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From now until Sunday, Philadelphia’s Cherry Street Pier is home to an art installation in which young people who have served time in prison are the focus. NBC10’s Rosemary Connors shows us the message they want to convey.

Usually, a stranger called Lexi Andino on her cellphone — “They would just tell me I’m getting a new caseworker.”     Andino, now 25, received that call throughout her 11 years in foster care. “I would guess it was 15 or 20 caseworkers I had. I stopped counting.”

On Wednesday, the Juvenile Law Center’s annual Leadership Prize was awarded to outstanding individuals working in the field of law, government, the arts, media, entertainment, sports, business, or any other sector — who are fighting for the rights and well-being of youth in the child welfare and justice systems.

James Baldwin’s quote, “Our crown has already been bought and paid for. All we have to do is wear it” was interpreted by Shaiheed Days, Youth Move Philadelphia Coordinator, as “Our experience is already, you know. They’ve already spoken for themselves that we were the ones for folks to listen to.”

Washington, D.C. (April 20, 2023) – Youth advocacy groups today celebrated the release of a U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) “Dear Colleague” letter encouraging states and localities to eliminate fines and fees imposed on youth in the juvenile legal system. The new guidance revises and updates a 2016 letter the DOJ issued regarding fines and fees imposed on adults and a 2017 advisory about juvenile fines and fees.

When Philadelphia passed a bill in December to make permanent a 10 p.m. curfew for anyone younger than 18, city officials said it would help keep kids safe and out of trouble. But James Aye has seen otherwise.

Peter Leone, a professor emeritus of special education, was awarded the 2023 Leadership Prize by the Juvenile Law Center for decades of research on educational services for youths with disabilities in institutional settings and for those excluded from schools.