NY Summit Examines How to Help Formerly Incarcerated

Leyla Martinez didn’t expect to be accepted to Columbia University. She applied to demonstrate a lesson — not to limit himself — to her then-16-year-old son. She was 40, a single mother and formerly incarcerated, not the typical Columbia applicant.

LA County Puts Thousands of Kids on ‘Voluntary’ Probation for Merely Struggling With School

Marbella Munoz was a foster child for most of her life. As is true for many foster children bounced through multiple placements, she was frequently forced to change schools.
Munoz’ story comes from a new report that examines and analyzes a controversial youth crime prevention strategy run by the Los Angeles County Probation Department, the nation’s largest juvenile probation system.

How LA County Began to Face Its Big Problem With Youth Being Sex-Trafficked

Michelle Guymon is a hero in the world of child sex trafficking prevention.
Seven years ago, she had no idea Los Angeles County had a child sex trafficking problem
Now Guymon is director of the Child Trafficking Unit for the Los Angeles County Probation Department and is part of the group that aims to make LA’s efforts to combat child sex trafficking a model for the nation.

Mothers Whose Children Have Been Killed by Police, Arrested Meet to Organize

The mother never wanted to talk in public about what happened to her son.

For 24 years — since her then-17-year-old son Ronald was pulled off a bus in Washington, D.C., charged and eventually convicted of murder — Donna Heyward always avoided recounting the pain of losing her oldest child to the criminal justice system.

LA’s Youth Probation Camps Have a Problem With Graduating Kids (But It’s Not What you Think)

The Los Angeles County Office of Education boasts that scores of young people who were at risk of dropping out of high school get their high school diplomas or their GED credentials while they’re in LA County’s juvenile probation camps each year. It’s a monumental and pivotal moment for students who often have fallen behind in school and so might not expect such an accomplishment.

NY State Extends Budget Talks With No Agreement Yet on Raise the Age

After missing a Saturday deadline in part due to disagreement over proposed raise the age legislation, New York legislators signed bills submitted by Gov. Andrew Cuomo to approve a 2018 State Budget Extender and avoid a government shut-down.