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Youth in the News

Volume 2, Number 7, April 1-15, 2007

Contents
State Watch
Research
Government

STATE WATCH

Programs in Minnesota and Ohio offers housing options to homeless GLBT youth.
In Madison, Wisconsin, community leaders are working together to help disconnected and violent youth.
A new organization in one California county will help young women transitioning from the county foster care system.

RESEARCH

A new report shows that cigarette sales have increased in Massachusetts since funding for a tobacco prevention program was cut.

GOVERNMENT

Legislation reforming Texas’ juvenile corrections authority moves through the Senate.
In Pennsylvania, Senator Specter met with law enforcement officials and community leaders to discuss youth violence.
South Carolina legislators are considering increasing the cigarette tax to reduce youth smoking.
Lawmakers in Michigan debate anti-bullying legislation that addresses a victim’s sexual orientation.
In California, Senator Migden introduces a bill that would give new protections to LGBT youth in the juvenile justice system.
Oregon youth present bills to the state legislature.
Senator Dille introduces a bill requiring Minnesota colleges and universities to discuss personal finances during freshman orientation.
Several states have introduced legislation requiring minors to get parental permission to use tanning salons.

ARTICLES

MINNESOTA
GLBT Host Home Program Opens its Doors
By Heidi Fellner, Lavendar Magazine

Over a five-year period, 2 to 5 percent of the US population (five to eight million people) will experience at least one night of homelessness—a significant number, yet our homeless population remains an enigma. It’s a difficult group to study or quantify scientifically.

Outside the walls of social-service institutions, our interaction with homeless people is often awkward and rushed, as we race by on a busy street. Perhaps we give a few coins, or even a bill, but the conversation doesn’t linger.

We have a vague idea of who our homeless are and how they got that way, but according to recent statistics, our perceptions are often inaccurate. Most of us intuitively would expect poverty to be the single largest cause of homelessness. However, other factors may come as a surprise, particularly among homeless youth.

According to a recent report released by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, from 20 to 40 percent of homeless youth identify as GLBT. That’s an incredibly disproportionate number, considering that only 3 to 5 percent of the US population identifies as GLBT.

But among queer youth, family conflict—including a youth’s sexual orientation or gender identity—supersedes financial issues as the number-one reason for becoming homeless.

In fact, according to the National Coalition for the Homeless, an astonishing 26 percent of gay male teens who came out to their parents were told they must leave home.

Furthermore, young GLBTs who become homeless often have a difficult time in shelters, experiencing discrimination, harassment, and violence.

It’s a complex problem, but in Minneapolis, the GLBT Host Home Program (HHP), which is returning from a three-year hiatus, takes a unique approach. It works outside the government’s social-service system, and that has its advantages, especially for young people looking to make a positive change. Instead of forcing homeless youth into foster care, the program matches homeless GLBT youth with adults who volunteer to house them.

HHP Manager Raquel “Rocki” Simões says, “For a lot of people, if they have come out of foster care, the typical experience is, they don’t have a lot of decision-making power as far as where they’re going to live. Social workers give foster parents access to information about that young person and their history, but it doesn’t go the other way so much.”

In HHP, youth are allowed to read the files of prospective hosts, and they are able to decide whom they want to meet.

Currently, HHP functions through Avenues for Homeless Youth, a 15-bed shelter in North Minneapolis. In the mid-1990s, the program was founded under YouthLink, a Minneapolis youth diversion program. Simões was hired to lead it.

When Simões eventually left YouthLink to pursue other career opportunities, HHP faltered. A few years passed before Avenues approached her to restart the program under its roof, and YouthLink was very supportive of the switch.

“That’s the nice thing about working in the Twin Cities,” Simões notes. “There’s a lot of teamwork when it comes to youth organizing. I think YouthLink was definitely aware that this would benefit the youth they worked with as well.”

Most of Simões’s job these days is finding and training prospective hosts, as she relates: “Youth are referred to our program by a case manager, but it could be a case manager from any youth-serving agency. That’s not the problem. We need more homes.”

Simões cautions that not every applicant—adult host or youth—is an ideal candidate: “It’s for youth who are willing to try to work on a relationship that is safe and nurturing, and for a lot of young people, that’s a scary thing to contemplate.”

Likewise, adult volunteers are screened carefully to make sure the hosting experience would be mutually beneficial. They also go through an extensive 14-hour training process.

Simões explains, “We spend some time talking about the issue. We talk about homeless queer youth, a little bit of statistics, a little bit of the experiences of youth who have been on the streets.”

After that, the training becomes more introspective.

According to Simões, “We try to get some of the expectations, dreams, and hopes that some of the applicants have as hosts. Then, we spend part of the training talking about what happens when you put homeless youth that may have a lot of baggage with adults that might have their own baggage. More of it is skills-building training.”

A panel of adult hosts and youth is available to answer questions, and discuss their experiences.

Not every host/youth match results in a lifelong bond, but, in Simões’s words, “When that happens, it’s beautiful.”

The program is kept informal and open-ended—youth are able to stay with the host for as long as things work out, and they are working on their goals.

A youth could be hosted for as little as a month, or, as in the case of Michael “Vi” Haldeman and Qamar, hosting can blossom into a unique friendship. Haldeman came to the program as a prospective host six years ago. During host training, Haldeman met Qamar, who was participating in the youth panel.

“I was very impressed with his intelligence, and his willingness to give,” Haldeman recalls.

Qamar agreed to give it a try, and soon moved in.

“Actually, we’re roommates still, even though he aged out of the program years ago,” Haldeman adds.

Though the match worked out for both involved, Haldeman admits to having had initial reservations, recounting, “What I had to go on was just typical family scenarios, and I was afraid, because I’m atypical. I guess I was afraid that I wouldn’t have what the person needed. Those [fears] were quickly soothed, because Qamar is also atypical, and wasn’t looking for a substitute family, which was great. We created our own alternative something—clan, I guess.”

Being a host meant making some changes to Haldeman’s lifestyle, as he remembers: “Part of the process was letting go of the sense of being a completely autonomous person. And that involves letting go of some control over my life, my schedule.” Whatever inconvenience resulted from having to accommodate Qamar, the benefits of companionship far outweighed it.

In Haldeman’s words, “The biggest joy was just sharing my life and Qamar’s life, in what was really a nontraditional relationship, where even though we weren’t peers, we were creating something together with mutual respect. We both struggled with different things, but it always felt like we struggled together.”

