Describes the Diversion and Drug Treatment program, known as "Drug Court," in Miami (Florida) in which nonviolent drug offenders have prosecution of their cases deferred while they participate in a court-ordered drug-rehabilitation program. Those who successfully complete the program have their cases dismissed. Whereas typical recidivism…

After a violent incident just outside an Austin (Texas) middle school, the principal and her staff decided that the problem of gangs could not be resolved by merely banning gang colors and signing. Special clubs, community volunteers, and a no-failure policy helped make students less vulnerable to gang membership. (MLH)

Policy, defined broadly to include public policy as well as institutional or organizational policy, is useful for sustaining change in human development and its contexts and systems. The role for developmental psychopathology research in policy analysis and policy making is discussed. To assure that developmental psychopathology research is useful…

In the late 1990s, California legislators funded a statewide, community-based correctional program intended to reduce parolee recidivism. Overseen by the California Department of Corrections, the Preventing Parolee Crime Program (PPCP) provided literacy training, employment services, housing assistance, and substance abuse treatment to tens of…

This publication reports on the first survey of campus law enforcement agencies conducted by the Bureau of Justice Statistics since 1994-1995. The report presents data covering the 2004-2005 school year. Agencies serving 4-year U.S. universities and colleges with a fall 2004 enrollment of 2,500 or more, and those serving 2-year public colleges…

Scientific discoveries over the past two decades have transformed the way in which researchers, policymakers, and the public think about early childhood. For example, recent research in brain science has provided a biological basis for prevailing theories about early child development, and cost-benefit analysis has reoriented some of the…

The National Dropout Prevention Center for Students with Disabilities (NDPC-SD) was assigned the task of analyzing and summarizing Indicator 1--Graduation--from the 2006-07 Annual Performance Reports (APRs) and amended State Performance Plans (SPPs), which were submitted by states to the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) in February of…

During adolescence, there is a steady decline in the use of sun protection and increased use of indoor tanning lights. Previous health education efforts have changed knowledge but not these behaviors. Middle school students (n = 113) received a single educational class that included personal viewing of skin changes visible under ultraviolet (UV)…

Thirty per cent of school districts in British Columbia do not ban smoking outright on school grounds, and in several instances, smoking is permitted in smoking pits, regardless of school district policy. While there is evidence to suggest that enforcing a tobacco-free environment for students does reduce adolescent smoking rates, the concomitant…

New Brunswick is a small Maritime province in Canada bordering on Maine. With just 700,000 people, the population is clustered in small cities and towns. Nevertheless, tragedies happen here as they do elsewhere and there is a need to be prepared. The National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) had developed PREPaRE, a curriculum founded…

In 1999, the Queensland government trialled the Youth Justice Service which fundamentally changed the way supervision, rehabilitation and reintegration services were provided to young offenders on community based orders. The Youth Justice Service aims to monitor order compliance, address risk factors associated with the offending behaviour and…

The lines between academic study and career and technical skills training are blurring. State and national leaders are beginning to recognize the transformational potential career and technical education (CTE) offers for such issues as secondary-postsecondary transitions, remediation, and the drop-out problem. At the national level, the National…

Purpose: Secondary prevention programmes have traditionally employed mass screening approaches to assess for asymptomatic signs of cancer. It has been suggested that early detection strategies involving public education and self-referral may prove more cost-effective with low risk populations for cancers with symptomatic presentation. This study,…

Individuals with developmental disabilities are 4 to 10 times more likely to become crime victims than individuals without disabilities (D. Sobsey, D. Wells, R. Lucardie, & S. Mansell, 1995). Victimization rates for persons with disabilities is highest for sexual assault (more than 10 times as high) and robbery (more than 12 times as high). There…

The kids at Louisa May Alcott School were more into Flamin' Hot Cheetos and nachos than frisee and couscous. That is, until Greg Christian got to them. Exactly three years ago, the chef known as Chicago's conscious caterer decided to share his gastronomic talents with the city's low-income children. So he took his pilot program straight to the…