Juvenile Justice

The California Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a landmark state law that prevents 14- and 15-year-olds from being sent to the adult prison system, overcoming a two-year appeal from top prosecutors.

Georgia, Texas and Wisconsin are the last three states that still view all 17-year-olds as adults in the eyes of the law, and proposals are moving through each of their legislatures that would raise the minimum age to 18 except for the most violent crimes.

Since last March, judges and lawyers in youth and family courts across New York state have been scrambling, like judicial officers around the country, to keep their cases moving along on virtual platforms.

A nearly $1 million charitable contribution to the national campaign to end the use of solitary confinement on youth in adult and juvenile detention will enable backers to launch several new approaches to that effort.

In a historic move, the Los Angeles Unified School District board voted Tuesday to transform its school police force, eliminating more than 100 positions and stationing the remaining officers off campus.

As the pandemic continues to hobble a devastated economy, two Western states are working to make sure that federal funds available for helping young people get jobs reach those who have grown up in the foster care and juvenile justice systems.

More than half a year after voting to slash $25 million from its school police department, the Los Angeles Unified School District board will decide on Tuesday how to use that money to support Black students and promote safety on campus.

In the third-most-populous county in America, the time for merely talking about youth justice reform is over. 

The response to Rochester police handcuffing and pepper-spraying a fourth-grade girl has been swift: New York state and local lawmakers are joining youth justice advocates to demand systemic changes in how police treat kids.