Recent news

Yesterday, Youth Fostering Change traveled to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania to present their finalized court participation tools and recommendations to Sandra Moore, Director of the Office of Children and Families in the Courts, and Stephenie Strayer, Judicial Program Analyst. Ms. Moore and Ms. Strayer were excited to hear about the project and supported the youth advocates’ recommendations.

Earlier this week, Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court unanimously ruled in Commonwealth v. Batts that, before a child can be sentenced to life without parole, the state must prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the youth is permanently incorrigible. Juvenile Law Center filed amicus briefs in Batts and argued the case before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in 2012 and 2016.

LGBTQ youth are over-represented in the juvenile justice and child welfare systems. The federal Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention estimates that LGBTQ youth are approximately 7% of the population generally but 13-15% of those in the juvenile justice system.

Today in Wisconsin, Western District Judge Peterson found that the use of solitary confinement, pepper spray and restraints at two juvenile facilities violate kids’ constitutional rights under the Fourteenth Amendment. We originally filed the lawsuit in January on behalf of boys and girls held in Lincoln Hills School for Boys and Copper Lake School for Girls.

As you read this, we are in court with ACLU of Wisconsin in Madison’s Western District Court. Back in January, we filed a class action civil rights lawsuit against state officials’ use of solitary confinement, shackling and pepper spray against youth in two facilities – Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake.

A middle school fight can last forever. Years after the school calls the police and the adolescent goes to court, the record of the incident can continue to affect a young person’s ability to find gainful employment, qualify for college loans, secure housing, or generally move on from the worst moment in her young life. For so many youth, this is their story.

Juvenile Law Center runs two annual youth advocacy programs – Youth Fostering Change (YFC) and Juveniles for Justice (J4J) – and celebrates the youth advocates’ accomplishments at the close of each program in May. Last Tuesday, we celebrated our awesome 2016-2017 youth advocates and were thrilled to host our community partners and alumni of both programs at the celebration at Juvenile Law Center’s office.

The stigma attached to being homeless has a massive impact on the prevention and direct treatment of homelessness, regardless the severity of one’s situation. No child should bear the responsibility of acquiring housing alone. These days, though, technology is so accessible and essential to the social sphere of young people. We are never truly alone, are we?