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:
- Proposed legislation in Iowa would keep juvenile criminal records confidential.
- In Wisconsin, the Children Come First program works to keep mentally ill juveniles out of jail. Youth with underlying mental health issues are provided with mental health treatment instead of being placed behind bars.
- Lawmakers in Washington state are pushing for bills to help homeless youth and their families find permanent housing. The state already passed a measure to help homeless students get access to health care for non-emergency needs, like strep throat or a sprained ankle.
- In Alaska, state agencies are struggling to cope with a spike in the number of youth in need of foster care services.
- The saga continues: one Senator blocks otherwise bipartisan efforts to reauthorise the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA). Starcia Ague, member of the Federal Advisory Committee on Juvenile Justice, explains why reauthorization is so important in this blog post.
- Liz Ryan of the Youth First! Initiative explains why we must do better for kids, keep them out of prisons and find community-based rehabilitative solutions for youth in the justice system.
Did we miss a big story? Email us at [email protected] with your headline