skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, June 12, 2025

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

RFK Jr. taps eight new members for CDC's vaccine advisory panel; CO communities to join national 'No Kings' protests Saturday; End of hospital emergency abortion care rule will affect rural KY women; LIHEAP cuts could put lives at risk in rural AL, advocates warn.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

White House says there will be more ICE raids, as protests spread across the county. California Gov. Newsom says democracy is at a crossroads, and Elon Musk says he 'regrets' social media posts about President Trump.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

EV charging stations are harder to find in rural America, improving the mental health of children and teachers is the goal of a new partnership in seven rural states, and a once segregated Mississippi movie theater is born again.

Nation’s Leading Juvenile-Justice Reformers Gather in Texas

play audio
Play

Tuesday, April 24, 2012   

HOUSTON - Some 700 of the nation's top juvenile-justice reformers are gathering in Texas this week to share strategies for reducing the number of troubled youths who wind up behind bars. With several recent studies confirming that problem kids tend to do better when they're not sent off to institutions, participants at the conference want to speed up the trend toward community-based solutions.

Bart Lubow, director of the Juvenile Justice Strategy Group at the Annie E. Casey Foundation, which is hosting the Houston gathering, says just locking kids up mostly doesn't work.

"Our reliance on incarceration is a failed policy. It doesn't work for the kids; it doesn't work for public safety; it doesn't work for taxpayers, because it's enormously expensive."

The Casey Foundation has teamed up with jurisdictions in 32 states to help implement alternatives to so-called "zero-tolerance" policies that focus on youth detention. Harris and Dallas counties are participating in Texas. Community-based rehabilitation is one of the goals of the state's new Juvenile Justice Department.

The conference will highlight Houston's de-emphasis on incarceration during the past few years.

Tom Brooks, who directs the Harris County Juvenile Probation Department, says 690 area youths were sent to "state school" in 2006, compared with only 97 last year.

"I think we're able to achieve that by providing individual programs, getting out in the community, working with the families, dealing with individual needs, engaging different community providers to do wrap-around services."

Statewide, the number of juvenile offenders behind bars has dropped from more than 4,000 in 2006 to around 1,400 now. While Brooks believes it is sometimes appropriate to lock up juvenile offenders, he thinks jurisdictions should ask questions first.

"Are they locking up the right child? What is the reason you're locking that child up? And make sure that all the alternatives are being provided and looked at, because if you lock them up and just let them go without any services, chances are it's going to be a revolving door and they're going to be right back."

While Brooks praises the last Legislature for encouraging probation departments to rehab kids locally, he says more funding is needed to pay for programs. Spending more up front on youth services, he adds, is a proven way to save money in the long run. When kids are locked up they are significantly more likely to re-offend after getting out, according to recent research.

A report on recent research is at www.utexas.edu.




get more stories like this via email

more stories
The temporary permitting process at Hobbs State Park includes specific collection zones, boundaries and safety requirements. Only dead trees impacted by the 2024 storm may be removed. (Kit Leong/Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

As the cleanup effort continues at Hobbs State Park Conservation Area in Rogers, officials with Arkansas State Parks have authorized a temporary …


Social Issues

play sound

June is Pride Month, and Washington's Lavender Rights Project is celebrating with a Black Trans Comedy Showcase. This is the largest fundraiser of …

Social Issues

play sound

Protests are planned this Saturday throughout Arizona as organizers mobilize a "nationwide day of defiance" against what they're calling the Trump adm…


Nationwide, nearly 70% of rural counties lack a single obstetric hospital, according to a 2024 March of Dimes report. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Abortion rights advocates in Kentucky are concerned as the Department of Health and Human Services has revoked a policy requiring hospitals to provide…

Health and Wellness

play sound

Indiana University now trains police academy recruits in Deaf culture awareness and basic American Sign Language. The program aims to improve …

Consumer advocates warned Florida Power & Light's proposed rate increase would mean its customers would be locked into supporting natural gas over cleaner, price-stable alternatives, like solar energy. (Silberfuchs/Pixabay)

Social Issues

play sound

Florida Power & Light's request for a nearly $9 billion rate hike, possibly the largest in state history, has sparked concern about the potential …

Environment

play sound

June is World Oceans Month and California environmental groups are highlighting advances in zero-emission shipping. International shipping emits …

Environment

play sound

California companies making compostable packaging materials said their products could make a huge dent in the problem of plastic pollution but only wi…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021