Alameda County Juvenile Justice Center

In the opening scene, the camera pans across a city skyline at night, sirens wailing in the distance, as firefighter Wellington Jackson asks, “Who hasn’t made a mistake? Are you going to tell me that everybody that goes to prison or is in juvenile hall doesn’t deserve a second chance?”

By Lauren Gonzalves Note: This story was modified on August 19 to include a new statistic on the placement stability of California foster children. An 11-year old Moses Kamin peers into the lens of his adoptive mother’s camera, clad in a bright yellow tank top, a faint smile below his dark brown buzz-cut.