Babaamaajimowinan (Telling of news in different places)

Feds: Detention is last resort for tribal youth

ALBUQUERQUE — The federal government recommends Native American courts dole out treatment, counseling and foster care to young criminals instead of fines and detention, a change in tribal guidelines that reflects a national shift in juvenile justice reform.

The Interior and Justice departments released their guidelines Monday, updating a three-decade-old juvenile justice code and suggesting detention should be a last resort for tribal youth, especially runaways and those who struggle with addiction or truancy.

Young Native Americans made up as much as 8 percent of jail inmates in Indian Country in 2014, and roughly half the small number of juveniles in federal custody between 1999 and 2008, the most recent available statistics show.

http://www.daily-times.com/story/news/local/navajo-nation/2016/02/29/feds-detention-last-resort-tribal-youth/81132494/

 

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