child care - Digital Library Collections
child care - Digital Library Collections child care - Digital Library Collections
THE STATE OF AMERICA'S CHILDREN YEARBOOK 1998:-__-, reau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms' Project LEAD, which tracks guns recovered from youths at crime scenes in selected cities, indicate that it has succeeded in identifying and shutting down illegal sources of guns for children. The project has now expanded from 17 cities to 27. The Administration also required licensed gun dealers to post warnings against illegally furnishing guns to children and brokered a voluntary agreement with most major handgun manufacturers to provide child safety locks with all new handguns sold. These are positive steps, but they fall far short of the comprehensive safety regulations needed to protect children from guns. At the state and local levels, advocates working for gun safety initiatives met with some success in 1997. In California more than 32 jurisdictions have now passed gun regulations, including bans on "junk guns." (Unfortunately, a state bill to do the same was vetoed by the governor.) A consumer protection effort in Massachusetts resulted in requirements that child safety locks be provided with every new handgun. Chicago passed a similar ordinance, and advocates throughout Illinois won passage of a statewide gun-tracing initiative to identify the sources of guns recovered from crimes. In Washington state, however, a "Safety First" ballot initiative that would have required child safety locks and licensing of gun owners was defeated, largely because of a heavily funded, last-minute campaign against it by the National Rifle Association. The Move Toward Stiffer Penalties for Juveniles Just as violence by and against young people seems to be steadily waning, Congress is moving forward with new punitive measures aimed at responding to the higher violent juvenile crime rates between 1987 and 1994. The emphasis of the new initiatives is on punishment and prisons. One such bill, H.R. 3, passed the House of Representatives in 1997. A corresponding Senate measure, S. 10, was still pending in early 1998. It would allow states to put more children in adult jails and prisons without critical protections from assault and suicide, and it would reduce the confidentiality of juveniles' records. A second House bill, H.R. 1818, that has also passed already, would largely preserve core protections for children in jail and provide modest prevention investments. However, Figure 6.1 Homicides of Teens Fewer youths were murdered in 1996, a relief after the sharp increase in teen homicides that began in the late 1980s. Gun deaths drove this increase, rising 153 percent between 1985 and 1995, while all other murders rose only 9 percent. 40 30 20 10 Homicide deaths per 1,000 males ages 15-19 1979 1981 1983 1985 1987 1989 1991 1993 1995 Source: u.s. Deportment of Health and Human Services. Notional Center lor Health Statistics. 82 CHI L D R EN'S D E FEN S E FUN D
CHILDREN, VIOLENCE AND CRIME it would not overcome the provisions ofH.R. 3 and S. 10 that present grave risks to children. How the proposed legislation would affect children. Although the Senate measure would provide new funds for juvenile courts, it would encourage the transfer of more children to adult criminal courts. Even more troubling, it would allow states to put more children in jails and prisons with adult offenders and weaken the laws protecting them from adult contact and abuse. It would also allow states to hold runaways in jail for up to 14 days, and truants for up to three days. Any status offender could be held for 24 hours in an adult jail. This could actually stretch to a longer period because weekends and holidays are excluded. Housing children in jails and prisons with adults puts them at greater risk for suicide, rape, assault, and murder. Children in adult facilities are eight times more likely to commit suicide, five times more likely to be sexually assaulted, and two times more likely to be beaten by staff than are youth in juvenile facilities, according to research published in the February 1989 issue of Juvenile and Family Court Journal. The physical danger to children incarcerated with adults is also evident from the track record in Kentucky, which declined federal funds rather than comply with the provisions ofthe 1974 law requiring removal ofchildren from adult jails. According to a study by Kentucky Youth Advocates, Violent Incidents Against Juveniles in Kentucky Adult Jails, 1974-1992, over this l3-year period there were four suicides and one attempted suicide by Kentucky children in adult jails. Not only are children in adult facilities at increased risk of harm, but their chances for rehabilitation are markedly reduced because they are exposed