Haldeman feels that hosting can be a profound learning experience: “Qamar’s a person of color, and I knew that I would be learning a lot about myself. It caused me to look at the world through somebody else’s eyes—someone with a different experience than mine. That’s something that a lot of hosts report.”

Presently, Haldeman is serving on the HHP advisory council. At the moment, he is working to create an informational video to highlight some of the issues that come up for hosts and youth who go through the program.

As Haldeman remarks, “The big ones are race, cultural differences, and helping hosts, who are mostly whites, to have a better understanding of white privilege, and what it would be like to host a person of color.”

Volunteering as a host may not be for everyone, but in addition to the continued need for available homes, programs like these also need the support of the Minnesota Legislature.

This year, Senator Scott Dibble (who has a longtime affiliation with HHP) and Representative Karen Clark both have authored bills to fund last year’s Runaway and Homeless Youth Act. Simões urges those concerned about Minnesota’s homeless youth to ask their legislators to support the bills.

OHIO
Helping LGBT homeless youth find their way
April 12, 2007
By Cornelius A. Fortune, Pridesource.com

For Redd, the Ruth Ellis Center was a rainbow in a window beckoning, and his life hasn't been the same since. Redd's family wouldn't accept her as a boy, it was a difficult coming out. "They wouldn't really say anything, it was just their attitude," he said. "They would prefer not to have me around so they won't have to say nothing. (The Ruth Ellis Center) is something I can do that I can't do with family."

His friend Shawn (also transgendered) had a similar experience. The Ruth Ellis Center provided the surrogate family neither of them have. "I don't really have a relationship with them," Shawn said of his family. "I talk to her (his mother) every now and then, but that's it. (Ruth Ellis) makes me feel like I belong somewhere and I fit in. And when I go there, they feed us, stuff like that I wish I could do with my family."

Such a scenario isn't uncommon to LGBT youth in Detroit and throughout the country. They're cast out by their families, discarded, someone else's problem. Redd is 20, Shawn is 18, and the system hasn't worked for them.

The Ruth Ellis Center, located at 77 Victor, in Highland Park, is designed to step in where the system fails homeless LGBT youth. A 5000 square foot building that sits on a mostly quiet street, where industrial buildings squat, and litter blows down the street, chased by other pieces of litter, the center is unassuming, but there's great work being done on the inside.

There is a dance floor upstairs for recreation. A selection of used clothes, some of dressier quality in case a youth has an interview. There's dust and wires everywhere. Empty soda bottles from where the contractors have been working.

By the time this goes to press, the new center will be open and ready for the next influx of LGBT teens either looking for a place to hang out, or a warm place to lay their heads - shelter from the cruel world that paints them as outcasts.

The Ruth Ellis Center, named for African American activist Ruth Ellis, who was known to provide shelter, physical support and spiritual affirmation to those whose race, orientation or both set them apart from the rest of society. She lived to the age of 101 and never stopped working to help those in her community.

The mission of the Ruth Ellis Center is to follow her model of responsibility to self and community for LGBT teens and young adults. Some of the programs they offer are: shelter; individual assessments and intake; basic life skills and counseling; interpersonal skill building; educational advancement; job preparation and attainment; mental health care; physical health care; youth development approach; and aftercare planning and follow-up.

The Transitional Living program houses youth ages 18-21, in an effort to get them to be completely independent. The shelter program is for ages 12-17.

According to a report released by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF) and the National Coalition for the Homeless (NCH), called "An Epidemic of Homelessness" LGBT youth make up 20 to 40 percent of the 575,000 to 1.6 million homeless youth in the nation. The report also notes that 26 percent of gay teens are kicked out of their homes when they come out to their parents.

Grace McClelland, executive director, has seen a lot since joining the center in June of 2003. The challenges are great, she admitted, but commitment to LGBT youth is paramount.

"Most people can understand and empathize with homeless youth in general. But when you start talking about the LGBT population a lot of folks seem to turn a deaf ear," said McClelland. "What I didn't expect in my job was the amount of time spent fund raising and advocacy and activism in the community, because a lot of people try to throw stumbling blocks in your way when you have gay, lesbian, (and) transgendered right in your mission statement."

Suicide rates are up for LGBT youth, she said. "LGBT runaway homeless youth are four times more likely to attempt suicide than their counterparts. Thirty percent of the adolescent completed suicides are by our kids."

The truth is, there are only a handful of drop-in centers equipped

specifically to help LGBT youth. "There are only four youth social centers in the country specifically working with LGBT kids," said McClelland. "We need two or three in Detroit. One is in L.A.; two are in New York City."

Support is hard found from the city itself. "We get no financial help from the city of Detroit. The mayor hasn't been open to conversations with Ruth Ellis Center. We keep trying."

Despite the obstacles and lack of support the organization has managed to go from being a $300,000 agency with two programs, a basic drop-in center program, and a transitional living program, to a $1,111,000 program.

In 2006 they had 14,880 significant contacts at the drop-in center, which makes them the largest drop-in center in the country for young people in the country.

"It's been a huge growth," said McClelland.

Much of the problem rests with the families of LGBT youth and the need for advocacy in Washington.

"Our young people for the most part are on the street because they are gay, and until society becomes more accepting and more tolerant of gay and lesbian people, there needs to be a cultural shift, we need more tolerance," she said. "Some of the major things that need to happen is there needs to be policy out of Washington - federal legislation that protect LGBT people. We need advocates in Washington, D.C. But the root of the problem rests with families."

There's a strong need for the community to become more active in helping LGBT youth in the city, she said. "The community doesn't take care of our youth who are coming out in droves, and not taking care of them. We're doing them a disservice (by telling them to 'Come Out') by asking them to do it. The general public needs to step up. This work is extremely personal. We have to get to a point where we shouldn't have to be talking about this, people need to step up."

Russell Mitchell, 26, is a residential counselor at Ruth Ellis. A position he's held for three years. He loves the center's push for helping LGBT youth. There's a fun aspect, a new extended family that he helps oversee.

"There's so much you can do. It's always fun. You get frustrated like any public service, (but) it's fun and exciting," said Mitchell. "I love the city and I have hope in the city. I can survive; I can eat here; I'm a theater major, everything that I want to do I can do right here. I love working here."

