Recent news

Some of Pennsylvania's most vulnerable students are falling behind to no fault of their own, due to inconsistent graduation requirements across school districts.

"You don't want me." The words spilled out of 4-year-old Jimmy as he sat crying in an unfamiliar bedroom, his third foster home in two weeks. Earlier that week, in another house, he’d run from window to window watching his caseworker depart and shouting, “Don’t leave me!”

National children’s rights group sheds light on municipal citation structures in the 50 states and District of Columbia.

MADISON - The ACLU of Wisconsin and Juvenile Law Center today called for the closure of Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake Schools, a state-operated youth detention facility, after a new monitor report showed that many conditions are getting worse at the facilities, and compliance with the court settlement has declined in the past several months.

Ten months into a deadly pandemic that continues to wreak havoc on society and the economy, a federal relief package bundled extra child welfare money to states with a new rule: You can’t let foster youth age out into adulthood during the ongoing coronavirus emergency.

Before we kick the door closed on 2020, there were lessons learned and wisdom shared to carry into the new year as resolutions for 2021. In November and December, Juvenile Law Center hosted a series of five 45-minute conversations in commemoration of our 45th Anniversary.

Juvenile Law Center applauds this successful bipartisan effort that will provide vital relief for youth in and leaving foster care.

A string of victories in the U.S. Supreme Court between 2005 and 2016 substantially transformed American sentencing laws and policies for children convicted of murder and other serious crimes committed when they were under the age of 18.

The next meeting of the Pennsylvania Juvenile Justice Task Force is scheduled for November 20, 2020 from 1-3 p.m.

I am a survivor of sexual violence. I worked as an advocate for survivors of sexual and domestic violence for five years. I sat with survivors as they recounted some of the worst moments of their lives, underwent invasive evidence collection, and wrestled with the decision of whether to make a police report.