Recent news

The Pennsylvania General Assembly passed House Bill 75 this week, improving the chances for success for foster youth who are making the transition to independence and adulthood. The new law—which Juvenile Law Center worked closely with Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children to promote (read our joint white paper, "Maximizing 'Fostering Connections' to Benefit Pennsylvania Youth," here)—will bring more federal dollars to Pennsylvania and provide additional supports to older foster youth. These youth face tremendous barriers to making it on their own as adults, but the new law will enable more foster youth to remain in care past age 18 and enable county children and youth agencies to provide expanded support and guidance for them.

In another landmark ruling involving juveniles sentenced in the adult criminal justice system, the United States Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in Miller v. Alabama that states may no longer mandate life without parole sentences for juveniles convicted of homicide offenses. The Court reversed the decisions of the Alabama and Arkansas Supreme Courts, which had upheld the imposition of these sentences on Evan Miller and Kuntrell Jackson, both 14 at the time of their offenses. The Court’s ruling applies to all juveniles convicted of homicide who are or were under the age of 18 at the time of their offenses—providing a glimmer of hope to over 2,000 men and women who had previously been sentenced to die in prison.

The United States Supreme Court ruled today in Miller v. Alabama and Jackson v. Hobbs that states may no longer impose mandatory life without parole sentences on juveniles under the age of 18 convicted of homicide crimes. Writing for the 5-4 majority, Justice Elena Kagan said, “Such a scheme prevents those meting out punishment from considering a juvenile’s ‘lessened culpability’ and greater ‘capacity for change.’” (Read the Court's opinion here.)

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The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) recently celebrated the publication of the United Nations Economic and Social Council's adoption of the First International Principles and Guidelines on Access to Legal Aid in Criminal Justice Systems. DOJ praised the Guidelines, calling them "a significant milestone in the global development of fair and just systems of criminal justice."

Notably, the Guidelines emphasize the special vulnerability of children in conflict with the law. (In the United States, these are children who are arrested.) The Guidelines single children out as a group entitled to special measures and additional protections. In doing so, the new Guidelines not only recognize that "children should have access to legal aid under the same conditions or more lenient conditions as adults," but they also reaffirm many of the goals toward which Juvenile Law Center strives on behalf of children in the criminal and juvenile justice systems. 

Youth in foster care living in a group home have the right to attend their local public school and must be treated in the same manner as children who reside with their parents. The proposed settlement will result in additional educational resources and services for students who were impacted by the District's policies. The classroom was closed in December 2010 and the final settlement will be discussed at a public hearing on August 23, 2012. 

As National Foster Care Month comes to a close, Juvenile Law Center hopes you will continue to listen to the voices of current and former foster youth to understand the realities of the foster care system, along with the actions you can take and support you can provide to help improve the child welfare system. 

As you've seen from the posts of our guest bloggers, youth in care have the same needs, hopes, and dreams of all youth, but often are not provided the support, resources, and care that all children deserve to make a successful transition to adulthood. One way to understand the needs and hopes of foster youth is by learning more about the work of Youth Fostering Change, our youth engagement group for current and former foster youth.

Pennsylvania just took a giant step forward with respect to its treatment of youth in the juvenile justice system while the United States Supreme Court recently took a giant step backwards in declaring the strip searching of adults—arrested and detained for even the most minor offenses—a valid practice under our Constitution. 

In Pennsylvania, one of the last pieces of legislative reform emerging from the Luzerne County juvenile court judges' scandal fell into place this week. Governor Tom Corbett signed Senate Bill 817 into law, prohibiting the shackling of children in juvenile court unless there are extreme or exceptional circumstances. The law, sponsored by Senator Lisa Baker, reinforces a juvenile court rule adopted last year by Pennsylvania's Supreme Court. The law and rules give Pennsylvania youth two layers of protection against what is nothing more than state-inflicted trauma. 

I did not age out of foster care. I was pushed out, and too many kids are pushed out of foster care each year before they are ready. Without a real plan and support, I have struggled. As a young woman who spent many years in foster care, I am used to facing challenges, but I think the child welfare system could do much more to help us face the challenges involved in becoming an adult. Rather than pushing us out, I wish the child welfare system and those who run it would stand up for us, fight for us. 

My name is Megan. I'm a 17-year-old senior in high school. I entered foster care at the age of seven. My mother was a drug abuser and I didn't know my father so I was placed in the custody of the child welfare agency. Since 2002, I've been placed in multiple foster homes and one kinship care home. Most of the foster homes that I've been in didn't have positive outcomes. I lived with my oldest sister twice. Moving constantly affected my education and schooling. When I was being moved I lost credits in one of my classes, so I had to retake a 10th grade class in 12th grade. I've been enrolled in nine different schools.

My name is Christopher, I am 21 years old, and I have never had a home. I do have your attention now, though, which seems to be a pale compromise for the first sentence. In 21 years I have lived in 13 different places, seven of which were during my stay in care. According to my current landlord, "Permanent Residence" is established by things like living in a place for two or more weeks and receiving mail at that location. I've had 13 of those, and when I sat down to type this I realized that this is precisely how I define home. It's not for the comfort level and certainly not for the people in it, but whether I've managed to be there for more than two weeks and can receive mail. 

I don't think I've had a real home in my entire life.