What's on our radar this week
Every Wednesday, Juvenile Law Center gathers the latest studies, reports, and headlines from around the country. Here's what we've been reading:
- Banning juvenile life-without-parole is getting more traction (July 28, Latin Post) and is the subject of a new documentary (July 29, JJIE News)
- Following the 2014 release federal guidance on education in juvenile justice facilities, the Obama administration announces a plan to test if offering college classes to inmates will reduce recidivism (July 27, The Wall Street Journal)
- On the 25th anniversary of the ADA, students with disabilities are still being funnelled into the school-to-prison pipeline (July 24, The Atlantic), and the U.S. Dept. of Education released maps on school discipline, including data on race and youth with disabilities (July 22, Huffington Post)
- Justice comes in 3's: Juvenile Justice Ambassador, Alton Pitre's three steps for juvenile ustice reform (July 27, JJIE News); Rep. Sheila Jackson (D-TX) announced plans to introduce 3 bills aimed at improving treatment of incarcerated youth (July 22, Huffington Post)
- Program at one California college focuses on the unique needs of current and former foster care youth attending college (July 23, Santa Monica Mirror), and foster youth discussed foster care and higher education during the Beating the Odds Summit in D.C. (July 24, Fosterclub.com)
- U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee approved a bill that would reauthorize and improve the JJDPA; the bill moved on to the House of Representatives Education and the Workforce Committee (July 23, Chronicle of Social Change). Reauthorizing and improving the JJDPA could have a huge, positive impact on girls and in the juvenile justice system by dismantling the sexual abuse-to-prison pipeline (July 23, The Hill Blog)
- The Pennsylvania legislature is considering a bill aimed at giving foster youth more "normal" childhood experiences (July 21, The Patriot-News)
- Connecticut's state Child Advocate says the state is unlawfully isolating and restraining youth in detention facilities (July 22, Washington Times)
- The White House released a report on the economic costs of "opportunity gaps" among youth, including youth with histories in the juvenile and criminal justice systems (July 2015, Whitehouse.com)
Did we miss a major story? Email us at [email protected] with your headline.