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:
- More on Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey's federal bill aimed at clarifying an ambiguity in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that is currently leaving some former foster care youth uninsured.
- The Wisconsin girls charged in the "slender man" case will be tried in adult court, despite the judge's acknowledgement of severe mental illness of at least on involved youth.
- Permanency for foster youth has two dimensions: legal (what's mandated on paper) and relational (what youth choose), and both are important for success.
- Diversion programs, like this one in California, help keep kids on track and out of the juvenile justice system. California is also considering a bill that would ban solitary confinement of youth in prison.
- Our former social work intern, Marcia Hopkins' report on homeslessness and youth aging out of foster care was included in this annual report.
- Senator ron Wyden (D-OR) announced intentions to introduce the Family Stability and Kinship Care Act, which focuses on prevention and family support services that would help keep kids from entering foster care in the first place.
- The long-term consequences juvenile records marginalize youth, keeping them from pursuing education, military service, housing, and careers.
- The National Center for Juvenile Justice's JJGPS (Juvenile Justice Geography, Policy, Practice and Statistics) was been updated with new data on racial and ethnic fairness, and kids in St. Louis County (and many other parts of the country) are stuck in a racist system, without legal counsel.
- A program in Tennessee helps youth aging out of foster care get furnishings and household goods for their first apartment.
- Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner signs legislation that ends automatic transfers to adult court for 15 year-olds and limits transfers for 16 and 17 year-olds for some offenses. New Jersey just passed a law reducing the age of transfer to adult court for some offenses to 15 and limiting solitary confinement of youth.
- U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) introduced the MERCY Act which bans solitary confinement of youth, except for the most extreme and immediate risks, and even then the use of solitary is limited to time periods ranging from 30 minutes to a maximum of 3 hours.
Did we miss a big story? Email us at [email protected] with your headline.