state policy

There is a small window of time that Michigan advocates are hoping can work to pass legislation that would reclassify 17-year-olds as juveniles in the eyes of the law. If they can pull it off, it will leave just three states in America that consider all 17-year-olds to be adults in the eyes of the law.

Tomorrow, citizens across the country will head to the polls. In 36 states, people will elect governors. Presumably, in a significant number, voters will choose a new leader for their state.

State legislatures are an ever-changing landscape. Some states cram in a year of policy into short sessions, and the membership is constantly turning over. It can be a tough environment for child welfare issues to find traction, even with widespread concern over increases in foster youth and shortages in foster homes.

South Carolina is set to become the 20th state to establish an autonomous office to hold its child welfare agency accountable. If Gov. Henry McMaster (R) signs the bipartisan S. 805, the Palmetto State will establish a new Department of Children’s Advocacy using funds transferred from the agency it will monitor, the Department of Social Services (DSS).

A large group of funders, advocates and service organizations are spearheading a new campaign to improve the quality of the foster care system in dozens of states. Children Need Amazing Parents, or CHAMPS, will focus its money and energy not on recruiting more foster parents, but rather on improving the existing network of homes.

In the summer of 2012, the State Legislature enacted Senate Bill 1013 which mandated that the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) launch a broad-based, stakeholder process to determine how to reform California’s foster care system.

by Liz Ryan The United States has the obscene distinction of being number one in the world for the worst policies on the treatment of youth in the justice system, and youth of color bear the brunt of our harsh and regressive policies. 

John Kelly, the editor-in-chief of The Imprint, along with Chronicle reporter, Jeremy Loudenback, recently posted a well-written trilogy of articles discussing in detail the 12-year saga of the Katie A. v Bonta litigation in California.