reforming juvenile justice: a developmental approach presentation to the coordinating council for...

Reforming Juvenile Justice: A Developmental

Approach

Presentation to the Coordinating Council for Juvenile Justice

and Delinquency Prevention

Robert L. JohnsonEdward P. Mulvey

Gladys Carrion

July 26, 2013 1

National Academy of Sciences

• Chartered by Congress in 1863• Purpose: To advise the

government and the nation on critical national issues through objective, scientific, and evidence-based research and analysis

Designed to be independent, balanced, and objective; Not an agency of the federal government. 2

Committee Process

• Scholarship and stature of Academies’ members• Ability to get the very best to serve pro bono,

ensuring the breadth and balance of interdisciplinary committee composition

• Quality assurance and control procedures, including a strict peer review process

• Written reports (source of “formal advice”) based on evidence and rigorous analysis, ensuring independence and objectivity

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Assessing Juvenile Justice Committee Charge and Composition

• To assess the implications of advances in behavioral and neuroscience research for the field of juvenile justice and the implications of such knowledge for juvenile justice reform.

Committee Members:

• 6 from the social sciences• 2 physicians• 3 practitioners• Director of state children’s services• Director of state juvenile corrections• Juvenile court judge

• 2 with law/public policy expertise• 1 neuroscientist 4

Committee Members

• Robert L. Johnson (Chair), UMDNJ - New Jersey Medical School • Richard J. Bonnie (Vice Chair, IOM), University of Virginia • Carl C. Bell, Community Mental Health Council, Inc. • Lawrence D. Bobo (NAS), Harvard University • Jeffrey A. Butts, John Jay College of Criminal Justice • Gladys Carrion, New York State Office of Children & Family Service • B.J. Casey, Weill Medical College of Cornell University • Kenneth A. Dodge, Duke University • Sandra A. Graham, University of California, Los Angeles • Ernestine Gray, Orleans Parish, Louisiana • Edward P. Mulvey, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine • Robert Plotnick, University of Washington • Elizabeth S. Scott, Columbia University • Terence P. Thornberry, University of Maryland • Cherie Townsend, Texas Youth Commission

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Summary of “Reforming Juvenile Justice: A Developmental Approach”

The Neuroscience

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“Pruning”

Image adapted from Gogtay N, et al. Dynamic mapping of human cortical development during childhood through early adulthood. PNAS 2004;101(21): 8174 - 79, Fig. 3; downloaded from www.brainfacts.org

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“Different parts at different times”

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Behavioral ScienceBehavioral Science

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Findings• Adolescents differ from adults and/or children in

three important ways: self-regulation in emotionally charged contextsheightened sensitivity to contextual influencesless ability to make judgments that require future orientation

• Cognitive tendencies are associated with biological immaturity of the brain and with an imbalance among developing brain systems

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Figure 4 from Steinberg, L. (2013). The influence of neuroscience on U.S. Supreme Court decisions involving adolescents’ criminal culpability. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 14, 513-518

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Capacity + Environment = Developmental Path• Holds for both adolescence and early adulthood

• Positive adolescent development related to:

Parent or parent figure

Positive peers

Opportunities for decision making/critical thinking

• Juvenile justice interventions are responsible for creating positive development as well as ensuring public safety

• Being held accountable for wrongdoing and accepting responsibility in a process perceived as fair promotes healthy moral development and legal socialization

• Conversely, being held accountable and punished in a process perceived as unfair can reinforce social disaffection and antisocial behavior 13

“Incorrigibility is inconsistent with youth.”

- Miller majority opinion

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Goals of the System

• Promoting Accountability

• Ensuring Fairness

• Preventing Re-offending

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RecommendationsAdoption of a developmental approach to youth programs, policies and practices within DOJ/OJJDP, across the federal government, and when working with state, local and tribal partners in the field.

• Create multi-stakeholder task forces

• Strengthen the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention

• Promote research

• Improve data 16

CHALLENGES TO REFORMING JUVENILE JUSTICE ON THE GROUND

FEDERAL ROLE

• LEADERSHIP• GUIDANCE• SUPPORT• RESOURCES

FEDERAL ROLE

• LEADERSHIP• GUIDANCE• SUPPORT• RESOURCES

WHAT TO DO?WHAT WORKS?HOW TO DO IT?EFFECTIVE INTERVENTIONS?RESEARCH

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• FRONT DOOR TO JUVENILE JUSTICE IS INCREASINGLY THE CHILD WELFARE SYSTEM

• JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM OF LAST RESORT; INABILITY TO ACCESS OTHER SYSTEM SUPPORTS

MENTAL HEALTH SUBSTANCE ABUSE EDUCATION DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES HOUSING

HOUSING

• FRONT DOOR TO JUVENILE JUSTICE IS INCREASINGLY THE CHILD WELFARE SYSTEM

• JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM OF LAST RESORT; INABILITY TO ACCESS OTHER SYSTEM SUPPORTS

MENTAL HEALTH SUBSTANCE ABUSE EDUCATION DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES HOUSING

HOUSING

REQUIRES COLLABORATION AND SHARED OWNERSHIP OF THE JUSTICE INVOLVED CHILDREN

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Success at Reforming Juvenile Justice Requires Many Partners

LOOKING FORWARD

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• STRONGER FEDERAL VOICE

• INCENTIVIZE WHAT WORKS

• SUPPORT AND PROMOTE THE RESEARCH

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• STRONGER FEDERAL VOICE

• INCENTIVIZE WHAT WORKS

• SUPPORT AND PROMOTE THE RESEARCH

DOING WHAT DOESN’T WORK IS EXPENSIVE 19

THANK YOU!

For copies of the report: www.nap.edu

For more information: Bboyd@nas.edu

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