Recent news

One year ago, the U.S. Supreme Court declared that mandatory life without parole sentences for youth were unconstitutional. The Court ruled that mandatory sentencing of children restricts a judge's ability to consider the child's mitigating circumstances, maturity, or ability to be rehabilitated. The Court noted that juvenile life without parole (JLWOP) sentences should be rare.

The Supreme Court did not, however, address several related issues.

Imagine going through school without an adult to consistently look out for you. Children rely on involved adults to make education decisions on their behalf and ensure that schools meet their needs. Adults have roles that range from routine to critical—from signing field trip permission forms, to ensuring a child is in the correct grade, classes and school, to making sure credits transfer when a child changes schools, to protecting the child’s rights to special education services and due process protections in the school discipline context. 

Unfortunately, children in foster care—especially those living  in residential facilities such as group homes, residential treatment facilities, and hospitals—often have no adult in their lives to serve this role.

On June 19, 2013, the Third District Court of Appeals of Florida issued an opinion emphasizing the importance of maintaining an attorney-client relationship in dependency proceedings. The court upheld the attorney-client privilege between R.L.R., a 17-year-old foster youth, and his AttorneysAd Litem (attorneys appointed to represent the child's interests in a dependency case).

This PSA from the American Bar Association Children's Rights Litigation Committee (CRLC), on which Juvenile Law Center Associate Director Lourdes Rosado serves as co-chair, makes clear the importance of why children—especially those in the child welfare system—need lawyers. Lawyers can improve outcomes for foster youth and help them to secure a permanent home faster. 

At least one third of youth in foster care have disabilities—ranging from minor developmental delays to chronic and severe health and behavioral health impairments—that will require treatment and care after they age out of the child welfare system. These youth are entitled to the same independent living, permanency, and transition planning services as all foster youth in the system. They also are entitled to all the protections of federal and state law that prohibit discrimination based on disability and require that reasonable accommodations be made in the provision of benefits and services.

All children deserve to grow up in a safe place with people who care for and love them, and who guide and support them as they grow. Having that safe, stable, and nurturing place to live provides a foundation to learn, dream, and set and meet goals for the future.

Federal and state laws establish policies for foster care, which is meant to be temporary. Goals are to return children to their parents, or place them with family members, or find a home for foster youth with individuals who are committed to making a family with them. While states have made progress in reducing the number of youth in foster care, many youth—especially older youth—remain in the system. Sometimes they stay in care for many years. Far too many of these youth are not placed, as the law requires, in the least restrictive, most family-like setting; they are instead placed in group homes and institutions.

Last night, at the 17th Annual Webby Awards at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City, Juvenile Law Center was honored for having the best website in the "Law" category by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences (IADAS).