He loves the holidays best - it conjures fine memories. "I think during the holidays we can come together with our surrogate families. This is like my family," he said. "That's why I like this organization in the end, I think it helps us to provide better service to the youth. It's unique."

Lynn Nee, executive director of Michigan Network for Youth and Families, based in Lansing, agrees that the Ruth Ellis Center provides a service needed in Michigan. "Ruth Ellis is a standout in the country for their focus," said Nee.

"I think that the work that Grace is doing is standout. We're really lucky to have that resource in the state."

The Michigan Network for Youth and Families works with Ruth Ellis to ensure that the state is doing everything it can to help, including a series of trainings around the state to raise the capacity level of the providers, in an effort to keep LGBT youth safe. "It's important for them (teens) to be able to transition into adulthood and society," she said. "I'm really proud of the Ruth Ellis, when it comes to being open; we're really lucky that we have a progressive group of people. We've got some really phenomenal kids."

Without Ruth Ellis, Shawn quite frankly doesn't know where'd he be right now. "I probably would be locked up," he said. "Ain't nothing else out in this world, ain't nothing else to look forward to. They do a lot for us."

WISCONSIN
Curbing Youth Violence
By Lindsey Ramon, Wisconsin State Journal

Madison's top community leaders are teaming up to help disconnected and violent youth in the Madison area.

The group was formed after youth violence in Madison more than doubled -- from 1.7 percent of juveniles committing crimes in 2003 to 3.9 percent in 2005, according to the United Way of Dane County, which leads the delegation. The group plans to issue a final report in November, which will offer recommendations to schools, businesses and community members on how to help troubled youth.

More than 30 people make up the delegation, including Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz, Madison Police Chief Noble Wray and Bettsey Barhorst, president of Madison Area Technical College.

Group co-chair Corey Chambas, president and chief executive officer of First Business Financial Services, thinks the broad spectrum of ideas is important, because the solution will then have many components that span a young person's home, work and school life.

"There is no magic bullet on this," Chambas said. "This is a learning process, and we don't know what the outcome is going to be, but I'm confident that it's going to be broad-based and interdisciplined."

Chambas said the problem of disconnected youth not only affects crime rates in Madison, but also harms the economy and weakens the work force.

"For our local economy to continue to grow, we need kids who just graduated from high school to get training," Chambas said. "We need to get those kids engaged and keep them engaged and get them trained to keep them productive."

Erika Monroe-Kane, director of communications and community engagement at the United Way of Dane County, said the delegation already placed a survey online for community members to take as part of the initial phase. Future steps may include expert panels, radio call-ins, listening sessions and town hall-type meetings.

CALIFORNIA
Finding hope in foster homes
April 13, 2007
By Michelle Knight, Moorparkacorn.com

The year Raquel Montes turned 8, her life took a turn for the worse. Her mother died, and it wasn't long afterward that her father, an alcoholic, remarried. Their home had always been a violent one, but after her father married again, the abuse intensified.

Life for Raquel became unbearable. She was 12 the first time she ran away from home, and the occasion marked her first encounter with the Ventura County juvenile justice system. She was arrested and returned to her father. Two years later, however, she was removed from her father's home and he relinquished his parental rights. She was sent to live in a group home.

Living there was worse than any foster home would have been, Montes, now 22, told an audience of 200 on March 8 at Spanish Hills Country Club in Camarillo.

Girls living in a group home have no family life, no rights and no opportunities to develop life and social skills, she said.

"It's the worst place to be," Montes said.

Her life has since turned around. She's one of the few former foster youth to attend college. She gives credit to a program she participated in when she turned 18 that set her up in an apartment and taught her real world skills such as balancing a checkbook and shopping for groceries. But the program ended a few years ago when it lost funding, Montes said.

She shared her story with prospective volunteers who'd come to hear about a new effort underway to help this vulnerable population of young women.

The United Women's Leadership Council is a newly formed organization, under the umbrella of the United Way of Ventura County, with the mission of identifying critical gaps in social services, particularly those involving women, and working with agencies and organizations to fill them.

The council plans to focus its energies and resources on specific projects for at least three years. The first project the council has chosen is helping young women ages 15 to 19 transition from the county's foster care system into society.

Nationwide, half of all foster care youth become homeless sometime during their first 12 months of emancipation.

In California the picture is just as dismal. According to the Children's Advocacy Institute, of the 4,000 youth who age out of the foster care system each year, 65 percent have no place to live, 46 percent haven't completed high school, and 51 percent are unemployed. Fewer than 3 percent of former foster youth attend college.

In Ventura County, an average of 80 young women each year leave the foster care system when they turn 18. Many become pregnant, homeless and/or turn to gangs, alcohol or drugs.

"It's not a really pretty outlook for this group," said Lydia Ledesma-Reese, United Women's Leadership Council chair. In collecting data on this groupthe council has uncovered some of the unique challenges these girls are up against, which include living in 15 to 18 foster or group homes and having to make frequent adjustments to new schools, LedesmaReese said.

In addition, legal restraints often contribute to their loneliness and lack of friends, she said. For example, girls in foster care generally don't spend the night at friends' homes because the entire family would have to be fingerprinted.

"I don't know how we can fix that, but at least we've got to start looking at how we can fix these glitches," Ledesma-Reese said.

She said that although the council is still being developed, they've charted a course. They'll identify the agencies and organizations thawork with this population of girls and how best to supplement or enhance their efforts, including offering financial assistance. The council also plans to form focus groups to include current and former foster youth to get their input on how best to help young women.

LedesmaReese, a 30year educator who once served as presidenof Oxnard College, said the council will form a mentoring programmatching members with girls in foster care and empowering the girls through partnerships with other women's organizations, such as political caucus groups. The council is also encouraging its members to become foster parentsSince the March event, several members have signed up, she said.

The annual membership donation of $1,000 will be used to help young women who are leaving the foster care system get established, said Leanne Neilson, vice chair of the council and associate provost at Cal Lutheran University. Individuals can make a donation of any size to become a "Friend" of the council.

Amy Fonzo of United Way of Ventura County said that so far $23,000 has been raised through membership donations.

Another council event is planned for the summer.

MASSACHUSETTS
New Report Shows Massachusetts Is Falling Behind in Protecting Kids From Tobacco
Health Advocates Urge Legislature to Restore Tobacco Prevention Funding
April 11, 2007
Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids

Massachusetts' progress in reducing smoking has stopped and may even have started to reverse, and the Commonwealth -- once recognized as a national leader in fighting tobacco use - - has fallen behind the nation as a whole in reducing cigarette sales, according to a new report released today by the Tobacco Free Mass Coalition and the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.

