Juvenile justice - Treatment, rehabilitation the goals

The Juvenile Defender

Premier Online Newspaper

To subscribe or submit articles contact me:

A division of

The Miracles Of Hope Network www.miraclesofhope.com

With honor please visit my affiliate:

Annie Armen Live

http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20041017/

October 17, 2004

This represents one of the many aspects of concern I have for juveniles

within the justice system contained even further by a mental health field. The

cause is the " cure "

and the only way to get rid of the problem is by getting rid of both.

We force kids on these drugs to begin with, and then when they mess up while

on these drugs, which is inevitable, we lock them up. Granted teens can be

crazy

but what is not hormonally induced should also not be allowed to be

chemically induced mania and housed indefinately in an institution.

October 17, 2004

Juvenile justice - Treatment, rehabilitation the goals

State Rep. Flaggs and his Juvenile Justice Committee are on the

right track in proposing that the 2005 Legislature make major changes

in the way youth are treated in the criminal justice system, but his

plan needs adjustments.

At a C. Stennis Institute of Government lunch in on

Tuesday, Flaggs, D-Vicksburg, outlined his bill to create a Department

of Juvenile Justice to oversee Oakley and Columbia training schools,

which are the subject of a federal lawsuit by the U.S. Justice

Department.

He wants to create the juvenile department to wrest control from the

Department of Human Services, which admittedly is a behemoth agency, so

greater oversight can be had.

The Justice Department filed suit last year alleging that the two

centers practiced widespread physical punishment with little or no

rehabilitative or educational value.

Brad Schlozman, deputy assistant attorney general in the civil rights

division, said the schools were " clearly the worst two we have seen in

probably 20 years in the Department of Justice, and that's saying

something. "

Creating a new department, however, is not the way to go; a new

bureaucracy won't help, and there are cost considerations. It would be

better to incorporate mental health expertise, working with juvenile

judges, and a statewide juvenile justice system (which Flaggs also

supports).

The mental health component is crucial (and likely to stir more

lawsuits if unaddressed). A report by the U.S. House Government Reform

Committee in July found that in 33 states, including Mississippi,

mentally ill youths were held in detention centers with no charges

against them.

Flaggs does have excellent suggestions regarding local community

rehabilitation services, particularly using a $5 million bond program

to share state/local building costs.

The committee's plan, with a little tinkering on oversight, should

satisfy the Justice Department and, more important, better serve

juvenile justice and youth in this state.

OPINION01/410170323/1008/OPINION

Marhoefer

The Defense Foundation For Children USA

Juvenile Defense Resources, Information, Experts,

Media Contacts, Investigative Journalism

Changing The Destiny Of A Child

The Juvenile Defender

Premier Online Newspaper

To subscribe or submit articles contact me:

A division of

The Miracles Of Hope Network www.miraclesofhope.com

With honor please visit my affiliate:

Annie Armen Live

http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20041017/

October 17, 2004

This represents one of the many aspects of concern I have for juveniles

within the justice system contained even further by a mental health field. The

cause is the " cure "

and the only way to get rid of the problem is by getting rid of both.

We force kids on these drugs to begin with, and then when they mess up while

on these drugs, which is inevitable, we lock them up. Granted teens can be

crazy

but what is not hormonally induced should also not be allowed to be

chemically induced mania and housed indefinately in an institution.

October 17, 2004

Juvenile justice - Treatment, rehabilitation the goals

State Rep. Flaggs and his Juvenile Justice Committee are on the

right track in proposing that the 2005 Legislature make major changes

in the way youth are treated in the criminal justice system, but his

plan needs adjustments.

At a C. Stennis Institute of Government lunch in on

Tuesday, Flaggs, D-Vicksburg, outlined his bill to create a Department

of Juvenile Justice to oversee Oakley and Columbia training schools,

which are the subject of a federal lawsuit by the U.S. Justice

Department.

He wants to create the juvenile department to wrest control from the

Department of Human Services, which admittedly is a behemoth agency, so

greater oversight can be had.

