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When it comes to overhauling its juvenile justice system, Virginia has garnered a reputation as a model of teamwork and progress. Yet even in a state poised to set a national standard, it’s still bedeviled by some of the same problems seen in other states, thanks in part to an outdated national attitude that juvenile offenders only deserve punishment.

Dec 2

Dec 2 ACLU 'pleased' with charges against St. Charles youth home guards

The American Civil Liberties Union is applauding indictments announced this week against four guards at the Illinois Youth Center in St. Charles, where law enforcement officials say detainees were encouraged to attack others as a form of discipline.

Dec 2

Dec 2 Young Offenders Weigh in on Connecticut's Juvenile Justice Overhaul

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Connecticut is in the process of overhauling its juvenile justice system. Plans to close the state’s juvenile jail in Middletown are underway and legislators are looking to replace it with a more effective system. To help find solutions, a new report has been created from the perspective of delinquent youth.

Young people who’ve experienced the juvenile justice system know firsthand what doesn’t work. But the bigger question is, what do they need to succeed?

Dec 1

Dec 1 Lack of Behavioral Health Care for Young People Limiting State Progress

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West Virginia is one of only a few states with rising levels of young people behind bars, and advocates say part of the issue is a lack of behavioral health care. (WV Virginia Center on Budget and Policy)

CHARLESTON, W. Va. – Lack of behavioral health care for children may be undermining West Virginia's efforts to reduce truancy, cut juvenile incarceration and improve foster care, advocates say.

Nov 29

Nov 29 Juvenile justice system failing youth and communities

Rochester, N.Y. — (WHAM) - It is designed to help young men and women in trouble with the law, but many close to the juvenile justice system say it is failing them and putting the lives of others in the community in danger.

There is a push for reform to bring the juvenile justice system up to speed with crimes being committed by kids and teens today. Many say a local, high profile case is a prime example as to why change is needed.

Nov 23

Nov 23 'Upstate Purgatory' Is An Up-Close Look At Life Inside Albany County Jail (Mature content)

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Albany County Jail in upstate New York houses over a thousand men and women. Inmates can be held here for over a year before their fate is sealed. For many, jail is a time in which they must confront the devastating consequences of their past in order to escape a living hell.

Nov 23

Nov 23 Conservatives Host Juvenile Justice Convo on Hill

A group of Republican and Libertarian groups spoke today in support of conservative-led juvenile justice reform, including an update to the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA).

“By not addressing criminal justice, from the ground level, with kids, we are missing an opportunity,” said Arthur Rizer, the justice policy director at the R Street Institute. “Conservatives hold up family as bedrock, but too often we are deaf to the basic needs of families. As conservatives we have to stop caring only about kids when they’re in the womb.”

Nov 23

Nov 23 Peer court for youths effective from all angles

It’s 6 p.m. on a Wednesday and a group of Davis High students have just listened to the charges against one of their peers.

It might have been for criminal mischief, it might have been for shoplifting. It might have been for possession of tobacco or for trespassing.

But now it is up to those students to determine the sentence.

Nov 22

Nov 22 A juvenile offender becomes a social worker

“Hood rat.”

That’s what a person called Amber Wederski when she was 10 years old sitting at the bus stop. It’s the moment, Wederski said, that made her feel like she was different — the “bad seed” other kids were not allowed to see. She was “going nowhere fast.”

“I had teachers, I had guidance counselors, who didn’t believe in me,” she said. “They treated me different, so I always felt like I was different.”

Fourteen years later, Wederski is on track to graduating from Warner Pacific College with a bachelor’s degree in human development.

Nov 22

Nov 22 The path to juvenile justice reform in Trump’s America

The eyes of the nation might be on President-Elect Donald Trump as he builds out his administration, but reformers holding out hope for progress might be wise to divert their gazes somewhere closer.

Nov 21

Nov 21 Philly locks up kids for truancy, fighting - then goes after parents for child support

Last summer, Kameelah Davis-Spears was just one year out of homelessness. She’d found a house for herself and her four children in West Philadelphia using a Section 8 voucher. And, between food stamps and her job, doing inventory for $10.20 an hour, she was finally making it from one paycheck to the next.

Then, she began getting letters: The city Department of Human Services (DHS) was going after her for child support.

Nov 21

Nov 21 Schools, Juvenile Court at odds over bad behavior

Amy Jones, director of Madison County Juvenile Court, says that over the past few years, the court has seen children brought in for disciplinary issues rather than delinquent offenses.

Nov 21

Nov 21 Long Creek (Maine) juvenile center’s mental health protocols questioned after suicide

'Every red flag should have gone up' in the case of a suicidal transgender teen, national experts say. So far, the state-run facility has shed no light.

Nov 17

Nov 17 Sunrise Rotary guest speaker talks about Walla Walla Juvenile Justice Center programs

Jon Cassetto serves the community as coordinator of juvenile therapeutic and family treatment courts programs at the Walla Walla Juvenile Justice Center.

He talked about his work during a recent Walla Walla Sunrise Rotary meeting.

An Eastern Washington State College alum, Jon and has been with the county’s Juvenile Justice Division for 16 years. His current position began in 2013 with the creation of Family Treatment Court. The Juvenile Therapeutic Court was added in February this year, according to a report from Sunrise Rotary.

Nov 17

Nov 17 Is Juvenile Justice Beyond Repair?

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The Youth First Initiative wants to help end the use of youth prisons. The justice-advocacy group works from the premise that detaining minors—whether in youth facilities or in prisons—is not just a poorly executed practice; it is simply beyond repair. “This model of incarceration is broken—it does not work,” says Liz Ryan, the president and CEO of the Youth First Initiative. “It actually has never worked."

Nov 16

Nov 16 City launches new recreation center for youth in juvenile hall

Juvenile Justice News, National News

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.

Nov 16

Nov 16 Why Lawmakers Are Ending Court Fees For Kids

Juvenile Justice News, Ideas and Opinions

When minors face criminal charges, their parents often face financial ones. That’s true throughout the country.

In some California Counties for instance, it can cost as much as $30 per-day for room and board for parents whose children are locked up inside juvenile hall. The bills don’t stop there. When kids are strapped with ankle monitors or assigned a probation officer, parents are often charged for that as well.

Nov 16

Nov 16 Juvenile Justice Jeopardy teaches teens about the law