What's on our radar this week
Each week, Juvenile Law Center gathers the latest studies, reports, and headlines from around the country. Here's what we've been reading:
- In early December, lawmakers in Ohio will decide if the state will raise the maximum age children in foster care can recieve benefits from 18 to 21.
- Despite an overall decline in the number of juveniles being incarcerated, the racial disparity in incarceration for juveniles has worsened. From 2003 to 2013, black youth went from being 3.7 times more likely to be incarcerated than white youth to 4.3 times as likely.
- Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley recieved the Champion for Children Award by the Campaign for Fair Sentencing of Youth. Senator Grassley has been commended for his work in eliminating life without parole sentences for juvenile offenders.
- A recent study by the American Journal of Preventative Medicine found that youth offenders that are transferred to adult court are three times more likely to die early than someone of the same age in the general population.
- A recent report from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development revealed that the overall percentage of homelessness has decreased since 2010. The report indicated however, that youth homelessness is still a present issue that needs to be addressed.
- In Los Angeles, new research shows a correlation between decreased school suspensions and the number of incarcerated youth.
- The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention award funding to expand the Smart on Juvenile Justice: A Comprehensive Strategy to Juvenile Justice Reform to two more states. The program places a high priority on making sure that youth in the juvenile justice system are treated fairly and placed on the right path for a successful future.
- A team of University of Utah law students and their professor are petitioning the Supreme Court to take the case of Robert Cameroun Houston, the first juvenile in Utah ever to be sentenced to life without parole.
Did we miss a big story? Email us at [email protected] with your headline.