Recent news

Our country stands on the precipice of dangerous cuts to the social safety net. SNAP benefits will be cut off on Saturday, pulling food assistance from 40 million people in this country – the majority of which are children.

State lawmakers held a hearing Tuesday on a set of bills intended to reduce burdens on students and families involved in Pennsylvania’s juvenile court system.

A new report by the Juvenile Law Center found that fines and fees that courts charge juvenile offenders leave many in debt, harming their chances of becoming productive adults.

Youth should not be tried in adult court because it does not promote rehabilitation, does not deter youth crime, and imposes immense harm on children. The United States has a long history of over-criminalizing and policing youth, especially Black and Brown youth. Despite the formation of a separate juvenile court system specifically designed to “treat, rather than punish,” this over criminalization and policing has resulted in youth being pushed into the adult criminal system.

During this year’s YJAM (Youth Justice Action Month), I was drawn towards a re-read of Kristin Henning’s remarkable text: The Rage of Innocence: How America Criminalizes Black Youth.

Today Juvenile Law Center released a report on the use of harmful fees and fines assessed against children in the juvenile justice system. The report, Heavy Burdens: The Weight of Juvenile Fees and Fines in the Keystone State, explains what juvenile fees and fines are, describes how they are used in counties across Pennsylvania, and makes the case why the state must abolish them.

Casper teen’s lawyers say a judge gave him a 42- to 75-year sentence that’s out of line with constitutional provisions through a quirk in Wyoming law.

Yesterday Juvenile Law Center partnered with Temple Law Review for its Annual Symposium. This year, in celebration of 50 years of Juvenile Law Center, the theme was “Youth Justice in a New Era: Reflections on State Constitutional Litigation, Abolition, and Movement Lawyering." This blog reflects on the role of movement lawyering in pursuit of family preservation. April Lee of Philly Voice for Change participated on the movement lawyering and abolition panel discussion.