Fifty thousand.

On any given day, that’s roughly the number of children locked up in youth prisons or other out of home confinement throughout the US.

Yes, this year was one of the worst in recent memory. But what if I told you there’s reason to hope — that there is still some good to latch on to?

Well, there is. Here are 11 criminal justice victories to prove it.

Circuit Judge Linda Pauel talks about starting a book program for young defendants in her chambers Thursday, August 24, 2017, at the Juvenile Court Building in Chicago. Judge Pauel has a shelf of books in her courtroom that she often lends to juveniles.

In Richmond, the city has hired ex-convicts to mentor dozens of its most violent offenders and allows them to take unconventional steps if it means preventing the next homicide.

The consequences system-involved youth experience by not having these essential records include potential housing instability, the inability to pursue certain educational opportunities and financial aid, and lack of access to public benefits. Not having identification can also be a barrier to employment. 

The California Legislature should pass Senate Bill 190 and lead a national movement to end the practice of charging parents for the costs of children being in the juvenile justice system. Under current law, counties can charge parents or guardians for detaining minors, as well as for electronic monitors, substance use testing, probation, and home supervision. Such charges yield little net revenue or benefit for the government, but impose enormous financial burdens on families.

How parents are gerrymandering school borders and fencing out poor kids.

os Angeles County’s impressive Campus Kilpatrick opens its doors Friday and will welcome its first juvenile residents next month, and that is cause for cautious optimism and careful stock-taking in the county’s troubled Probation Department.