The Urgent Need for a Systemic Overhaul of the Broken Juvenile Detention System in Illinois

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This report is the latest in a series of Juvenile Justice Initiative (JJI) reports on juvenile detention, building on prior research in concluding the time is ripe for a complete overhaul of the juvenile detention system in Illinois.

The Empty Promise of the Fourth Amendment in the Family Regulation System

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This Article argues that the casual home invasions of the family regulation system are not just another story of lawless state action carried out by rogue actors or of an adversarial system failing to function. Instead, this is a story of a problem-solving system functioning exactly as it was designed. The problem-solving model emphasizes informality,…

Memorandum in Opposition to Proceeding Without a Competency Hearing

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This Memo, filed by youth defenders from the Hamilton County, Ohio public defender office, challenges the juvenile court’s procedures in competency hearings. The Memo challenges the court’s deficient procedures based on several state statutory grounds and the right to effective assistance of counsel and the right to present a defense under the U.S. and state…

Georgia – Only Young Once: Dismantling Georgia’s Punitive Youth Incarceration System

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This report challenges the notion that Georgia’s youth legal system is built to rehabilitate and suggests measures that protect the health and humanity of all the state’s children. First, this report will explore the myth of the “superpredator” and its impact on perceived Black youth criminality. Second, it will detail the state’s school-to-prison pipeline and…

Racial Bias in School Discipline and Police Contact: Evidence From the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Social Development (ABCD-SD) Study 

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Examines the impact of race on age at the onset of school disciplinary actions and police contact, and the rate of receiving increasingly severe disciplinary actions.

Voting Rights in the Era of Mass Incarceration

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Yearly and Daily Discrimination-Related Stressors and Mexican Youth’s Mental Health and Sleep: Insights From the First Wave of a Three-Wave Family Study

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Disposable Children: The Prevalence of Child Abuse and Trauma Among Children Prosecuted and Incarcerated As Adults in Maryland

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This report details the results of the first-ever state-wide Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) survey administered to people currently incarcerated for crimes they committed as children (under eighteen). The trauma measured from ACEs surveys include physical, sexual, and emotional abuse; physical and emotional neglect; separation from parents; mental illness or substance abuse in the home; parent…

Checklist for Reviewing Youth Competence Report

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Carceral Systems and Mental Health Crises—Health Care, Not Handcuffs

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Delinquency Cases in Juvenile Court, 2021

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A Guide to Applying Youth Voice: Tips to Implement Youth Voice Through a Youth Advisory Council

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The Risks and Consequences of Innocence in School Discipline: Implications for Policy and Research

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Research Overview on Positive Youth Development

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Studies consistently confirm that incarcerating young people causes great harm, including increased victimization, recidivism, school drop-out, and long-term physical and mental health issues. Fortunately, research also identifies what young people need for positive, healthy development. Alternatives to incarceration, such as release schedules, should be crafted to ensure each young person has time for and access…

Collective Caregiving: A Frame for Talking About What Kids and Families Need to Thrive

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“Children Are Different” and Their Lawyers Should Be Too

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The Miller Trilogy, Jones, and the Future of Juvenile Sentencing and Constitutional Interpretation in the Post-Jones America

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The end of “permanently incorrigible”: Putting Jones v. Mississippi into context

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Advancing Racial Justice Through the Restatement of Children and the Law

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Profiles of Risk for Profiles of Risk for Self-injurious Thoughts and Behaviors Among System-Impacted Girls of Color

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What Goes Up but Never Comes Down? Juvenile Punitive Practice Within the United States

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Youth Reoffending: Prevalence and Predictive Risk Factors in Two States

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Racial and Ethnic Disparities in the Processing of Delinquency Cases, 2005–2022

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Trends and Characteristics of Delinquency Cases Handled in Juvenile Court, 2022

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This one-page infographic from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention illustrates trends in delinquency cases in 2022.

Centering a Holistic Approach to Expand Education and Employment Pathways for Systems-Involved Young People

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An evaluation report for the LEAP initiative Prepared for the Annie E. Casey Foundation June 2024.