The report finds that per capita cigarette sales in Massachusetts increased by more than three percent from 2005 to 2006, while cigarette sales nationally declined by more than three percent over the same period. It also finds that the smoking rate for Massachusetts high school students remained virtually the same from 2003 to 2005 after declining by 41 percent from 1995 to 2003, a period when Massachusetts had one of the nation's best-funded tobacco prevention programs. Funding for the program was cut by 95 percent from 2000 to 2004 before increasing slightly this year.

The report was released on the same day the Massachusetts House is releasing its 2008 budget. Health advocates are urging state leaders to restore funding for the Massachusetts Tobacco Control Program. Governor Deval Patrick has proposed increasing the program's funding from $8.3 million this year to $16 million, which is slightly less than half the minimum amount of $35.2 million recommended by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Health advocates praised the Governor's proposal and urged the Legislature to build on it.

"This report sounds a clear warning about what happens when states cut funding for tobacco prevention programs -- progress reverses, more kids become addicted to tobacco, more lives are lost and taxpayers pay more to treat tobacco-caused disease," said Matthew L. Myers, President of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. "Governor Patrick's proposal is an important step toward making Massachusetts a national leader again in fighting tobacco use. Now it's the Legislature's turn to support and build on the Governor's proposal in order to protect Massachusetts' kids and reduce tobacco's devastating toll."

"We have an opportunity to restore funding to a program that was once nationally recognized for reducing smoking and fighting the number one preventable cause of disease and death in the Commonwealth -- tobacco," said State Representative Rachel Kaprielian. "It's more important than ever we step up our efforts to protect kids because the tobacco companies are spending record amounts to market their deadly and addictive products. Legislatures everywhere need to begin to reverse this cycle of addiction by increasing funding for prevention and cessation."

"When our state's tobacco prevention and cessation program was fully funded, our youth smoking rate was among the lowest in the nation," said Dr. Gena Carter, Chair of the Tobacco-Free Mass Coalition. "Since funding was cut five years ago, we've seen a dramatic upward trend in illegal sales to kids, and the progress we made around youth smoking rates has stopped. We applaud Governor Patrick for recognizing the need to restore funding for tobacco prevention, and we urge the Legislature to follow suit and build on the Governor's proposal."

Massachusetts launched the Tobacco Control Program with funds from a cigarette tax increase approved by voters in 1992. Despite the program's considerable success in reducing tobacco use and recognition as a national model, funding was cut from $54.3 million in Fiscal Year 2000 to $2.5 million in Fiscal Year 2004, a cut of 95 percent over four years, before the slight increase to $8.3 million in Fiscal 2007.

The report highlights several trends that indicate Massachusetts' progress in reducing smoking has stopped or reversed since funding was cut for the Tobacco Control Program:

Between 1992 and 2003, per capita cigarette consumption declined almost twice as much in Massachusetts as in the country as a whole (47 percent vs. 28 percent). This trend changed dramatically after the Tobacco Control Program was cut. From 2003 to 2006, per capita cigarette consumption declined by seven percent in Massachusetts, compared to a 10 percent decline nationally. As noted, from 2005 to 2006, per capita cigarette sales in Massachusetts increased by 3.2 percent compared to a 3.5 percent decline nationally. This data is from the 2006 Tax Burden on Tobacco, an authoritative report on cigarette sales.
The smoking rate among Massachusetts' high school students declined from 35.7 percent in 1995 to 20.9 percent in 2003, a decline of 41.5 percent, according to the CDC's Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance survey. But the high school smoking rate was virtually unchanged between 2003 and 2005, declining slightly to 20.5 percent.
Data from the Massachusetts Association of Health Boards showed that between 2002 and 2003, illegal cigarette sales to minors increased by 74 percent in Massachusetts communities that lost a significant amount of their enforcement funding due to Tobacco Control Program cuts. Over the same time period, cigarette sales to minors increased by 98 percent in communities that lost all of their local enforcement funding.

Every year in Massachusetts, tobacco use claims approximately 9,000 lives and costs the state more than $3.5 billion in health care bills, including $1 billion under the Medicaid program. Smoking-caused government expenditures amount to a hidden tax of $742 per Massachusetts' household. The tobacco industry spends more than $233 million a year on marketing in Massachusetts, amounting to 28 times what the state currently spends on tobacco prevention.

Massachusetts this year will collect $658 million in tobacco-generated revenue from the tobacco settlement and tobacco taxes. It would take just five percent of this tobacco revenue for Massachusetts to fund its tobacco prevention program at the CDC-recommended minimum level of $35.2 million a year.

The report and corresponding charts issued by the Tobacco Free Mass Coalition and the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids can be found at: http://www.tobaccofreekids.org/documents/MA_program_rpt-4-9-07.pdf.

TEXAS
TYC Overhaul Bill Clears Committee
April 11, 2007
By Elizabeth Hernandez

Senate Bill 103 would:

Make TYC investigators commissioned peace officers
Increase training for juvenile correctional officers
Prohibit sending misdemeanor offenders to TYC
Require the state to reimburse local prosecutors when they try TYC cases
Create a full-time commissioner position appointed by the governor and approved by Senate
Create an advisory board of juvenile justice experts
Require Texas Rangers to visit TYC prisons unannounced

A bill that would overhaul the state’s troubled juvenile corrections authority passed the Senate Criminal Justice Committee on Wednesday and has nearly unanimous support as it heads to the full Senate.

The measure could mean big changes in the coming years for the Evins Regional Juvenile Center in Edinburg and the other youth prisons and halfway houses across Texas administered by the Texas Youth Commission.

Senate Bill 103 by Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa, D-McAllen, would bring an independent inspector general into the agency to study complaints, would reserve youth prisons only for those who commit felonies and would provide for studying ways to close some prisons.

“I think that it will address most, if not all, of the problems at the TYC,” Hinojosa said.

The state agency has been plagued by scandal recently over allegations that TYC employees sexually abused inmates, and that other employees who knew about the problems did nothing to stop them.

If it becomes law, the TYC reform bill would achieve immediately what would otherwise take five to 10 years to achieve through lawsuits, said Will Harrell, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas.

