11-year old arrested for making threat in Tennessee: view of young black child form behind in horizontal striped shirt at dusk

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 ...

Juvenile justice reform Louisiana: Person with dark hair sits on steps behind bars with head in hands wearing orange jumpsuit

The seemingly endless cycle of reforms in juvenile justice

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On Tuesday, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced that the state will try to shut down its three large youth correctional facilities in favor of building smaller and less centralized units. The decision came at the urging of a working group assembled by the governor that also recommended the state stop incarcerating teenagers convicted for the first time of non-violent crimes and children under 14 in state youth prisons.

Legal Intershup: Statue of Lady Justice bronze statue holding Scales of justice and blue sky

OJJDP introduces law student volunteer internship program

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The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention last month introduced a volunteer internship program specifically designed for law students interested in pursuing careers in the youth justice and child welfare fields. The program will accept applications for semester-long positions starting in spring and summer 2024. During their internships, participants will engage in tasks such as legal research and analysis, and gain insights into federal, state, local and Tribal work encompassing prevention, intervention, and system involvement. Students may work remotely.

Alternatives to prison: Group of multicultural arms an hands forming circle reaching to each other with multi-colored puzzle pieces

To end the age of incarceration, three communities pioneer a developmental approach

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People ages 18 to 25 are over-represented at every stage of the criminal legal system and have the highest recidivism rate of any age group. It is obvious that we are responding badly to the developmental needs of these emerging adults — and “we” includes everything from schools and health care to law enforcement, judicial and correctional systems.

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.

Juvenile Sentencing: Two policeman holding Black male teen between them walt around whote police car in a grassy park

Minorities are less likely than whites to bypass courts for community-based rehabilitation, new analysis finds

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Citing, among others, the case of a Black boy who first was incarcerated, at 14, for stealing candy and, at 16, died at a restrictive wilderness camp where he was sent for violating curfew and other parole violations, this new report from The Sentencing Project suggests that U.S. courts divert comparatively fewer minority youth into community-based service or other rehabilitation. And diversion, overall, is sought less often than it should be.

Homeless: Illustration of adult courching between 2 people sitting in chairs facng the femail sitting with head in hands

Youth leaving foster care, juvenile and other systems are aim of Washington housing effort

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Implemented in June, HB 1905 establishes a five-year budget of over $5 million to reduce homelessness among those aforementioned groups. Washington’s Office of Homeless Youth will be responsible for much of that budget, administering $1.6 million in flexible funding that lets people who are allotted those dollars determine how to spend them on transportation, telephone or other everyday expenses.

Detention diversion: two young women in orange t-shirts and dark pants stand in front of a wall with several posters and notices

A New York City detention-diversion project is reserved for girls and queer youth

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Since Just Us launched in January, 25 youth have enrolled in a three-year pilot project that pays girls and queer youth involved in the criminal justice system, or who are at-risk for winding up there, to participate in projects aimed at keeping them out of detention facilities.

Run by New York City’s Administration for Children’s Services and created by a Vera Institute of Justice task force, JustUs provides individual and group counseling; legal advocacy; employment workshops; and internships for Brooklyn youth. The program serves females who are lesbian, bisexual and straight and youth who are non-binary, trans or queer.

“A lot of times, people are looking for support and they want to be heard and seen,” said Helianis Quijada Salazar, director of JustUs. “We try to customize everything to meet the unique needs of a person.”