Recent news

Gov. Josh Shapiro recently stated that his office supports codifying a statewide Office of the Child Advocate (OCA) and, importantly, wants the office to have “teeth.” This comes in the wake of yet another tragic death of a child in the system. One thing is clear — Pennsylvania’s children cannot afford to wait for this office to be reinstated with authority.

Tonight, voters approved a ballot measure that adds the City of Philadelphia Office of the Youth Ombudsperson to the Philadelphia Home Rule Charter, making it a permanent City agency. Young people in youth prisons, foster group homes, and behavioral health placements now have a permanent advocate they can reach out to report abuse or mistreatment without fear of retaliation.

Hawaiʻi is poised to become one of the first states in the nation to require a judge to consider a child’s exposure to trauma before charging the youth as an adult. Senate Bill 2108, which would also bar minor victims of trafficking or sexual assault from being charged as adults for going after their abuser, is the state’s latest juvenile justice reform.

A measure on Tuesday’s ballot could make permanent a small Philadelphia program that monitors quality of life for youth in foster homes, behavioral health treatment, and correctional facilities.

On Friday night, May 8, a massive group of teens descended on Tampa’s Curtis Hixon Park for what’s referred to as a “teen takeover,” a

Lawmakers are renewing a push to end the practice of Pennsylvania counties diverting Social Security benefits owed to children in foster care into their own

Hours before the District of Columbia’s law that allows police to establish curfew zones for teens was set to expire Wednesday, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said she intended to declare a mayoral emergency to revive the measure.

Before I worked at Juvenile Law Center, I worked at the Empower Program, the District Alliance for Safe Housing, and Men Can Stop Rape (now MCSR). I have had the privilege of being front and center in the sexual violence prevention field. I know that there are creative, dedicated activists and advocates ready to make common cause with those fighting to ultimately abolish the juvenile legal and foster systems – and to build something instead that works for all children.

WAUWATOSA, Wis. —

A guard at Milwaukee County's juvenile detention center has been charged with abusing a boy, following an FBI investigation into an incident