, she argues that jail is not only expensive, but often exposes young people to even more violent crime.

"Evans made clear in her report that gathering the information wasn't easy. For example, she said many youths are locked up for violating probation, but documentation showing what those youths did to get in trouble in the first place can be difficult to track down."

Wyoming is currently the only state choosing not to comply with the federal Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act that governs how and when youths should be jailed. Source: Billings Gazette

Labels: alternatives, juvenile_crime, delinquents

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This week, the New York state Senate will present Penny Jennings with the 2008 New York State Woman of Distinction award. The award was created in 1998 to honor New York women whose personal achievements and/or acts of service were an example to others.

"Jennings, a single mom for many years, started A.C.T. Inc. - Adults Caring for Teens - in 2006 to provide mentoring to youth who had had a brush with the law, were in troubled at school or were at loose ends and needed a mentor and a role model."

A.C.T. currently provides mentoring to 26 boys and girls, and beginning July 1 it will provide services to 15 additional students. Jennings earned a master's degree in social policy, and is now pursuing a doctorate in law and policy. Source: The Journal News

Find parenting tips and advice for parenting teenagers at ByParents-forParents.com.

Labels: parental_involvement, mentoring, delinquents

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Homeboy Industries is a Southern California referral service, but its clients are a little out of the ordinary - many are gang or ex-gang members.

"When Latino gang members complained they couldn't get hired because of their criminal records, Boyle put them to work doing odd jobs around Dolores Mission. But there were more out-of-work gang members than jobs, so when a nearby bakery warehouse went up for sale, Homeboy Industries was launched."

Homeboy Industries now includes five businesses and employs more than 150 junior staffers - all former gang members and other at-risk youth. One of their many success stories is of a female former gang leader who was first hired as an office assistant, but later became the director of volunteers for Oakland's mayor. Source: Oakland Tribune

Learn more about juvenile crime at AboutJuvenileDeliquents.com.

Labels: juvenile_crime, delinquents, criminals

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For many working parents, a child's teenage years are just as stressful, if not more so, than the infant and toddler years. Teens that are left home alone and unsupervised are far more likely to get into trouble. In fact, recent studies have shown that half of all crimes committed by teens happen during the day - not at night.

"Quality after-school programs at high schools or in the community are viewed as the best way to decrease teen crime, increase safety and reduce teen pregnancy. Some of the better programs teach job skills and community service. Yet, middle and high school students now experience the greatest unmet need for after-school programs."

Read more at MiamiHerald.com.

Learn more about juvenile delinquents and parental liability at About-Juvenile-Deliquents.com.

Labels: stress, juvenile crime, delinquents

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A new study in Canada has found that teens are more likely to commit crimes during the day, during and immediately following school hours. It's an unexpected find that contradicts assumptions that teens "act up" more in the evening and on weekends when there isn't much to do.

"Lead researcher Leslie MacRae, of the Canadian Research Institute for Law and the Family, told CTV Calgary that youths were mostly committing crimes between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m...Calgary Community & Neighborhood Services' Chris Branch said Tuesday that the study is a real message to parents and to the community that something needs to be done during those critical hours."

Most of the young people who committed crimes came from troubled homes where there was little or no parental involvement or supervision. Read more at CTV.ca.

Learn more about parental liability for juvenile crimes at AboutJuvenileDeliquents.com.

Labels: juvenile_crime, delinquents

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Johnson County, Kansas will be one of the testing grounds for a pilot program aimed at helping reduce recidivism rates among juvenile offenders. Called "Success Through Achieving Re-entry" or STAR, the program will focus on high-risk youth who have served six-months or more in a juvenile detention facility.

"A community re-entry officer from the department will work with the juveniles  male offenders ages 12 to 22  establishing a reintegration plan before they are released into the community... The program is a community effort. The reintegration plan will involve law enforcement, school resource officers, juvenile justice authorities, social workers and parents, guardians and other family members."

The county has set of goal of having 65 percent of juveniles complete the program successfully. Read more at TheOlatheNews.com.

Learn more about the difference between a Juvenile Delinquent and a Juvenile Offender and ways to help your child at AboutJuvenileDelinquents.com.

Labels: recidivism, delinquents, offenders

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When Paige Harden, a doctoral candidate in psychology at the University of Virginia, read a study last year that said early sex leads to juvenile delinquency, it did not sound right to her.

Using the same data from February 2007's Ohio State University study, she found that teens who have consensual sex in their early teens or even preteen years are actually less likely to engage in delinquent behaviors later on.

Harden went through data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, a federal survey of 7,000 children in grades 7 through 12. She took out the data on 534 same-sex twins included in that study because by using twins, she eliminated genetic and socio-economic factors that skew research results.

Twins who had sex at younger ages than their twin brothers or sisters did not mean that have better odds of becoming delinquents. In fact, the odds were actually somewhat lower.

"I wouldn't be focusing on early sex to lower the rates of delinquency," Harden said.

Her study appears in the Journal of Youth and Adolescence.

Labels: sex, delinquents

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"The Anne Arundel County Substance and Delinquency Prevention Coalition formed a youth committee to help plan the Anne Arundel County Teen Summit next year. The daylong event will discourage young people from using alcohol and drugs."

Twenty-six teens have already agreed to be part of the committee. The summit is being planned for May, 2008.

Labels: prevention, awareness, delinquents

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A study of 723 teenagers in juvenile prisons found a significant link between suicide and the inhalation of vapors from household products.

Inhaling vapors or "huffing" substances such as nail polish remover, antifreeze, gasoline, lighter fluid and others was correlated with increased thoughts of suicide and suicide attempts.

The link was significant - 81% of the girls and 60% of the boys who "huffed" were also suicidal.

The researchers were unsure whether suicidal teens are more likely to "huff" or if that behavior caused suicidal ideation.

Researchers from the Universities of Pittsburgh, Denver and North Carolina collaborated on the study, which appears in the journal, Drug and Alcohol Dependence.

Teen suicide can be prevented. Learn how to help http://www.boardingschoolsinfo.com/teen-suicide.html.

Labels: suicide, delinquents, huffing

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A British team of social scientists studying a sharp increase in teenagers with conduct problems concludes that higher delinquency levels are not the fault of single parents.

Since 1982, more British adolescents are fighting, lying, stealing, and being disobedient to adults. The new study from the Nuffield Foundation shows that the rates of delinquency are similar for teens from all kinds of families regardless of income or size. Teens with single parents or stepparents fared the same as those from traditional families.

According to the Office of National Statistics, by the year 2014 fewer than half the couples in Britain will be married.

This study appears in Social Science and Medicine.

Get free parenting tips and advice for parents of teens at ByParents-forParents.com.

Labels: delinquents, single_parents, disobedience

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