Juvenile delinquency dropped during pandemic
By 
THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC’S disproportionate impact by race has been well-documented in areas including health outcomes, remote work, and education. Now, add one more disparity: juvenile justice.
A report released Wednesday by Massachusetts’s Juvenile Justice Policy and Data Board found largely good news when it came to juvenile delinquency. During COVID, far fewer teenagers have been coming into contact with the juvenile justice system.
There was a 62 percent drop in monthly new commitments to Department of Youth Services facilities and a 40 percent drop in overnight arrest admissions. Fewer juveniles were being detained and fewer were on probation.
Some of the reduction is due to a concerted effort by state officials to keep kids home during the pandemic, rather than taking them into custody. Some of it is due to circumstantial factors. Teens were less likely to be around peers who pressured them to cause trouble. There were no school-based arrests when schools were physically closed.
Perhaps most striking is the problem of a “small but significant” group of young people described in the report who were stuck in detention for longer than necessary because of pandemic-related delays in the court system. On average, youth remained in detention 19 days longer during the pandemic than before the pandemic. The report says that these young people were disproportionately Black and Latino, although it did not give exact numbers.
The report points out that juvenile justice does not occur in a vacuum. Black and Latino families were disproportionately affected by the pandemic, with factors that put youth at increased risk for delinquency. Financial stress affects children’s well-being, and surveys show Black and Latino families were more likely than White families to be worried about their economic security. Disengagement in school also creates a risk of delinquency, and data show that Black and Latino students were far more likely than White students to have missed at least 10 days of school last year.
As Massachusetts recovers from the pandemic, the report says the risk of future delinquency is high. Many children are dealing with trauma, mental health issues, a lack of social activities, strained family circumstances, disengagement from school, and substance abuse.
The report makes recommendations for addressing these issues – continuing to divert teens out of the criminal justice system, supporting community-based services and social programs, increasing the availability of mental health and substance treatment, and supporting delinquency prevention programs in schools. The challenge will be directing these services to the Black and Latino youth who are clearly most in need.
SHIRA SCHOENBERG
FROM COMMONWEALTH
– The House passed a bill yesterday, which already cleared the Senate, that reduces the minimum amount of space required for egg-laying hens. It gives pork producers another year to make adaptations to the requirements imposed on them.
– Animal rights groups that backed the ballot question and food industry groups that opposed it both support the changes, but one California group, the Humane Farming Association, blasted the change and said it might consider another ballot question to reverse the modifications if Gov. Charlie Baker signs the changes into law. Read more.
Senate says yes to permanent voting reform: The Senate voted to make permanent a number of the COVID-era voting reforms that had been adopted, including vote-by-mail and expanded early voting options. The bill goes beyond changes put in place during the pandemic to also authorize same-day voter registration, which would allow people to register at polling places on election day. It also includes new provisions to aid disabled people with voting, and new measures to expand ballot access for inmates who are eligible to vote. Read more.
FROM AROUND THE WEB
BEACON HILL
At a contentious hearing on Wednesday, app-based companies argued that their drivers want to remain independent contractors, while labor advocates said drivers deserve employee benefits. (WBUR)
MUNICIPAL MATTERS
There is cautious optimism about solutions finally being put forward after Gov. Charlie Baker convened a meeting of local and state officials to discuss the crisis at “Mass. and Cass.” (Boston Herald)
Gloucester asks a federal court judge to allow the city to keep confidential a report investigating hostile workplace complaints against the mayor. (Gloucester Daily Times)
Acting Mayor Kim Janey declares that the upcoming Monday holiday will be known as Indigenous Peoples’ Day in Boston, not Columbus Day, drawing the wrath of Italian-Americans and City Councilor Lydia Edwards, who represents heavily Italian East Boston and the North End. (Boston Herald)
HEALTH/HEALTH CARE
Pfizer is asking the Food and Drug Administration to authorize the use of its COVID-19 vaccine in children aged 5 to 11. (New York Times)
The Department of Unemployment Assistance rules that striking nurses at St. Vincent Hospital have not been entitled to unemployment benefits since August 7. (Telegram & Gazette)
Hospitals in the state are preparing to fire employees who have not been vaccinated as deadlines approach for workers to take shots. (Boston Globe)
More than 150,000 COVID booster shots have already been administered in Massachusetts. (MassLive)
The state’s new paid family and medical leave fund has $1.4 billion left unspent, which is why the state was able to lower contribution rates this year. (Boston Business Journal)
A year after several scientists penned the Great Barrington Declaration, suggesting a COVID mitigation strategy that involved a lockdown for the most vulnerable while letting healthier people live their lives and develop natural immunity to COVID, the scientists say they stand by their position but have faced threats and harassment for the past year. (Berkshire Eagle)
WASHINGTON/NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL
A federal judge issued an order blocking enforcement of Texas’s restrictive new abortion law. (Washington Post)
A watchdog group files an ethics complaint against US Rep. Seth Moulton and two other members of Congress for using money from their PACs for personal expenses including travel, lavish hotels, and sporting events. (Salem News)
ELECTIONS
Black leaders and organizations are coalescing behind Boston mayoral candidate Michelle Wu in an echo of the 2013 election that saw a similar rallying behind Marty Walsh. (Boston Globe)
Wu leads her opponent Annissa Essaibi George in fundraising. (GBH)
Outgoing Lynn Mayor Thomas McGee endorsed Jared Nicholson, a member of the city’s school committee, in the race to succeed him. Nicholson is running against Lynn City Council President Darren Cyr. (Daily Item)
Gov. Charlie Baker says he’s not fazed by Donald Trump’s endorsement of Republican gubernatorial candidate Geoff Diehl. (Boston Herald) Politico’s headline says Baker greeted the news with a yawn, with former governor Jane Swift speculating that it could even help him.
BUSINESS/ECONOMY
A Worcester dispensary is holding the state’s first legal “farmer’s market” for cannabis. (Telegram & Gazette)
EDUCATION
The nationwide reckoning on race has led nine new suburban school districts to express interest in joining METCO, a program in which Black and Latino students from Boston and Springfield are bussed to suburban schools — but program officials say they need more state funding to allow the new districts to join. (GBH)
ARTS/CULTURE
The Northampton Arts Council abruptly cancels its biennial art exhibit after an artist objects to one of the pieces of artwork because of the way it portrays Native Americans. (Daily Hampshire Gazette)
A strike by a national stagehands union forced the cancellation of opening night at the North Shore Music Theatre. (Boston Globe)
ENERGY/ENVIRONMENT
A slew of startup companies in the Boston area are out to tackle the world’s climate crisis, foremost among them Commonwealth Fusion Systems. (Boston Globe) Listen to the leaders of CFS on this recent episode of The Codcast discussing their path breaking work on fusion energy.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE/COURTS
A judge rules that drug defendants who have not had their convictions dismissed due to misconduct at the state drug lab are not necessarily entitled to new trials if they cannot clearly link misconduct at the lab to their case. (Associated Press)
Closing arguments took place yesterday in federal court in Boston in the first “Varsity Blues” college admission case to go to trial. (Boston Herald)