A critical piece of legislation that should drastically improve accountability of a state grant targeted toward juvenile justice crime prevention has won broad support in its first legislative committee. Senate Bill 493, the PROMYSE Act, has passed the Senate Public Safety Committee and now moves on to the Senate Appropriations Committee for review and approval.…
Continue reading ›Young people are better served when they receive treatment for the issues that led to their criminal acts than when they are simply incarcerated for their offenses. This opinion has been reinforced by research and is trending in approaches seen throughout the US. Recent surveys have shown that public opinion favors rehabilitation for juvenile offenders.…
Continue reading ›Over two years ago, the California Department of Justice (DOJ) began an investigation into the conditions of confinement at two juvenile halls. Based on the results of that investigation, a settlement has been reached that will improve the conditions and education services in Los Angeles County’s juvenile halls. The groundbreaking settlements seek to protect youth…
Continue reading ›A bill was introduced at the California state Capitol in January 2020 in hopes of changing the way young people were treated in the state’s justice system. Senate Bill 889 was introduced in an effort to have all people under 21 to be tried as minors. There were a number of arguments for and against…
Continue reading ›A young man who was convicted of a 2009 murder, and who has since initiated a series of appeals and petitions for review, will have a new hearing to determine whether he was properly tried as an adult, rather than as a juvenile. The California Appeals Court has determined that the man sentenced to 90…
Continue reading ›This year has been exceedingly challenging for students in California owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. School closures and financial hardships have created a climate of despair for millions of young people. Mental health services are needed now more than ever in order to prevent school suspensions and expulsions. Mental illness often plays a role in…
Continue reading ›Each time a student is removed from the classroom in the name of discipline, it can do more harm than good. Students barred from attending class due to punitive measures are more likely to get into more trouble, and they are at risk of getting behind with schoolwork because of lost instructional time. What’s more,…
Continue reading ›Last month, we continued our coverage of salient topics relating to criminal and juvenile justice in California. We covered the newly created Department of Youth and Community Restoration (YCR). Under the California Health and Human Services Agency, the YCR will replace the Division of Juvenile Justice. The YCR: “Shall embrace a vision wherein the youth…
Continue reading ›With the adjournment of the annual state legislative session, we thought we’d share with you some of the bills that made it to the governor’s desk. We would also like to focus on a significant change to juvenile justice in California. Even though state lawmakers had to contend with conflicts relating to COVID-19, some interesting…
Continue reading ›At the beginning of this month, supervisors from Contra Costa County said that they intend to change the county’s juvenile justice system for the better. During a meeting which lasted nearly 12 hours and featured presentations from multiple agencies, supervisors said that they expect county officials to collaborate and decide whether to close either Juvenile…
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