“If this bill passes and it’s fully implemented, Texas will go from a national embarrassment to a national model in juvenile justice,” Harrell said.

The TYC would be run by a single, full-time commissioner who is appointed by the governor and approved by the Senate, rather than being run by the current part-time board.

Its investigator would be peace officer with power to arrest and would report to the Legislature, Hinojosa said.

Students at TYC facilities would have direct access to outside juvenile advocates when they have complaints, and parents would be protected by a bill of rights.

“It’s as transparent as we can make it,” Hinojosa said.

He said he expects the bill to be heard on the Senate floor next week. Already, 30 of the Senate’s 31 members have signed on as co-sponsors of the bill, he said.

Rep. Jerry Madden, R-Richardson, chairman of the House Corrections Committee, said Hinojosa has a “very good bill.” Madden plans to present his own version in the House on Monday with some variations, including more authority for the attorney general to step in to prosecute locally, he said.

Like the Senate version, Madden’s bill will include a provision to prohibit judges from sending youth who commit misdemeanors to the TYC, he said.

Hinojosa and Madden both said they want to shift more resources toward community-based programs rather than locking up nonviolent offenders.

But prosecutors have expressed concern about having less flexibility in sentencing juvenile misdemeanor offenders.

“It’ll be one of the points of discussion,” Madden said of the misdemeanor issue. “While it’s important, it’s certainly not a bill-killer.”

TYC in recent years has suffered from employees physically abusing youth, high turnover and violence against employees. It gained nationwide attention in February with reports of sex abuse and a possible cover-up by employees at the West Texas State School in Pyote.

Lawmakers have made it a centerpiece of their agenda this legislative session.

PENNSYLVANIA
Youth violence focus of Specter meeting
April 06, 2007
By Paula Reed Ward, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Sen. Arlen Specter met yesterday with 41 local, state and federal law enforcement officials, as well as community leaders, to discuss the problem of violence in the Pittsburgh region.

No grand solutions or revelations came out of the 90-minute meeting, the senator said, but it did give the group time to discuss what programs were helping stem the tide of youth crime, and where resources for those might be available.

"The best answer we have come up with is mentoring," Mr. Specter said, touting the region's 150 mentoring programs. "Identify the at-risk youth and why they don't have guidance."

Those programs now have 20,496 children paired with trained adults, said Colleen Fedor, the executive director of the Mentoring Partnership of Southwestern Pennsylvania.

Though the programs are successful, Ms. Fedor said, there are not enough adult mentors available. There are more than 1,000 children on waiting lists.

"Mentoring done right works," she said. "Mentoring done poorly does more harm than good."

Participants in yesterday's meeting also talked about the needs of law enforcement.

U.S. Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan praised the Violent Crime Impact Team, a program started on the North Side over the past year that uses local, state and federal law enforcement officers in conjunction with neighborhood groups to drive out crime.

Mark Potter, special agent in charge of the Philadelphia field office of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said the program has resulted in decreased rates of homicide and aggravated assault with a firearm in that Pittsburgh police zone.

Officials would like to expand the program across the city, they said, but to do so requires more personnel and money.

"This is not a problem which is localized in Pittsburgh," Mr. Specter said.

He noted that Philadelphia had 406 homicides last year, and called it the "all-time worst."

Hoping to come up with firm plans to fight crime, the senator has already hosted similar meetings in York, Philadelphia and Reading.

"I wish we could portray a picture of success, but the reality is, crime in America is an enormous problem," he said.

SOUTH CAROLINA
New Report Shows South Carolina Can Save Lives and Taxpayer Money With 93-Cent Cigarette Tax Increase
South Carolina Would Also Raise More Than $220 Million in New Revenue Each
April 11, 2007

As South Carolina legislators consider life-saving cigarette tax increase legislation, a Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids report released today finds that increasing the state's cigarette tax to the national average would dramatically reduce youth smoking, cause many adult smokers to quit, reduce tobacco-related healthcare expenses and save tens of thousands of lives. According to the report, South Carolina would experience significantly greater health and economic benefits by increasing the cigarette tax by 93 cents a pack, to the national average, than by the 30 cents per pack proposal being considered today by the House Ways and Means Committee.

The 32-page report titled "Tobacco Tax Choices for South Carolina: Continue Subsidizing Smoking or Reduce Smoking, Save Lives and Cut Costs" finds that a 93-cent cigarette tax increase would prevent some 60,000 kids alive today from becoming smokers; spur more than 31,000 current adult smokers to quit; and save 27,000 South Carolina citizens from premature, smoking- caused deaths. A 93-cent increase would also raise more than $220 million in new revenue each year and produce $1.3 billion in long-term health care savings. The report was compiled by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and is endorsed by the South Carolina Tobacco Collaborative, the United Way Association of South Carolina and the South Carolina Hospital Association.

“This report provides further evidence that increasing South Carolina's cigarette tax to at least the national average will improve both the physical and financial health of South Carolina for generations to come. A 93-cent cigarette tax increase will significantly reduce smoking, save lives and reduce smoking-caused health care costs," said William V. Corr, Executive Director of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. "South Carolinians overwhelmingly support this measure because they know that it will prevent kids from starting to smoke, help smokers quit and save thousands of lives."

A 93-cent increase would boost South Carolina's lowest-in-the-nation 7-cent per pack cigarette tax to $1.00. The average state cigarette tax is currently $1.02 a pack, but is continually increasing as several states are taking action on cigarette tax increases.

Representative Rex Rice (R-Easley) has proposed increasing the cigarette tax by 30 cents per pack, which would keep the tax well below the national average. This would generate significantly fewer health and financial benefits for the state. As compared to a 30-cent increase, a 93-cent increase would prevent 41,200 additional kids from becoming smokers; spur 21,600 additional adults to quit; save 18,900 additional lives, raise an extra $128 million in revenue each year, and produce $926 million more in long-term health care savings.

"While South Carolina's leaders have the right idea about raising the state's lowest-in-the-nation cigarette tax, they should increase the tax to at least the national average in order to realize the significant health and economic benefits that will follow," said Dr. James Hebert, Director of the Statewide Cancer Control and Prevention Program and the Arnold School of Public Health at the University of South Carolina. "The growing number of states that have raised their cigarette taxes in recent years represents important progress toward reducing the devastating toll of tobacco in our country. It's now South Carolina's turn to join this movement to keep our kids from smoking, improve health and save lives."

