Blue Prints for Healthy Young Development 2014 Conference
On April 14–16, the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence at the University of Colorado, Boulder, will host its Blueprints for Healthy Youth Development 2014 conference at the Denver (Colo.) Downtown Sheraton Hotel (registration: $350.00). OJJDP Administrator Robert Listenbee will be a keynote speaker. The conference will focus on evidence-based programs in youth education, problem behavior, self-regulation, mental and physical health, and positive relationships and will provide support for practitioners implementing these programs in their communities.
SAMHSA, Suicide Prevention Alliance to Cohost Webinar April 17
“Preventing Suicide Among Justice-Involved Youth: Newly Developed Tools, Recommendations, and Research,” a Webinar cohosted by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Suicide Prevention Branch and the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention, will take place April 17, from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. (EDT). This free live Webcast will describe new resources from the Action Alliance’s Youth in Contact With the Juvenile Justice System Task Force. Nearly one of every three justice-involved youths reports having experienced suicidal ideation in the past year, and 36 percent have attempted suicide during their lifetimes. Suicide is the leading cause of death for youths in confinement. Advance registration is required. For additional information or to register, please visit http://www.wciconferences.com /JJTF/index.html.
Speakers are Joseph J. Cocozza, Ph.D., director of the National Center for Mental Health and Juvenile Justice, Policy Research Associates, Inc., and Linda A. Teplin, Ph.D., vice chair, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine. Questions for a Q&A discussion during the Webinar are encouraged. Please email your questions to James.Wright@samhsa.hhs.gov.
The task force has released a set of comprehensive suicide prevention resources to support staff working with youth in the juvenile justice system. The newly developed educational tools advance the National
Strategy for Suicide Prevention, which guides efforts to prevent suicide in this vulnerable population across the nation. Online versions of the nine resources are available at http://www.actionallianceforsuicideprevention.org/task-force/juvenilejustice.
Reducing Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Juvenile Justice Certificate Program
The application window for the 2014 Reducing Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Juvenile Justice Certificate Program remains open through April 18.
The Ready by 21 National Meeting
Ready by 21 is a set of strategies developed by the Forum for Youth Investment that help communities and states improve the odds that all children and youths will be ready for college, work, and life by age 21. The 2014 Ready for 21 national meeting will be held in northern Kentucky during April 22–24. This annual meeting brings together hundreds of leaders from nationwide who are working to get all young people “ready by 21.” These leaders have dedicated themselves to improving the odds for children and youth through collective impact initiatives, policy alignment, and program quality improvement. For more information, click here.
Coalition for Juvenile Justice Annual Conference
The Coalition for Juvenile Justice will hold its 2014 Annual Conference, “Looking Back, Planning Ahead: A Vision for the Next 40 Years in Juvenile Justice,” during June 18–21, at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C.