Advocates Seek to Keep Youth Out of Adult Courts

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New York is one of two states to prosecute 16-year-olds as adults. Some state politicians want to change the law so that anyone ages 16 or 17 goes to a youth court instead of an adult criminal court. Proponents of raising the age argue a higher age of criminal responsibility allows more teens to outgrow criminal behavior. Advocates say that teenagers outgrow criminal behavior when treated like teens instead of adults, a point supported by science.

Aiming to Change Attitudes on a Tight Budget

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In order for 18-year-old Ashley Carroll to turn her prison cell resolution into a reality she had the help of a transition program that helps children in the city’s juvenile system.

Being Female in a System Designed for Boys

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While the majority of youth offenders are male, the nation’s juvenile justice system is dealing with more and more girls. In 2010, girls made up 29 percent of all juvenile arrests nationwide.

VIDEO: Life After Foster Care

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Aging Out: Life After Foster Care from Lindsay Armstrong on Vimeo. NEW YORK -- When Cordale Manning came to live with Elaine and Lee Fair at age 17, he was on his fourth foster home in as many years. The Fairs had a simple philosophy: as soon as a child entered their home, he or she became family. After countless family dinners, long conversations and moments of shared laughter, Manning started to believe them. However, a small voice still nagged in his mind. He worried that at 21, the age of independence, the Fairs would let him go and he would be alone.

Struggles and Successes, Voices From the Foster Care System

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NEW YORK -- Every time he combs his hair, Tomas Rios sees the scar. It happened when he was 12 years old, his seventh year in the New York City foster care system. By then, he’d already shuffled through a few different neglectful and violent families. By then, it all felt like routine. “I was living in one of the more abusive homes I’d ever been in,” Rios said.

The Steel Drum, It’s a Beautiful Thing

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Aphexlee / Flikr

They're usually associated with Bob Marley and the island culture of Trinidad and Tobago, but the calypso sounds emanating from a classroom at The Hamilton-Madison House are made by Asian hands. Hamilton-Madison is nestled within the Gov. Alfred E. Smith Houses in the Two Bridges neighborhood of Manhattan. For more than six years, the House ran a music school offering affordable private violin and piano lessons to the residents of the community. For those years, the Asian community overwhelmingly used the music school. Hoping to reach more black and Latino budding-musicians -- who make up almost 56 percent of the community -- the executive director suggested introducing a steel pan class.