The bill being considered today would increase the state's cigarette tax by 30 cents to 37 cents per pack; allocate 5% of the revenue to DHEC's youth smoking prevention and cessation program; expand Medicaid coverage from 50% to 100% of the poverty level; and reduce the tax on unprepared foods.

Tim Ervolina, President of the United Way Association of South Carolina, added, "South Carolina lawmakers have the rare opportunity for a legislative tri-fecta: provide health care for those who can't afford it, reduce the regressive and unjust tax on food and take real steps toward reducing tobacco use. What's not to like?"

A total of 43 states have increased their cigarette taxes in recent years, including the tobacco-growing states of Kentucky, Virginia, Georgia, Tennessee and North Carolina.

The evidence is clear that increasing the price of cigarettes is one of the most effective ways to reduce smoking, especially among children and pregnant women. Studies show that every 10 percent increase in the price of cigarettes reduces youth smoking by about seven percent and overall cigarette consumption by about four percent. In recent years, every state that has significantly increased its cigarette tax has enjoyed significant increases in revenue even while reducing cigarette sales.

Tobacco use is the leading preventable cause of death in South Carolina, claiming more than 5,900 lives each year and costing the state more than $1.09 billion annually in health care bills, including $393 million in Medicaid payments alone. Government expenditures related to tobacco amount to a hidden tax of $578 each year on every South Carolina household. While South Carolina has made significant progress in reducing youth smoking, 23.5 percent of South Carolina high school students are still current smokers, and 6,500 more kids become regular smokers every year.

MICHIGAN
Bullying of gay youth in spotlight
Conservatives say legislation would offer them special protection
April 09, 2007
By David Eggert, Mlive.com

De'Lea Cheatham braces for abuse every day.

The 17-year-old senior at Monroe High School says she frequently has been yelled at and shoved by other students because she's a lesbian. She doesn't want to get up some mornings because of the intimidation that looms.

It began in middle school and has only gotten worse in high school, says Cheatham.

"How can people do this?'' she asked last week during a day of lobbying lawmakers for bills that would require Michigan school districts to adopt anti-bullying and harassment policies. "Let me be who I want to be.''

It turns out Cheatham's plea, along with a push for schools to take bullying more seriously, isn't so simple.

While the Democratic-led state House passed anti-bullying legislation the day Cheatham and 200 supporters visited the Capitol, it was opposed by Republicans and may die in the Senate, which is controlled by the GOP.

Opposition largely exists because the measure would prohibit bullying based on a victim's sexual orientation - along with a number of other characteristics such as height, weight, religion and race.

Michigan law shouldn't formally recognize homosexual behavior, conservatives say, nor should gays get special protection. Republicans favor a broad ban against all bullying in schools.

Gay rights groups and others respond that the bills don't single out any group and say listing why students may be harassed would keep schools from ignoring certain types of intimidation.

"We need to protect everybody, all our students,'' said Rep. Pam Byrnes, D-Lyndon Township, a sponsor of the House legislation.

It would require school boards and charter schools to adopt anti-bullying policies and include provisions to educate students, involve parents and report, investigate and stop bullying.

Nearly 30 percent of teens in the United States are involved in bullying situations, according to the National Youth Violence Prevention Resource Center. The state says most Michigan schools report between one and seven bullying incidents per 100 students per year.

Bullying can have psychological and social ramifications for years afterward for both bullies and their victims. But parents and students say schools too often ignore the problem, shrugging it off as kids being kids.

A law would send a strong message that bullying must be taken seriously, says Kevin Epling of East Lansing, whose 14-year-old son, Matt, killed himself in 2002 after being smeared with raw eggs and syrup during a hazing incident.

Democrats and Republicans alike accuse the other side of putting politics before bullied kids, which frustrates Epling.

"This isn't a political issue. This is a very simple issue of right and wrong,'' Epling said. "Our kids should not have to be going to school and fearing for their own safety.''

If the measure is enacted, it would be the first time state law separates gays and lesbians into a protected class, according to the Midland-based American Family Association of Michigan.

"Public school officials have a legal duty not to put children at risk by in any way legitimizing or encouraging homosexual behavior,'' said Gary Glenn, the group's president.

Republicans were blocked when trying to delete categories such as sexual orientation from the bill, and add general language guarding all students from bullying.

"It should not matter why or for what reason someone is being bullied. It should be dealt with and punished equally,'' said Rep. Fulton Sheen, R-Plainwell. "Do we really want to label or identify a child by statute, thus attaching a stigma, which could be worse than the bullying itself?''

Democrats characterize that stance as "ridiculous'' and "outrageous,'' and say Republicans react only to their conservative base.

"It's shameful it would be done at the expense of kids,'' said Sen. Glenn Anderson, D-Westland, sponsor of an anti-bullying bill. He hopes the House vote will pressure the Senate to act. Anti-bullying measures have been proposed since 2001, and Democratic Gov. Jennifer says the bills are a no-brainer.

One student who supports the legislation is Ben Mathews, an 18-year-old senior at Monroe High and member of the school's Gay-Straight Alliance. Mathews says many students are bullied even if they're straight but perceived to be gay or lesbian.

"To think that a bill that would stop bullying and protect students would be held up just seems kind of ridiculous,'' Mathews said.

The anti-bullying bills are House Bills 4091 and 4162, and Senate Bill 307.

CALIFORNIA
Crisis of Abuse Against LGBT Youth Addressed in New Legislation
Migden Bill, Sponsored by EQCA, Protects Youth in Juvenile Justice System
April 2, 2007
By Equality California

Youth in California's juvenile justice system who are mistreated and harassed because they identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT) will be assured new protections in a new bill authored by Sen. Carole Migden, D-San Francisco, and sponsored by Equality California (EQCA).

SB 518, the Juvenile Justice Safety and Protection Act, would create a Youth Bill of Rights for young people residing in state and county juvenile justice facilities. It requires that youth be informed of the services available to them for addressing discrimination, harassment or other rights violations. SB 518 would also enact a comprehensive nondiscrimination policy in juvenile justice settings prohibiting bias based on actual or perceived race, ethnic group identification, ancestry, national origin, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, mental or physical disability or HIV status. The measure would also require that correctional officers and facility staff be property trained to implement such policies.

"LGBT youth who enter the juvenile justice system are extremely vulnerable to verbal, physical and sexual abuse based on their sexual orientation or gender identity," said EQCA Executive Director Geoff Kors. "In addition to abuse, these young people often become the victims of unnecessary isolation and confinement."

