Stop Solitary for Kids
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As someone who has both sued and run correctional facilities for youth in the juvenile justice system, I appreciate the dangers and challenges around the use of solitary confinement of youth.
An 11-year-old denied making a threat and was allowed to return to school. Tennessee police arrested him anyway.
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In late September, Torri was driving down the highway with her 11-year-old son Junior in the back seat when her phone started ringing.
It was the Hamilton County Sheriff’s deputy who worked at Junior’s middle school in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Deputy Arthur Richardson asked Torri where she was. She told him she was on the way to a family birthday dinner at LongHorn Steakhouse.
“He said, ‘Is Junior with you?’” Torri recalled.
Earlier that day, Junior had been accused by other students of making a threat against the school. When Torri had come to pick him up, she’d spoken with Richardson and with administrators, who’d told her he was allowed to return to class the next day. The principal had said she would carry out an investigation then. ProPublica and WPLN are using a nickname for Junior and not including Torri’s last name at the family’s request, to prevent him from being identifiable.
When Richardson called her in the car, Torri immediately felt uneasy. He didn’t say much before hanging up, and she thought about turning around to go home. But she kept driving. When they walked into the restaurant, Torri watched as Junior happily greeted his family.
Soon her phone rang again. It was the deputy. He said he was outside in the strip mall’s parking lot and needed to talk to Junior. Torri called Junior’s stepdad, Kevin Boyer, for extra support, putting him on speaker as she went outside to talk to Richardson. She left Junior with the family, wanting to protect her son for as long as she could ...
A campus shooting spurred her political awakening. Her whole family followed.
TUCSON, Arizona — Adriana Grijalva was getting ready to head to class at the University of Arizona in the fall of 2022 when she got a text message from her cousin telling her to stay put. The cousin, who works in maintenance at the university, had watched law enforcement descend on campus and reached out to make sure she was safe. A former student had just shot a professor 11 times, killing him.
Justice organization announces new youth restorative justice partners
Equal Justice USA (EJUSA) announced October 8 that it will partner with four new communities to build new restorative youth justice diversion programs. Restorative justice includes an accountability process that identifies root causes of youth criminal actions, while providing an opportunity for healing both for the person harmed and the person who has caused harm.
A Louisiana law meant to fight teen violence is sweeping 17-year-olds arrested for lesser crimes into adult court
Louisiana is the only state to pass and then reverse Raise the Age legislation. Louisiana’s criminal justice system now treats all 17-year-olds as adults. Is reversing Raise the Age making a difference in the number of violent crimes by 18-year-olds?
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Fixing a Broken System of Funding Youth Prevention, Intervention Programs
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If you are a young person in Los Angeles County who feels angry, has poor grades or disrespects authority, you might be “recruited” to voluntarily work with a probation officer and receive services — as long as you’ve never been on probation before.
I Miss My Daughter
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I know it’s been a while since I said I’d send my story to The Beat Within, but it’s just such a difficult situation. I don’t even know where to begin. I’m so lost for words, my thoughts of sanity sometimes even leave me.
Racial, Ethnic Disparities Stubbornly Endure in Juvenile Justice System, Expert Says
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It’s crucial to have policies and practices based on objective criteria, Davis said. When professionals go with their gut, he or she is most likely to let bias sneak into the decision-making process.
For People of Faith, Youth Justice Must Be a Priority
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We must ask ourselves how we can celebrate the sacrifice for the forgiveness of our sins or the deliverance of our ancestors while incarcerating our youth of color for sins for which we grant others redemption.
Case Now Strong for Ending Probation’s Place As Default Disposition in Juvenile Justice
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Combined with revolutionary advances in brain science and adolescent development research, the Chicago Crime Lab studies help to clarify the dimensions of a new and more targeted approach for combating delinquency and improving outcomes for high-risk youth generally. If only our nation’s juvenile justice systems took proper notice.
Always a Need: Recruiting Foster Parents
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"They're kids. They need a home; they need to be loved," says Catherine Harm, a social worker and prospective foster parent. Harm and her partner, Erica Chesser, are in the process of applying to become foster parents, including an in-home orientation session
NY Theater Company Tells Story of Man’s Life in Prison System
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Boots stomped rhythmically on the ground. Angry voices pulsed through the air. A capella voices pounded like a heartbeat, growing steadily faster and louder. The escalating cacophony was directed at the man sitting on the edge of the cot. He held his hands to his head.