New Phoenix team tackles recidivism of those with mental illness

A strategy for stopping widespread depression in developing countries should be as obvious as one for combatting epidemics. A new strategy aims to downshift jobs to local workers to act as peer therapists.

The use of a gun in a violent crime can carry a penalty of 30 years or more in prison. High Point, NC, has been using call-ins for 16 years - a carrot-and-stick approach aimed at reducing violent crime and drugs in the city.

A new juvenile justice center in Wyoming begins the movement to bring greater technological advancements to the education of the girls living there. The Wyoming Girls' School provides them with the state of the art tools they need to not fall behind while they fulfill their sentence.

There is a mental-health capacity crisis gripping Washington state. The area’s response approach, crafted over two decades, centers on a set of intensive outpatient and early-intervention programs aimed at preventing hospitalizations.

Children across the U.S. experience gender confusion, causing emotional stress in themselves and their family. Gender identity counselors and gender youth clinics are being created in multiple states to help families find peace in their situation.

Crime is a result of many underlying social issues, but Crime Lab, a research organization with branches in New York and Chicago, is studying which simple solutions will have the most impact in their city. Cost-effective efforts such as tutoring combined with cognitive behavioral therapy have proven to be successful.

Different programs in various nations are training ordinary people and creating community groups to effectively satisfy the mental health needs of their communities. In many of these regions, "treatment gaps" – where there are little to no mental health treatment plans or resources – exist, but this new informal infrastructure helps to fill that.

In Clayton County, Georgia, the Second Chance Court is using a different tactic to give offenders the opportunity to move forward. The program, started in 2010, allows selected teens to attend counseling and classes – often with their parents – centered around self improvement and appropriate behavior. Collaborating with a community organization, the Second Chance Court has been able to reduce recidivism in youth.

Science suggests that having a secure relationship with a caregiver can help protect a child’s brain and body from the effects of adversity. A Connecticut program for young children who have experienced trauma or other challenges has gotten results by focusing on that relationship – and the things that can interfere, including depression, family violence, and a parent’s own history of trauma.

U.S. courts are offering war veterans who face jail time the choice of rehabilitation. This helps them adjust to civilian life and reduces repeat offences.