Recent news

To kick off National Foster Care Month today, Juvenile Law Center and University of Pennsylvania’s School of Social Policy and Practice unveiled Youth Matters: Philly – an innovative app created with Penn computer science students Rani Iyer, Zhiyu Meng, and Ben Sandler. The app is targeted towards youth in foster care or experiencing homelessness in Philadelphia, and helps them to connect with vital resources and programs easily and quickly.

Today The Legal Center for Youth Justice and Education (LCYJE) – a national collaboration of Southern Poverty Law Center, Juvenile Law Center, Educational Law Center-PA, and the American Bar Association Center on Children and the Law unveiled the website Blueprint for Change: Education Success for Youth in the Juvenile Justice System.

Today the ACLU of Wisconsin and Juvenile Law Center, with pro-bono assistance from Quarles & Brady, filed a request for a preliminary injunction in federal court to halt the unconstitutional use of solitary confinement and other inhumane conditions and practices for youth in state-run correctional facilities.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court yesterday reversed and remanded the order terminating parental rights in the case of L.B.M., holding that failure to appoint client-directed counsel to represent the children’s legal interests was a structural error. Juvenile Law Center filed an amicus brief in this case and applauds this outcome. “This case represents a key victory in the state of Pennsylvania for children’s rights,” said Lisa Swaminathan, Staff Attorney at Juvenile Law Center.

The ACLU of Wisconsin and Juvenile Law Center, with pro-bono assistance from Quarles & Brady, filed a class action lawsuit today in federal court against four Wisconsin state officials, including Wisconsin Secretary of Corrections Jon E. Litscher, citing the unconstitutional use of solitary confinement and inhumane conditions for youth in state-run correctional facilities. The suit was filed on behalf of youth confined in the Lincoln Hills School for Boys and the Copper Lake School for Girls.

Today the Department of Justice issued critical guidance on the use of costs, fines and fees for youth in the juvenile justice system. This development follows a campaign of advocacy and research on the widespread abuse of costs, fines and fees in the juvenile justice system, and Juvenile Law Center’s publication of a groundbreaking national report on the issue.

Today the Atlantic Center for Capital Representation and Juvenile Law Center asked the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to exercise its extraordinary jurisdiction to clarify whether juveniles previously convicted of Second Degree Murder, who did not kill or intend to kill, must be sentenced significantly more leniently than juveniles who have been convicted of First Degree Murder.

Juvenile Law Center today released a groundbreaking national report, Debtors’ Prison for Kids? The High Cost of Fines and Fees in the Juvenile Justice System.

A new policy from the Social Security Administration (SSA) went into effect on August 1st to allow foster youth of all ages with disabilities to apply for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits six months before they leave care. This policy will remain in effect for one year, after which SSA will evaluate its success and make any necessary modifications.