The widespread misconception means records that people think are blocked from view can come back to haunt them later in life.

King County (WA) juvenile justice and youth services leaders held a press roundtable last Friday, March 10, to provide the latest update on the newest programs focusing on community engagement and restorative justice.

Three states that have led a trend toward once again trying 16- and 17-year-olds as juveniles have seen falling juvenile crime and stable costs.

That’s a major finding of the Justice Policy Institute’s report, “Raising the Age: Shifting to a Safer and More Effective Juvenile Justice System,” according to the organization’s press release. The report, released March 7, looks at the results of “raising the age” in seven states that have done that in the past 10 years: Connecticut, Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Hampshire and South Carolina.

A controversial practice of routinely handcuffing and chaining children who appear in juvenile court has been stopped by Jefferson District Judge David Holton, to the delight of children's advocates and public defenders who have decried the practice since it began in 2011.

The state Senate passed a bill Wednesday that would make correctional officers in juvenile prisons mandatory reporters for child abuse and neglect.

HOUSTON (KTRK) --

ABC13 Investigates has learned Harris County's Juvenile Probation Department recently transferred dozens of severely mentally ill juveniles from a psychiatric hospital to the downtown detention center. The move comes after the department canceled its contract with the Harris County Psychiatric Center on January 31.

A proposal to limit the discretionary power prosecutors wield in charging juveniles as adults in Florida has surfaced once again in the Legislature.

For several years, versions of a bill to change how minors end up in adult court have failed. But state Sen. Darryl Rouson, D-St. Petersburg, a co-sponsor of this year's SB 192, said he is optimistic the measure will move forward this time given the shift in valuing rehabilitation over punishment.

In juvenile court circles, the program is loosely referred to as the mental health docket. Its more formal title is IDD, which stands for Individualized Disposition Docket. Loosely modeled after a similar program in California, it has been a quiet collaboration between the court, Lighthouse Youth Services, Hamilton County Mental Health and Recovery Services Board and Mental Health Access Point. Based on early successes, it expanded to include the Pretrial Diversion Docket (PDD) that seeks to catch kids earlier in the court system.

A Juvenile Justice Summit at the Washington Post recently brought together experts in the field to discuss how federal and state efforts — including a movement to end solitary confinement for youth — can improve the justice system for young people. The Annie E. Casey Foundation was the presenting sponsor, and news site Mic co-presented the summit.

The Florida Department of Juvenile Justice is requesting $5.2 million more in the upcoming state budget to to add 60 beds at its residential facilities. Some advocates say that money could be put to better use to help kids avoid residential facilities altogether.

Wisconsin is one of just a handful of states that has allowed its youngest prison inmates to be punished by placing them in solitary confinement for more than 10 days — a practice that is at the heart of a federal lawsuit filed this week.

And it’s in the minority nationally in not prohibiting punitive solitary confinement, which inmates at Lincoln Hills School for Boys and Copper Lake School for Girls have faced as punishment for serious misbehavior since the facility opened in 1970, according to a 2016 survey conducted by the Lowenstein Center for the Public Interest.

Legislation to protect young people from establishing criminal records for petty theft, alcohol usage, vandalism, and other misdemeanor offenses is moving forward.

The Florida Senate Committee on Criminal Justice has given its nod to a bill that would require a law enforcement officer to make one of two choices when encountering a young person who has committed a misdemeanor offense for the first time: Issue a civil citation instead of an arrest; or require that the young person participate in a diversion program such as a conflict resolution class, teen court or community service.

The Utah Juvenile Justice Working Group submitted to state leaders a comprehensive set of data-driven policy recommendations designed to increase public safety, effectively hold juvenile offenders accountable, and focus juvenile justice system resources on youth who pose the greatest risk to public safety.

The group’s recommendations will be used as the foundation for statutory, budgetary, and administrative changes during the 2017 legislative session.

San Francisco city officials on Tuesday celebrated the official opening of a new recreation center for youth at Juvenile Hall.

The Merit Center, a pilot program that makes use of existing space at Juvenile Hall, will allow qualifying youth a chance to play foosball, ping pong and video games and participate in movie nights and other group activities, officials said.