Recent news

On December 8, 2014, Attorney General Eric Holder and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan released a joint policy guidance package to inform state and local education and juvenile justice agencies of best practices to improve the quality of education in juvenile justice facilities and remind these agencies of their legal obligations to do so.

Actor and musician Mark Wahlberg recently filed an application with the Massachusetts Board of Pardons asking the state to clear an assault conviction from 1988 when he was 16 years-old. Like many others, Wahlberg’s decades-old offense is causing roadblocks in his professional and personal life. Unfortunately, many youth who enter the justice system are haunted by the poor decisions they made as teenagers.

In an important ruling recognizing the broad scope of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Miller v. Alabama (holding that mandatory juvenile life without parole sentences are unconstitutional), the South Carolina Supreme Court recently held that Miller applies retroactively to all individuals serving life without parole sentences in South Carolina for offenses they committed as juveniles.

As its name suggests, Giving Tuesday is an international philanthropic phenomenon encouraging people to give back to the individuals and organizations who make a difference in the world. This year, Juvenile Law Center is participating in the Giving Tuesday movement on Twitter and Facebook. Help us spread the word by using #GivingTuesday and tagging us on Twitter (@JuvLaw1975) and Facebook (Juvenile Law Center).

Kids For Cash, a critically acclaimed documentary produced and directed by Robert May, debuted this February and brought the notorious Luzerne county “kids-for-cash” case to audiences in theatres across the U.S. The film will be screened at the United Nations this week on the eve of the 25th Anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

According to a new national scorecard released today by Juvenile Law Center, the vast majority of states are failing to protect highly sensitive information contained in juvenile court records, creating barriers to education, employment and success for American youth.

Failed Policies, Forfeited Futures: A Nationwide Scorecard on Juvenile Records, is the first-ever comprehensive evaluation of state policies that govern the confidentiality and expungement of juvenile court and law enforcement records. No state earned...

A 10-year old Pennsylvania boy with mental health concerns is currently sitting alone in an adult prison cell, charged as an adult in the killing of a 90-year old woman. Prison officials provided the boy with coloring books and crayons, and guards make sure he has time to “play.”

When we have to schedule “recess” in prison, something is terribly wrong. Prosecutors had no choice but to charge him as an adult—Pennsylvania law requires it—but they can, and should, quickly agree to move the boy’s case to the juvenile justice system.

Juvenile Law Center supports state legislation that allows children in the child welfare system to stay in the same school even if their living placements disrupt and require moving to another district.

It's been several weeks since Michael Brown was shot by Officer Darren Wilson. The investigation and grand jury proceedings continue as community members in Ferguson, MO and supporters around the country call for justice in Michael Brown's name. But what exactly will justice and due process look like in the wake of his death?

Juvenile Law Center is currently accepting applications for young people who have been involved in the juvenile justice or child welfare system to join our youth engagement programs, Juveniles for Justice and Youth Fostering Change!