Judge Advocates Fewer Youth Incarcerations

{ Kentucky}...Nationally known juvenile justice advocate Judge Stephen Teske spoke Wednesday in Covington at a forum organized by the Children Law Center, saying only a small proportion of at-risk youth need to be incarcerated. Records show Kenton County, which has a "zero-tolerance" policy on truancy, jailed 213 children last year for status offense. Those are acts that adults cannot be charged with, such as truancy and running away. Statistics also show Kentucky is among the top three states in the jailing of status offenders. Family Court Judge Chris Mehling says he has become more aware of the need to address underlying problems in an effort to keep children out of lockup and that numbers in Kenton County are starting to decrease.