Drug court: Closeup under night streetlighting of policeperson in dark uniform handcuffing a suspect in gray sweatshirt

‘We can’t incarcerate our way out of the problem’: Why some judges favor drug courts’ treatment-based approach

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Charged with possession and use of marijuana and cocaine, destruction of property, disorderly conduct and assaulting a police officer, John stood before a juvenile court judge imagining that he’d be sentenced to years of incarceration. Instead, the judge sent him to drug court, a 15-month program providing medical treatment for substance abuse; psychological counseling; mediation and relationship-building services for substance abusers’ families; and assistance seeking education and employment.

California: Young men sit srpind table with built-in chairs in large ron and stairs leading ro balcony above with doors to several rooms.

California: Is this how you want your kids to be treated?

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“How would you want your kids, if they were in these facilities, to be treated?” 

That question was raised by formerly incarcerated youth and current juvenile justice advocate James Martinez at a meeting of California’s Board of State and Community Corrections. The BSCC is a state agency tasked with overseeing jails and county-level juvenile facilities in California. In early November 2022, the board’s Executive Steering Committee, met to begin rewriting critically important rules governing juvenile camps, ranches and halls.

Juvenile justice_youth behind fence: young male offender standing behind chain link fence

New Mexico has lost track of juveniles locked up for life. We found nearly two dozen.

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The New Mexico Corrections Department has lost track of nearly two dozen prisoners in its custody who are serving life sentences for crimes they committed as children, an error that could keep these “juvenile lifers” from getting a chance at freedom under a bill likely to be passed by the state Legislature within days.

Disabled students at higher risk for arrests, dropping out: male detention worker walks a black juvenile offender down a hallway

Disabled students at higher risks for arrests, dropping out and being unready for adulthood

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Bullied at his Philadelphia high school, Earl Morris’ son started defying his teachers and his father and allegedly stole from a convenience store. Those charges against the then 15-year-old, who’d been diagnosed with disabilities including anxiety and depression, were dismissed when a witness failed to appear in court, his father said, recalling what happened five years ago.

Georgia House votes to prosecute 17 year olds as adults: white woman with short brown hair speaking into mic at podium

Georgia House votes to prosecute 17 year olds as juveniles

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Lawmakers in the Georgia House voted Monday to raise the age limit to 17 for prosecuting young defendants in juvenile court. House Bill 462 was approved on a vote of 145-22, sending it to the state Senate for further debate.

Justice: Scales of justice in front of multi-colored illustration of overlapping profiles of people.

Opinion: Balancing incentives and sanctions to achieve youth justice progress

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Recently I became aware of additional research on youth probation published by the National Partnership for Juvenile Services that provides compelling findings related to juvenile probation and juvenile courts’ use of incentives versus sanctions to achieve reductions of recidivism among youth.

Ex-state adviser implicated in youth center abuse lawsuits: two hooded people look out at city from high window

Ex-state adviser implicated in youth center abuse lawsuits

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The girls at New Hampshire's youth detention center called their dormitory leader "Peepin' Dave" because they say he leered at them through a bathroom window. But David Ball, later promoted to chief of operations, also is accused of much worse.

Prison College by Cell Phone: IIlustration od man in range jumpsuit walking out of cellphone the size of a doorway inti a desert landsacaoe with mountains in background at sunet with purple and orange sky

How an illicit cell phone helped me take college courses from prison

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On the first day of Zoom classes, my professor went straight into content that I’m all too familiar with: the school-to-prison pipeline. Every day as a certified peer support specialist at a maximum security prison, I see the long-term impacts of poverty and a broken K-12 system in marginalized communities. I’m taking the class on a contraband cell phone. Now, I’m connected to the world.

Lawsuit; Illinois agency wrongfully imprisoned children: young black woman in white coat talking into microphones with men in suits at her side

Lawsuit: Illinois agency wrongfully imprisoned children

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Illinois Department of Children and Family Services wrongfully incarcerated hundreds of children in juvenile detention after a court ordered them to be released to their guardian, according to a class action lawsuit filed Thursday by Cook County's public guardian.