House Lawmakers Introduce JJDPA Reauthorization

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A bipartisan group of House lawmakers introduced long-awaited legislation today that would strengthen the key federal law protecting youth in the juvenile justice system.
The Supporting Youth Opportunity and Preventing Delinquency Act (HR 5963) aims to help local and state officials better address the needs of youth by preventing their involvement with the juvenile system, protecting them in custody and helping them transition back into the community.

Teen Inmates Can Still Evolve Enough to Help Others Like Them

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When I was 13, I was convicted of first-degree murder for my involvement in the loss of another child’s life. I was sentenced to 25 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections and labeled an incorrigible gang member. Since my release I have dedicated ourselves to uplifting our communities. Much like me, these men at San Quentin can help ensure that other children do not go down the same path they traveled in life.

Juvenile Justice Reformers Driven by Memories of Mistakes in Their Less-informed Past

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Adolphus Graves, the chief probation officer of Fulton County Juvenile Court in Atlanta, was driven to transform his juvenile justice system by the mistakes he made as a young probation officer.
“I was a little wayward and misguided as a probation officer,” he said. “Knowing my times as a probation officer, and how many things I did horribly, or how many children that I irresponsibly, or sometimes just ignorantly, subjected to detention because I had no other tools. ... The recurring theme consistently has been the lack of knowledge, of understanding what’s going on, the depth of what’s going on in a child’s life.”

The Case That Got Me Hooked on Restorative Justice

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What started as a stressful night as a chaperone for a school trip emerged as the beginning of a great journey in discovering how discipline can actually be a positive experience for everyone involved. Can you imagine that?! I can, because I have now seen it repeatedly with my own eyes.