With reports spreading of arrests and raids by Homeland Security’s Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE) agency concerns are being raised about the impact on children. According to the PEW Research Center, in 2012 there were 4.5 million children younger than 18 years living with at least one undocumented parents. If both parents or a single
The House has scheduled a vote for Tuesday on H.R. 5963, the Supporting Youth Opportunity and Preventing Delinquency Act of 2016, a bill that would reauthorize the Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA). The bill was voted out of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce last Wednesday, September 14. If the JJDPA is
On Monday, September 12, groups including First Focus, the Children’s Advocacy Institute, the National Association of Counsel for Children, and the American Bar Association Center on Children and the Law conducted a briefing on the need for greater and required legal protection for children across a number of legal systems. The focus of the briefing
On Wednesday, July 13 a bipartisan bill was introduced by Senator Gary Peters (D-MI) and Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA) to encourage coordination between state child welfare and juvenile justice systems in addressing the needs of vulnerable youth caught between the two systems. The Childhood Outcomes Need New Efficient Community Teams (Connect Act) would authorize grants
Last week a bipartisan group of Senators joined onto a letter to HHS and the Department of Education calling on the two departments to implement new provisions in the new reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) regarding the education rights of children in foster care. The senators, Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), the
--Dusty Murphy, CWLA On February 24, 2016, Representatives Dave Reichert (R-WA) and Tony Cárdenas (D-CA) sponsored a briefing, “Reducing Demand for American Children Trafficked for Sex: King County, WA as a National Model.” Briefing panelists included Tim Matsui, director of The Long Night, a documentary about youth in the American sex trade, Alisa Bernard, survivor
On Thursday, July 23, the Senate Judiciary Committee passed a reauthorization of the Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA), S 1169. The bill was approved by voice vote with no objections to what has been a bipartisan effort. Its sponsorship is also bipartisan with Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA) and Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) jointly introducing
The Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice has found the state of West Virginia in violation of the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) when it comes to providing services to children with significant mental health conditions. The Justice Department holds that the state has a very high rate of placements into segregated
On Thursday, June 18 the Supreme Court upheld the use of a child’s comments to a mandatory child abuse reporter (a teacher) in the trial of his abuser. The ruling Ohio V Clark was 9 to 0 with Justice Alito writing the main opinion with a separate opinion by Thomas and a third opinion by
The Coalition on Juvenile Justice and the Tribal Law and Policy Institute have published a new brief paper, "American Indian/Alaska Native Youth & Status Offense Disparities: A Call For Tribal Initiatives, Coordination & Federal Funding." The paper examines the overrepresentation of American Indian and Alaskan Native youth in the nation’s juvenile justice system. The research indicates that