Juvenile Justice

Appropriations Update, Advocates Pleased With Senate JJ Funds

There was little change in the appropriations status last week.  Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WS) has now made clear in several comments that he does not have the votes to pass a budget resolution so far this year. He tried a closed door meeting on Thursday with some comments from participants that they were making progress

Judges Outline Approaches To Improve Juvenile Justice

On Tuesday, February 23 the National Council of Juvenile Family Court judges sponsored a Capitol Hill briefing to highlight juvenile justice issues. The briefing included a panel discussion that was led by Dr. Sean Marsh from the Council and he was joined by four judges: Judge Karen Adams, AZ, Judge Deborah Schumacher, NV, Judge Richard

Groups Discuss Anti-Trafficking Strategies

--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

President and Court Acts On Juvenile Justice Issues 

Days after leading groups started to re-circulate a letter by more than 80 organizations, including CWLA, in support of action on a Senate bill to reauthorize the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA, S 1169), the President took action to ban solitary confinement of juveniles in federal prisons.  At nearly the same time the

Groups Issue Comments On Foster Care/Juvenile Justice In Education Law 

CWLA and a number of groups have signed onto letters to the US Department of Education urging them to take several actions to implement changes enacted through the recent reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). The law now referred to as the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) made a number of improvements

Coalition Pushing for JJDPA Senate Passage 

Last week more than 80 organizations, including CWLA, started to recirculate a letter of support for S 1169 a bill to reauthorize the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA).  The legislation introduced early last year and passed out of committee is sponsored by Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA) and Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI).  If enacted,

2016 Congressional Session Short and Uncertain

When Congress returns this week it will mark the beginning of a very short congressional calendar.  The President is scheduled to deliver his last State of the Union address on January12 which will unofficially begin the new budget debate for FY 2017.  The official budget will come a little more than four weeks later in

The Story Of One Boy’s Journey With Child Welfare

According to published news reports he was removed from his home and his mother due to child abuse allegations. He was three years old at the time and he spent the next two months in foster care.  He left that first foster care placement to stay with a relative.  Details aren’t clear but that arrangement

JJDPA Reauthorization

A briefing, Smart Investments: Keeping Kids and Communities Safe, Reauthorization of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act was held on Thursday, September 17 to encourage congressional action on a reauthorization of the JJDPA. A number of groups including Coalition for Juvenile Justice, Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, National Council of Juvenile and Family Court

Items For Congressional Action

  Once Congress gets beyond appropriations this month they have a number of other areas that either must be addressed or could receive action: Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). TANF must be reauthorized or at least extended beyond September 30. Earlier this summer there were some positive bipartisan developments regarding a five year extension.

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