CA juvenile system: Multicolored illustration of around 25 yung faces behind vertical bars

Opinion: A Case for Better Funding of California’s Community Alternatives to Juvenile Detention and Probation

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Supporters of the juvenile justice status quo wrongly claim that community-based organizations are not yet strong enough to serve all youth who may otherwise cycle through juvenile courts, detention centers and on and off parole rosters. Ideally, opponents to reform say, youth would be served by nonprofits close to home, but that cannot happen until enough suitable nonprofits are available. This line of thinking ignores the community-based direct services already offered in many areas, from life coaching in Oakland to legal support in Los Angeles. Failing to adequately support these existing community services keeps us stuck in a cycle of waiting. Instead of waiting for community-based organizations to grow above and beyond their present capacities, how about we actually do the work required for their growth?

Immigrant children left at border: Woman with long, dark hair in red top sits at table crying with hands folded on table.

Watchdog: US Forced Deported Parents to Leave Kids Behind

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WASHINGTON (AP) — A government watchdog says the Trump administration, under its practice of separating families at the border, forced migrant parents to leave the U.S. without their children, contradicting claims by officials that parents were willingly leaving them behind. 

NY mental health school budget cuts: Ypung, dark-haired girl in light blue shirt wearing mask, sits at desk with head on arms

Mental Health Cuts in Poorest New York City Schools Amid Pandemic

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As the pandemic raged across New York City in spring 2020, Jose Rivera trekked from the Bronx to Coney Island, Brooklyn to Far Rockaway, Queens, dropping off 100 computer tablets and dozens of food vouchers to public school students, including undocumented Yemenis and Bangladeshis and their families. 

South Carolina's juvenile prisons director: Sitting wearing dark suit, white shirt and glasses, South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice Director Freddie Pough testifies in front of state lawmakers in Columbia, S.C.

Lawmakers Grill South Carolina’s Juvenile Prisons Director

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COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina legislators are pushing to replace the director of the state’s embattled juvenile prisons, who stumbled through more than three hours of questioning last week.

New Mexico Second Chance Law Fails: New Mexico State Capitol tan adobe building front exterior, Santa Fe, NM

Ban On Juvenile Life Without Parole Fails In New Mexico

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A bill that would have prohibited life sentences and mandated earlier probation eligibility for juveniles has failed to become law in New Mexico, exposing deep rifts between those seeking judicial reform and victim advocates. 

Teen Life Sentence Unjust: Life Without Parole text overlay on white hallway lined with barred prison cells

Opinion: High Court’s Recent Juvenile Lifer Ruling is Barbaric

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The U.S. Supreme Court last month affirmed that lifetime imprisonment without the possibility of parole is just punishment for Brett Jones, who was convicted in 2005 of murdering his grandfather, a tragedy that the then 15-year-old said was an act of self-defense. 

wi-fi Homeless shelters: Teen boy in mask wearing dark hoodie sits at table facing open laptop

Court: New York City Must Give All Homeless Shelters Wi-Fi

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New York City must finish installing Wi-Fi in shelters for homeless families and domestic violence victims by Aug. 31, according to a settlement reached this week in U.S. District Court in Manhattan. The order will benefit more than 11,000 homeless children living in some of the 240 family shelters across the city’s five boroughs -- which count a total of 110,000 homeless students -- who’ve struggled with remote learning during the Covid-19 pandemic.

police: Protesters hold signs that say police-free schools now

Opinion: We Are Terrified Police in Our Schools Will Harm Us

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Every day, I walk into school greeted with silencing stares from armed police officers. They’re not facing the windows or the doors looking out for a stranger who could walk in and hurt my friends and me. Their eyes are on us, not some external threat. We walk past them silently, afraid that anything we do or say will be perceived as a “threat” that will lead to suspension, arrest or worse, physical harm. 

Our schools have normalized this fear by allowing officers to patrol our hallways and criminalize us. In my county, a police officer was celebrated for tasing a Black freshman girl three times inside her school cafeteria.

Mexico border kids in cages: Lone child stands wit teddy bear holding onto chainlink fence.

Number of Kids Alone At Border Hits All-time High In March

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The U.S. government picked up nearly 19,000 children traveling alone across the Mexican border in March, authorities said Thursday, the largest monthly number ever recorded and a major test for President Joe Biden as he reverses many of his predecessor's hardline immigration tactics.

Black and brown students: Elementary school teacher who’s a man of color helping student of color in classroom

Opinion: Marginalized Youth Need Real Change in Schools, Courts, Other Systems

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I discovered my purpose when I was 21 years old, and the man I’d tackled during a pick-up football game shot me three times in my legs. He was upset that I’d tackled him so hard. It made me want, profoundly, to understand my fellow player’s extraordinary anger and, perhaps, that of other Black and brown kids whose life circumstances had pushed them down the wrong path ...