MARION -- Some see the juvenile justice system as a way for youth to "get off light" for serious crimes. Those who work in the system see it as a way to preserve the futures of Marion's troubled youths.

"The juvenile justice system is based on the idea of treatment," Marion Family Court Judge Robert D. Fragale said. "The idea is that as juveniles we have the ability to work with these children and do whatever we can to provide the opportunity to change their behavior to become productive members of our community.

"The adult system is about providing a fair trial and then appropriate punishment for whatever that crime might be," he said.

From Daily News Analysis

NEW DELHI-- The criminal past of a juvenile should be "obliterated" after a period of time and not be allowed to stand in the way of his future life, the Delhi High Court has ruled.

A division bench of Justice Badar Durrez Ahmed and Justice VK Jain, citing previous judgments given by the court, observed: "The intention of the legislature is absolutely clear in that so far as juveniles are concerned, their criminal record is not to stand in their way in their future lives.

By Brian Heller de Leon for 
Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice

The Senate and Assembly Budget Subcommittees on Public Safety are being pressured to reconsider the Governor’s revised cost-saving proposal for the state’s youth correctional system, the Division of Juvenile Facilities (commonly referred to as DJJ). Law enforcement agencies are demanding that the Legislature reduce or eliminate the new $24,000 per ward fee structure, which was proposed by the Governor’s office in the May revised budget.

This amount greatly contributes to the $24.8 million in cost savings that the proposed budget targets for the state’s youth prison system.  The figure already represents a significant reduction from the Governor’s January 2012-13 juvenile justice realignment proposal, which would have amounted to approximately $200 million in savings to the state over time.

From Maryland Morning

Earlier this week, we talked with Juvenile Justice Monitoring Unit head Nick Moroney about the gap in services for boys and girls in the care of the Department of Juvenile Services (DJS).

Today we’re continuing our conversation of the topic. We reached out to the ACLU of Maryland, which has made parity for girls in the custody of the DJS a legislative priority in recent years.

We speak with ACLU attorney Sonia Kumar, who runs their Juvenile Justice Initiative. We also reached out to DJS themselves; they declined to participate in the interview and instead sent us the following statement (please note: we have not edited the statement and are aware that there are some spelling and grammar mistakes).

By Ronnie Blair for The Tampa Tribune

NEW PORT RICHEY -- AMIkids Pasco, which serves as an alternative school for troubled young people, is working to keep its doors open after part of its contract with the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice was awarded to another company.

"It's a lot easier to keep it open than restart," said Mark Carroll, executive director of the school, which serves about 45 at-risk youth.

The current contract with the Department of Juvenile Justice expires June 30. Some young people who previously would have gone to AMIkids Pasco now will be served by Paxen Learning Corp., a Melbourne-based company that operates programs in 10 states.

By Isabel Mascarenas

New Port Richey, Florida - A delegation of state leaders, attorneys and concerned citizens rally to keep the alternative school AMIkids open in New Port Richey. The Department of Juvenile Justice has cut all funding to the program -- $700,000 worth -- forcing AMIkids to close its doors June 30.

State Senator Mike Fasano (R-New Port Richey) tells the group meeting at the Pasco Government building off Little Road AMIkids has helped many youth throughout the years.

By Paul Mrozek for TheDailyNews.com

Local officials need to be aware of costs associated with state proposals to make significant alterations to the juvenile offender justice system, members of the Genesee County Legislature were told Wednesday.

Assistant County Attorney Durin Rogers said the major change on the table is to increase the age of juvenile offenders to include 16 and 17-year-olds, instead of less than 16, for all cases except those that involve violent crime. The measure has the potential to add an estimated $1.18 million per year to county spending, including money for more attorneys and probation officers, he said.

By Brian Boyles for WWNO.org

On Tuesday at 5:45 p.m., a 10-year old boy was shot in the face and leg at his birthday party. Bullets sprayed the gathering at Simon Bolivar Avenue and Clio Street, killing a 5-year-old girl and a 33-year-old woman. A few hours earlier, two assailants had robbed and killed a 58-year old man in Mid-City. Police arrested a 15-year-old and a 13-year-old, the latter wearing a court-ordered ankle monitor.

More details will emerge about both incidents. Another summer envelops New Orleans with heat and gunfire. The fortunate will escape to cooler, safer hideouts while others hug to the shade and pray for quiet evenings. In six months or a year, we may hear about trials, verdicts, and sentences arising from this week’s violence. Cell doors will close behind lost children while dead children fade from public memory. The favorite colors of the deceased and the petty beefs that motivated their killers will slip away, known only to family members and neighborhood observers. From media pulpits and comfortable chairs, more powerful people will debate root causes and argue over solutions.