The Justice Department filed suit last year alleging that the two

centers practiced widespread physical punishment with little or no

rehabilitative or educational value.

Brad Schlozman, deputy assistant attorney general in the civil rights

division, said the schools were " clearly the worst two we have seen in

probably 20 years in the Department of Justice, and that's saying

something. "

Creating a new department, however, is not the way to go; a new

bureaucracy won't help, and there are cost considerations. It would be

better to incorporate mental health expertise, working with juvenile

judges, and a statewide juvenile justice system (which Flaggs also

supports).

The mental health component is crucial (and likely to stir more

lawsuits if unaddressed). A report by the U.S. House Government Reform

Committee in July found that in 33 states, including Mississippi,

mentally ill youths were held in detention centers with no charges

against them.

Flaggs does have excellent suggestions regarding local community

rehabilitation services, particularly using a $5 million bond program

to share state/local building costs.

The committee's plan, with a little tinkering on oversight, should

satisfy the Justice Department and, more important, better serve

juvenile justice and youth in this state.

OPINION01/410170323/1008/OPINION

Marhoefer

The Defense Foundation For Children USA

Juvenile Defense Resources, Information, Experts,

Media Contacts, Investigative Journalism

Changing The Destiny Of A Child

The Juvenile Defender

Premier Online Newspaper

To subscribe or submit articles contact me:

A division of

The Miracles Of Hope Network www.miraclesofhope.com

With honor please visit my affiliate:

Annie Armen Live

http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20041017/

October 17, 2004

This represents one of the many aspects of concern I have for juveniles

within the justice system contained even further by a mental health field. The

cause is the " cure "

and the only way to get rid of the problem is by getting rid of both.

We force kids on these drugs to begin with, and then when they mess up while

on these drugs, which is inevitable, we lock them up. Granted teens can be

crazy

but what is not hormonally induced should also not be allowed to be

chemically induced mania and housed indefinately in an institution.

October 17, 2004

Juvenile justice - Treatment, rehabilitation the goals

State Rep. Flaggs and his Juvenile Justice Committee are on the

right track in proposing that the 2005 Legislature make major changes

in the way youth are treated in the criminal justice system, but his

plan needs adjustments.

At a C. Stennis Institute of Government lunch in on

Tuesday, Flaggs, D-Vicksburg, outlined his bill to create a Department

of Juvenile Justice to oversee Oakley and Columbia training schools,

which are the subject of a federal lawsuit by the U.S. Justice

Department.

He wants to create the juvenile department to wrest control from the

Department of Human Services, which admittedly is a behemoth agency, so

greater oversight can be had.

The Justice Department filed suit last year alleging that the two

centers practiced widespread physical punishment with little or no

rehabilitative or educational value.

Brad Schlozman, deputy assistant attorney general in the civil rights

division, said the schools were " clearly the worst two we have seen in

probably 20 years in the Department of Justice, and that's saying

something. "

Creating a new department, however, is not the way to go; a new

bureaucracy won't help, and there are cost considerations. It would be

better to incorporate mental health expertise, working with juvenile

judges, and a statewide juvenile justice system (which Flaggs also

supports).

The mental health component is crucial (and likely to stir more

lawsuits if unaddressed). A report by the U.S. House Government Reform

Committee in July found that in 33 states, including Mississippi,

mentally ill youths were held in detention centers with no charges

against them.

Flaggs does have excellent suggestions regarding local community

rehabilitation services, particularly using a $5 million bond program

to share state/local building costs.

The committee's plan, with a little tinkering on oversight, should

satisfy the Justice Department and, more important, better serve

juvenile justice and youth in this state.

OPINION01/410170323/1008/OPINION

Marhoefer

The Defense Foundation For Children USA

Juvenile Defense Resources, Information, Experts,

Media Contacts, Investigative Journalism

Changing The Destiny Of A Child

The Juvenile Defender

Premier Online Newspaper

To subscribe or submit articles contact me:

A division of

The Miracles Of Hope Network www.miraclesofhope.com

With honor please visit my affiliate:

Annie Armen Live