Juvenile Offenders are going Home for Punishment in New York City according to this story by Leslie Kaufman in today's New York Times. The alternative sentencing program, called the Juvenile Justice Initiative, sends medium risk offenders back home, where the family and offender receive intensive therapy. The city reports that last year, the initiative proved successful for the juveniles enrolled and reduced the cost of housing them in residential treatment centers. Fewer than 35 percent of the 275 youths that have been through the program have been rearrested or violated probation.

Parents Are Demanding Answers from officials at E.O. Green Junior High School in Oxnard, CA, regarding last week's on-campus shooting of 15-year-old Lawrence King. Catherine Saillant from the New York Times reports that hundreds of parents filled the gym last night to ask why school officials were not more aggressive in preventing the shooting after several students reported ongoing harassment between student Brian McInerney, the alleged shooter, and King, who proclaimed himself gay. Mclnerney is being tried as an adult.

Judge Alters Sex Offender Law
A story, by Holly Abrams in yesterday's Sandusky Register reports that the U.S District Court for the Northern District of Ohio has suspended the notification requirement in a new federal sex offender law for some offenders. The order will permit a reported 54 sex offenders in Erie County to move into a neighborhood without any notification to the other residents. The Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act, which became law on January 1, is being challenged as unconstitutional. The judge's order was the result of a plea bargain between the state and the law's opponents.

Too Tough for Texas: Legislators and law enforcement officials are balking at the reporting requirements under the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act (referenced above). States have until 2009 to adopt the new law's provisions or lose millions in federal criminal justice funds, according to this story by Lisa Sandberg in the Houston Chronicle. "We think our laws are strong enough," said Senator Florence Shapiro, R-Plano, a leading advocate for registering sex offenders in Texas. Texas officials believe that the new federal reporting provision is not worth complying with because it’s too costly and labels too many people as sex offenders.