Recent news

Office of Children and Family Services facilities keep youth in small cells for days or weeks at a time, violating state regulations, the suit claims.

As we enter a new year filled with uncertainty, one thing is clear – we need to keep fighting for children in the justice and foster care systems. 

Marsha Levick took her seat at a conference table at the Juvenile Law Center on a recent Wednesday for what would be one of her last meetings. She walked colleagues through the basic principles of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, the 1989 treaty that laid out, in clear terms, what the world said it owed young people.

Kristen Yeckley was not happy with her 13-year-old daughter. The principal called on a September afternoon and said the teen was in trouble for having a vape in her Ohio middle school. They searched her gym and school lockers, according to court filings.

Juvenile Law Center has been a leader in the fight against unnecessary family policing and in favor of family preservation for 50 years. Our litigation helped to create pressure for the federal law that required family preservation services. Subsequently, widely referenced publications, trainings, and advocacy led by youth with lived experience in the family regulation system gave the law teeth and led to additional reforms. Despite this work, the over-reach of the family regulation system continues, and Juvenile Law Center remains committed to safely keeping families together.

Today, Juvenile Law Center announced the appointment of its next Chief Legal Officer, Jessica Feierman. 

Youth partnerships have been a cornerstone for advocacy work at Juvenile Law Center for decades. Although our approach to engaging youth partners has evolved over time, the core value of experience-led advocacy persists.