SB 518 is modeled after a similar bill of rights code established within California's foster care system. Lawmakers in Michigan and New York have proposed similar measures to protect youth in juvenile justice facilities. The Michigan Department of Human Services has adopted a bill of rights ensuring an environment free of discrimination, and last year New York legislators proposed an act to prevent the abuse of LGBT young people in juvenile facilities.

"My bill, SB 518, is about ensuring the safety of not only LGBT youth, but all youth, within the juvenile justice system," said Sen. Migden. "Even when young people have lost their way and are incarcerated, they should not be targets of violence and harassment."

"LGBT youth are often rejected by their families, harassed at school and isolated from society at large," Kors said. "As a result, they are more likely to suffer from homelessness, depression and substance abuse and may become involved in survival crimes or other activities that put them at higher risk of entering the juvenile justice system. The mistreatment they face there only adds to the other life challenges they are already trying to overcome."

OREGON
Students put ideas into bills, present them to Legislature
April 9, 2007
By Ann S. Kim, Portland Press

Kristie Cruz swapped her comfortable flats for a pair of dressier heels, took a seat inside the hearing room and quietly read over her testimony.

Cruz, 17, wasn't nervous yet, but expected she would be when she faced members of the Legislature's Education and Cultural Affairs Committee. It was her first trip to the State House and her first try at public speaking.

Regardless of jitters, Cruz had something to say. She and her classmates in Portland West's Youth Building Alternatives program were there last week to advocate a bill that would make resources on parenting more available to high school students.

The bill is one of a handful initiated by students this legislative session. The students have come up with the ideas, researched the issues and found lawmakers to sponsor the bills.

While it's uncertain whether the bills will pass, legislators working with the students say they like getting young people engaged in the democratic process.

"I'm honored and proud to be associated with this group," said Rep. Richard Woodbury, a Yarmouth independent and sponsor of the parenting bill. "They are the experts. I am not."

Woodbury met several times with the students at Youth Building Alternatives, which offers at-risk youths academic, vocational and life skills training. Woodbury said he knows that resources on parenting exist, but he became convinced through his interaction with the students that resources were not reaching those who needed them most.

Some of the students were teenage parents themselves. Others had relatives and friends who struggled as young parents with few resources. The bill has its origins in a letter to the editor written by a former student who was troubled by newspaper accounts of poor parenting.

"They think they don't have a voice. I think this is clearly a demonstration that they do," said Jack "Doc" Rogers, a volunteer writing tutor with Youth Building Alternatives.

A junior at Kennebunk High School came up with the idea for a registry of drivers who have had their licenses suspended for multiple instances of driving under the influence. Tyler Stewart, 17, told his adviser, Rep. Christopher Babbidge, D-Kennebunk, about his theory that greater community awareness of suspended drivers could keep them off the roads.

Babbidge told him he generally doesn't support registries but would sponsor a bill if Stewart would testify. The lawmaker came to believe that the public safety benefits of a registry would outweigh concerns he had about privacy. Babbidge said he learned about 45,000 drivers have suspended or revoked licenses because of operating under the influence and that 15,000 of those have multiple OUIs.

The bill was killed in committee, largely because of the estimated $484,000 cost as well as a federal driver privacy law that makes it difficult to publicize information from motor vehicle departments.

Stewart said he learned a lot and wants to find another way to address the problem.

"I basically told myself I'm going to work on this a long time just to help out," he said.

A tender age doesn't mean softball questions when it comes to legislation.

The Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee posed hard questions last week to a group of eighth-graders from Lyman Moore Middle School in Portland.

Last year, as the students worked on a civic education project, they came up with an idea to require guns to be sold with trigger locks. This year, they got Sen. Ethan Strimling, D-Portland, to sponsor legislation for them.

"We just decided we wanted to turn this into a law because we all thought it was very important," 14-year-old Lenny Schwartz said.

It turned out that a federal bill already requires guns to be sold with trigger locks, so the boys amended their bill to require locks on guns being stored.

George Smith, executive director of the Sportsman's Alliance of Maine, said his organization opposes the idea, but he praised the student effort.

"They did a beautiful job, better than many adults I've seen," he said.

The boys plan to return this week to present additional research at the work session. Committee members have asked them about laws in other states and information from other organizations.

Last week about 30 Youth Building Alternatives students -- nearly the entire student body -- were at the State House to support the parenting bill. They waited for nearly 2 hours in the stuffy room before six of their classmates spoke.

Brendan Burnell, 16, was looking forward to the experience.

"It feels great to be up here and have a chance to give my opinion," he said.

But 19-year-old Troy Day said after his testimony that he felt he wasn't heard.

"If someone's paying attention, it's called eye contact," he said. "Not playing on a computer, going on coffee breaks."

Cruz felt good about her experience. She told the committee how she got pregnant at 15 and was kicked out of her home, and how scared she was about taking care of her newborn, Joshua. She said she was anxious as she started but felt better as she got into her testimony.

"I liked the feeling afterward -- relief, that I finally got to say what I wanted," she said.

MINNESOTA
College students need Money 101, state Senate says
Legislator proposes that state colleges offer students personal-finance lessons before some get in way over their head.
April 9, 2007
By Norman Draper, Star Tribune

Normandale Community College student Jake Noack has a friend who piled up $12,000 in credit-card debt and had to quit college and work it off. Classmate Matt Jackson knows students burdened by college loans totaling $50,000.

If only they knew what Jake and Matt have absorbed in their personal-finance class.

College freshmen of the future may have to bone up on spending, saving and debt before setting foot in a college classroom if the Minnesota Senate gets its way.

The Senate's version of this year's higher-education spending bill would require the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU) system, and ask the University of Minnesota, to offer students a crash course in personal finances during freshman orientation.

The brainchild of Steve Dille, R-Dassel, the bill is part of a national response to the growing concern that soaring tuition, combined with many students' free-spending habits, will yield college graduates starting their adult lives too far behind to ever break even. Dille said he was shocked to learn that some of his constituents will graduate with $55,000 in loans.

The Minnesota Office of Higher Education reports that full-time students borrowed an average of $6,600 a year for college in 2004, the most recent data available. Add to that the $2,169 average credit-card balance a U.S. college student carried that year and you have a lot of bills to pay.