to precisely the wrong role models and receive no education, counseling, or other services. The National Coalition of State Juvenile Justice Advisory Groups reviewed a number ofstudies and found that children put in adult facilities have higher recidivism rates than those handled in juvenile systems for the same offense. Rather than learn ways to become productive citizens, they encounter more experienced criminals and are more likely to return to their communities with an even greater propensity to engage in criminal activity. Another provision of the Senate legislation would mandate state changes in recordkeeping practices that would make juvenile records more Figure 6.2 Juvenile Arrests Fewer youths were arrested for violent crimes in 1996, the 600 500 Arrests for violent crimea per 100,000 juveniles ages 10-17 second year of decline 400 after a decade of steep 300 increase. The drop was most pronounced for juveniles ages 13-15, 200 100 and for the crime of murder. 1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 o. Murder, rape, robbery, and aggravated assQult. Source: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. CHI L D R EN'S D E FEN S E FUN D 83
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CHILDREN, VIOLENCE AND CRIME<br />
it would not overcome the provisions ofH.R. 3 and<br />
S. 10 that present grave risks to <strong>child</strong>ren.<br />
How the proposed legislation would affect <strong>child</strong>ren.<br />
Although the Senate measure would provide<br />
new funds for juvenile courts, it would encourage<br />
the transfer of more <strong>child</strong>ren to adult criminal<br />
courts. Even more troubling, it would allow states<br />
to put more <strong>child</strong>ren in jails and prisons with adult<br />
offenders and weaken the laws protecting them<br />
from adult contact and abuse. It would also allow<br />
states to hold runaways in jail for up to 14 days, and<br />
truants for up to three days. Any status offender<br />
could be held for 24 hours in an adult jail. This<br />
could actually stretch to a longer period because<br />
weekends and holidays are excluded.<br />
Housing <strong>child</strong>ren in jails and prisons with<br />
adults puts them at greater risk for suicide, rape,<br />
assault, and murder. Children in adult facilities are<br />
eight times more likely to commit suicide, five<br />
times more likely to be sexually assaulted, and two<br />
times more likely to be beaten by staff than are<br />
youth in juvenile facilities, according to research<br />
published in the February 1989 issue of Juvenile<br />
and Family Court Journal. The physical danger to<br />
<strong>child</strong>ren incarcerated with adults is also evident<br />
from the track record in Kentucky, which declined<br />
federal funds rather than comply with the provisions<br />
ofthe 1974 law requiring removal of<strong>child</strong>ren<br />
from adult jails. According to a study by Kentucky<br />
Youth Advocates, Violent Incidents Against Juveniles<br />
in Kentucky Adult Jails, 1974-1992, over this<br />
l3-year period there were four suicides and one<br />
attempted suicide by Kentucky <strong>child</strong>ren in adult<br />
jails.<br />
Not only are <strong>child</strong>ren in adult facilities at increased<br />
risk of harm, but their chances for rehabilitation<br />
are markedly reduced because they are exposed<br />
to precisely the wrong role models and<br />
receive no education, counseling, or other services.<br />
The National Coalition of State Juvenile Justice<br />
Advisory Groups reviewed a number ofstudies and<br />
found that <strong>child</strong>ren put in adult facilities have<br />
higher recidivism rates than those handled in juvenile<br />
systems for the same offense. Rather than<br />
learn ways to become productive citizens, they encounter<br />
more experienced criminals and are more<br />
likely to return to their communities with an even<br />
greater propensity to engage in criminal activity.<br />
Another provision of the Senate legislation<br />
would mandate state changes in recordkeeping<br />
practices that would make juvenile records more<br />
Figure 6.2<br />
Juvenile Arrests<br />
Fewer youths were<br />
arrested for violent<br />
crimes in 1996, the<br />
600<br />
500<br />
Arrests for violent crimea per 100,000 juveniles ages 10-17<br />
second year of decline 400<br />
after a decade of steep 300<br />
increase. The drop was<br />
most pronounced for<br />
juveniles ages 13-15,<br />
200<br />
100<br />
and for the crime of<br />
murder.<br />
1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996<br />
o. Murder, rape, robbery, and aggravated assQult.<br />
Source: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.<br />
CHI L D R EN'S D E FEN S E FUN D 83