Children & the Law Blog

Marian Wright Edelman examined the problems that continue to plague the Texas Youth Commission and concludes that Congress Must Act to Protect Young Detainees from Abuse.
In recent years, the Children’s Defense Fund has received horrifying reports of the physical and sexual abuse of children and teens in juvenile correctional facilities. There are accounts of children [...]

Leslie Kaufman of the New York Times takes an in-depth look at the Juvenile Justice Initiative in New York.
The city said that in the year since the program began, fewer than 35 percent of the 275 youths who have been through it have been rearrested or violated probation. By treating them in the context of [...]

The St. Petersburg Times report When students are suspects, lines blur, Police in Florida sometimes go beyond their legal authority when interrogating suspects while they are in school, raises the specter of an all too common occurrence. As many commentators have noted, one of the unintended consequences of “zero tolerance” policies in schools has been [...]

Dallas Morning News offers a glowing assessment of the Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative in the recent article County’s youth detention program offers ray of hope.
Michael Lindsey* is a local consultant who has worked extensively with the Casey Foundation and is the organization’s point man here. He said this country’s get-tough policies on crime spilled down [...]