But would a quickie course such as the one Dille is proposing help?

"I think everybody has an idea of what personal finance is -- until they take a class," said 20-year-old Amy Nesbitt, another student in Normandale's personal finance class. "They don't have a clue."

Nesbitt has been able to keep her consumer and college costs under control -- so far. She just got a credit card and has been able to pay it off in full each month when the bill comes. But one of her high-school friends maxed out her credit card and is now working to pay it off. And Nesbitt is worried about what happens when she transfers to a four-year college in California with much higher costs.

"I'm dreading it," she said. "It's going to be so expensive."

Dille said that his plan goes hand in hand with another higher-education proposal that would clamp down on the marketing of credit cards at colleges and universities.

"I would hope that, with these two initiatives, we can produce students who know how to ... better manage their money, manage their finances so they can finish college with minimal debt, and, when they retire, retire as millionaires," he said.

States and colleges jump in

The double-barreled Senate approach of clamping down on credit-card marketing and offering freshmen a personal-finance primer aligns Minnesota with a handful of other states, said Julie Bell, education director for the Denver-based National Conference of State Legislatures.

Even without a law, many Minnesota colleges and universities have taken note of the need to help students make good money decisions. At Winona State University, freshmen are offered a semester-long orientation course that includes college loans and credit-card debt. The University of Minnesota offers free financial counseling to students and has an online student finance course available for parents.

As far as credit-card policies are concerned, colleges do things differently. Minnesota State University, Mankato bars credit-card companies from providing gifts for students when soliciting their business. The school also charges the companies a $75 fee. As a result, said spokesman Michael Cooper, "that has virtually eliminated any of that solicitation."

The University of Minnesota has clamped down on credit-card marketing on campus, with a significant exception: athletic venues. And, since last year, the U has allowed students to put their tuition payments on the plastic, a practice that worries some educators.

"It's a convenience that parents and students had been asking for for years," explained U spokesman Dan Wolter.

A student's right to spend

Winona State doesn't allow students to put college costs on their credit cards. Still, financial-aid director Greg Peterson thinks the student-debt problem might not be as extensive as some fear.

"Students have the right and freedom to use credit cards as they wish, and a lot of students use those cards responsibly," Peterson said. "I guess I'd say in terms of the volume of individuals who might be developing a problem, it's not as large as people might assume. In terms of the people who do develop a problem, it can be very serious."

Normandale student Jackson, 25, figures he has got things under control. His dad helped him pay for college until last year, and working 20 hours a week helps pay expenses. He figures he can handle the $3,500 in loans he has taken out so far, and the $15,000 in additional borrowing he will need when he transfers to the U next year.

But some of his buddies present a different story.

"Several of my friends got in trouble spending $10,000 on their credit cards" he said.

TANNING SALONS
Some states say no to teen tanning
April 3, 2007
By Jennifer Nedeau, Stateline.org

No smoking. No drinking. No talking on cell phones while driving. Now, the latest no-no in state laws aimed at underage teens is indoor tanning.

Spurred by worries about skin cancer, Utah and Virginia this year joined 25 other states, including Mississippi, in placing limits on teens seeking a bronze glow from the ultraviolet lights of a tanning bed. North Dakota's Legislature is putting the final touches on a measure to also clamp restrictions on tanning salon patrons under age 18.

Most of the laws require underage teens to get parental permission to lie under the tanning-bed heat lamps that emit intense UV light. A handful of states completely ban access to artificial UV light in salons for those younger than 13, 14 or 16. Others require teens to bring along a parent or a doctor's prescription.

Critics say the tan bans are an example of government overreaching, while advocates compare the use of tanning beds to cigarette smoking and the drinking of alcohol - unhealthy practices states already put off limits to minors.

"We have labeling on cigarettes and alcohol and nothing on tanning beds that says 'known carcinogen,' " said Dr. Arielle N.B. Kauvar, a dermatologist who chairs the American Academy of Dermatology Council on Communications.

But the restrictions have incensed the $5 billion indoor tanning industry and led to charges of government "nannyism."

"I think it is a personal right to tan, just like it is to talk on a cell phone. When are we going to stop over-regulating the lives of our youth?" said North Dakota state Sen. Nick Hacker, a Republican, who voted against imposing tanning restrictions.

The North Dakota bill, which passed the House and was approved with amendments by the Senate, would bar customers under age 14 from indoor tanning without a physician's prescription and the presence of a parent and would allow those ages 15 to 17 to tan only with signed parental consent.

State Sen. Ralph Kilzer, a Republican and physician who is one of the sponsors of North Dakota's bill, said teens are most affected by exposure to UV light.

Virginia's new law, which takes effect in July, will require teens under 15 to get parental consent before going into the salon. Utah's new law requires parental consent for anyone under age 18.

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Michigan, Maryland, Nevada, Oregon and Vermont are considering teen-tanning legislation.

In 2006, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services declared ultraviolet radiation from the sun and artificial sources, such as tanning beds and sun lamps, is carcinogenic.

While there are safer options, such as spray-on tans, most tanning salons only provide beds with heat lamps.

Kauvar, the dermatologist, said bulbs from tanning salons emit 15 times the rays of natural sunlight, elevating the possibility for frequent users of developing melanoma and nonmelanoma cancer. There are an estimated million new cases of skin cancer each year. "It is extremely risky behavior, and research indicates it is habit-forming," Kauvar said.

The Indoor Tanning Association, which boasts 25,000 professional indoor tanning facilities in the United States and 30 million customers, insists moderate exposure to the sun can be a benefit.

An article posted on the Indoor Tanning Association Web site states sun exposure can help fight off depression by boosting levels of serotonin, reduce heart disease by raising levels of Vitamin D, prevent diabetes, prevent cavities, boost fertility, ease irritable bowl disorder, combat menstrual problems, ease skin conditions such as psoriasis, acne and eczema and even can help with weight loss.

"After 30 years of giving bad advice about the sun itself, they moved the argument to tanning beds. They were wrong about the sun, and they are wrong about tanning beds," said John Overstreet, executive vice president of the tanning association.

According to an Academy of Dermatology news release, more than 1 million people use tanning salons on an average day. Of these, 70 percent are white females ages 16 to 49. More than 25 percent of teenage girls have used tanning salons three or more times in their lives. The academy has identified the risks of indoor tanning as premature aging - such as age spots and wrinkles - and skin cancer.