OP-ED: Don’t Shelve the Report, Mr. Attorney General
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The report states that, “We should stop treating juvenile offenders as if they were adults..."
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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Efforts Underway to Boost Low Juvenile Expungement Numbers
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Thousands of young adults are missing out on getting a clean start in life.
OP-ED: Racism and the Nation’s New Reality
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On white privilege and systemic racism in the juvenile justice system.
The JJIE Interview: Nate Balis Steps up at Annie E. Casey
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Nate Balis acknowledges he has big shoes to fill. After all, he’s succeeding Bart Lubow as director of the Juvenile Justice Strategies Group at the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Lubow designed and managed the Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI), which began in 1992, and he is something of a legend in juvenile justice circles. JDAI is the nation’s most widely replicated juvenile reform effort, now operating at more than 250 sites in 39 states and the District of Columbia. “Bart is one of my mentors; he’s one of my heroes in the field,” Balis told JJIE.
OP-ED: Leaving the Past Behind: Sealing Juvenile Records
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Justice-involved youth across the nation may experience extended harmful effects from punitive policies regarding their juvenile records, whether they are likely to reoffend or not. However, youth in California may soon have access to the opportunities afforded by a clean slate.
Florida Budgets Put Priority on Hometown Projects Over At-Risk Kids
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In Florida budgets, legislators’ pet projects may account for more new money than the neediest kids.
PACE Embracing the Needs of Girls, Looks to Expand Beyond Florida
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A Florida program created in 1985 for girls who had a brush with the law has now developed into a highly successful intervention program.
PACE Center for Girls was called "the most effective program in the nation for keeping adolescent girls out of the juvenile justice system” by the Annie E. Casey Foundation in its 2008 Kids Count report.
Brain Changes Linked to Casual Marijuana Use
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Young marijuana smokers showed significant structural abnormalities in two key areas of the brain — the “pleasure center” and a brain region central to emotional response, a small study has found.