Artwork stating 'Education Destroys Barriers', 'We Demand Treatment', and 'I Need A Chance'

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  • ‘We can't just keep doing what we've been doing': King County tries risky alternative to youth jail

    As Seattle’s Central District continues plans to expand their juvenile detention center, one prosecutor is looking for ways to keep kids out of it. "Our system has proven woefully inadequate, so we can’t just keep doing what we’ve been doing," explains Jimmy Hung, the prosecutor behind this hope. Hung, in partnership with the chief deputy prosecutor, faith workers, police officers and the director of King County’s juvenile detention center are now piloting peace circles with incoming detained juveniles with a goal of seeing a behavior and lifestyle switch.

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  • The Latest Trend in Reducing Recidivism: Keeping Mothers and Children Together

    Most states and cities don’t permits mothers who give birth in prison to stay with their children. However, scattered across the country are programs like ReMerge, a program in Oklahoma City that allows mother and children to stay together, and avoid prison time. Programs like these are working, and yield lower recidivism rates.

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  • Female chiefs in Malawi wage war against child marriages

    In Malawi, one out of every two girls is married before the age of 18, some as young as 12 years old. However, some female chiefs are trying to end the practice. One of them, Chief Theresa Kachindamoto, has been able to dissolve more than 8oo child marriage weddings.

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  • ‘Not a Dungeon': The Evolving Approach to Juvenile Detention

    The approach of some state detention directors to juvenile justice has evolved at Henley-Young Juvenile Justice Center. Research shows that traditional detention is simply not working as a deterrent to youth crime—and can actually increase it. Administrators, county and special-interest groups have chipped away at antiquated practices to make room for rehabilitation and therapy. These efforts attempt to address the core issues that culminate in youth crime, delinquency and recidivism.

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  • In Uganda, Fostering a World without Adoption

    In Uganda, where international adoptions and orphanages are the most present form of child welfare, nonprofits like Reunite, Alternative Care Initiatives-Uganda, and CALM Africa are shifting the country to a welfare model focused on family reunification and community-based foster care. Although pilot programs are still small, there is also a focus on closing technical loopholes and providing practical support to encourage foster care programs.

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  • School-Based Arrests Down At CPS Schools

    A decrease in arrests in Chicago public schools is a result of the district moving away from a zero-tolerance policy for discipline and acting in favor of more instructional intervention. This approach has allowed for kids experiencing trauma and lashing out to receive better care and direction than is provided by punitive action.

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  • How teen brains are different and what that means for curbing youth violence

    A new training program gets police officers to delve into the complexities of teenage brain development, helping law enforcement to recognize mental health issues, respond to them and, if they can, refer families to other resources in the community. The method focuses less on swift and immediate interventions and more on building relationships and trust that decreases overall volatility, while increasing the chance of keeping youth out of trouble and away from crime in the long term.

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  • When Kids Are Accused of Sex Crimes

    Juveniles who were placed on sex offender registries, some for crimes they committed before they were even teens, face a slew of life changing consequences that follows them for the rest of their life: “depression, addiction, suicidal thoughts, and other signs of post-traumatic stress.” Many will struggle to find a job, others will get targeted and harassed, some, overwhelmed by the pressure, have ended their life. Parents, legal scholars, and activists are pushing back against the notion that children, under the law, should be tried as mini adults.

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  • Prison Born

    More women are being incarcerated around the United States and that has spurred more institutions to create prison nurseries, which allow women to be with their newborns. It's not a new idea, but it's finding support among prison advocates as well as budget hawks because research shows nurseries can lower recidivism rates among mothers. The idea of children in prison remains controversial however.

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  • Keep Kids Out of Handcuffs

    From state to state, officials are grappling with how to improve how children experience the criminal justice system. The process is highly variable – each state varies on the age that children can go to court, and a child’s race also plays a large role in how they’re treated by everyone from law enforcement to judges. States like Massachusetts are trying to pass laws that take a more holistic, transparent approach to juvenile justice, and organizations like their Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative are helping parents recognize their power in the system.

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