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This week, members of Juvenile Law Center’s Youth Advocacy group, Advocates Transforming Youth Systems (ATYS), partnered with coalition Philly Homes 4 Youth in holding a town hall in the courtyard of Philadelphia’s City Hall to raise awareness about the unique needs of older youth facing housing insecurity-- particularly youth aging out of the foster care system.

Names represent a person’s identity, our cultural origins, history, and in some instances how the world sees us. Names, like all words, are used to label or describe things and affect our perceptions, which inevitably impacts how we experience the world around us. The history of language is also particularly important when identifying or speaking about individuals or communities, especially for communities who have been the most marginalized.

When young people become involved in the juvenile justice system, the response must take their development into account.

From reproductive health and bioethics to the child welfare system and youth justice, Professor Dorothy Roberts has been a transformative leader on the issues impacting the lives of Black and Brown youth and, notably, Black women.

Imagine being born into a country where the way you are treated is based on the color of your skin.

“It’s unfortunate that the first response is to just lock people up and throw them away, when, you know, if you really just take the time to invest in people — people aren’t disposable. We’re all capable of redemption. We’re all capable of being helped and being our better selves. Everyone deserves a second chance.” For Cyntoia Brown Long, this wasn’t just a fight for her freedom, but a fight for everyone's. 

Structural racism has been at the foundation of federal funding for foster care for decades. The initiation of federal funding for foster care in 1961 can be traced directly to practices intended to target Black mothers and children in Louisiana in 1960. Understanding the foundation of child welfare funding and its structural inequities at the base of our foster care system is critical to understanding the disparities so prevalent today.

Each year the state of Florida arrests tens of thousands of youth under the age of 18. It transfers some of these youth to criminal court for serious offenses,  but processes the majority in the juvenile system.

The system is not working as it should. Sometimes, it seems like people in power pick and choose who they want to incriminate. I have heard about youth that have minor cases who get tried as adults and are no more than 15 or 16 years old. This is sad because they are legally minors in the state of Pennsylvania but the state is considering them to be adults to criminalize them.