skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, March 28, 2024

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

Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Incarceration Data Shows Juvenile Justice System Off Mission in Nebraska

play audio
Play

Monday, April 4, 2022   

Nearly a quarter-million children were incarcerated in the U.S. in 2019, about five times more than annual point-in-time counts, according to a new report by the Sentencing Project.

Daniel Gutman, attorney and board member of Voices for Children in Nebraska, said kids are more likely to experience the life-altering trauma of being locked up if they are Black than if they are white.

"Your race, in some respects, dictates whether or not you will be incarcerated in that facility," Gutman observed. "That has hugely long-lasting impacts on the child. It sets them back not only in their family and personal life, but also in their education."

The study found rates of incarceration are much higher in low-income neighborhoods and communities of color, where there is a higher police presence. Incarcerated children are at greater risk of experiencing violence or sexual abuse while in detention, and are less likely to graduate from high school and find employment later in life.

Gutman said "scared straight" strategies, the notion that kids experiencing jail will get their act together, are misguided. The main reason is the frontal lobe of children's brains, which allows kids to understand the potential consequences of their actions and curb impulsive behavior, don't develop fully until they are 25.

"What the data does show is that children who are locked in these facilities, and experience the trauma of juvenile detention, actually tend to recidivate or return to the system at a higher rate than children who are not locked in these facilities," Gutman asserted.

Gutman argued there are better ways to help kids, especially the majority locked up for minor offenses like skipping school or missing curfew, through schools and other community-based services. Juvenile justice programs in Nebraska were founded on the principle of rehabilitating kids, but Gutman contended current practices are ineffective and costly.

"Over the past several decades, what we've seen is we have created a system that is not fulfilling that mission, it's not fulfilling the mission of rehabilitation," Gutman stressed. "And, in fact, what it's doing is actually causing detrimental results to children."


get more stories like this via email
more stories
A report from the Tennessee HealthCare Campaign recommended the federal government needs to strengthen 340B drug pricing and other federal negotiation mechanisms to make needed medicines more readily available and less expensive for hospitals to purchase and administer. (Spotmatikphoto/AdobeStock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

A recent report examined how some rural Tennessee hospitals have managed to stay afloat despite financial challenges. The report includes interviews …


Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Health and Wellness

play sound

Medicare and Medicaid are key sources of health coverage for many Americans and some people qualify for assistance under both programs. With lagging …


Organizations fighting wage theft said it harms affected workers and surrounding communities because the money withheld is not being circulated through the local economy. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …

Social Issues

play sound

New research shows more than six in 10 abortions in the U.S. last year were medically induced, and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto - D-NV - is …

Social Issues

play sound

Missouri lawmakers are concerned with protecting people from the potential risks of the increasing accessibility of AI-generated images and videos…

Social Issues

play sound

A 2023 study from the University of Nebraska Medical Center concluded the number of Nebraskans with a mental health or substance abuse disorder has pr…

 

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