Recession Drives Surge in Youth Runaways
(Lakeland Ledger) Over the past two years, government officials and experts have seen an increasing number of children leave home for life on the streets, including many under 13. Foreclosures, layoffs, rising food and fuel prices and inadequate supplies of low-cost housing have stretched families to the extreme, and those pressures have trickled down to teenagers and preteens.

The Case Against Juvenile Life Without Parole: Good Policy and Good Law
(FindLaw) More often than not, a juvenile offender's propensity for impulsive (even criminal) behavior will dissipate in adulthood. The difference between a youth offender and an adult offender is clear: the child's identity is unformed, meaning that his "criminal" character is far less likely to be chiseled in stone. As the American Psychological Association tells us, juveniles have "greater changeability" and a strong capacity to reform.

It's not a hoax: Today's kids are at risk
(Florida Today) In 2007, 18 percent of all U.S. children ages 17 and younger lived in poverty, an increase from 17 percent in 2007. And that was before the downturn. Poverty rates, particularly in Florida, have jumped since.

High Rate of Imprisonment, High Cost of High School Dropouts
A recent New York Times article reported on a study of high school dropouts. About 10 percent of the dropouts were incarcerated (in jail or juvenile detention) and nearly 23 percent of the African American dropouts were incarcerated. The study, by Northeastern University, found that there is a $292,000 cost to the nation (in incarceration, less taxes, and government benefits) for each dropout.

Click here to read the New York Times article

Click here to read the full report

Back where he belongs
(New York Times) The study also found that these disproportionate punishments were being used far more often against black and Hispanic children than white children. And once these youngsters have a first contact with the courts, they become far more likely to drop out of school or get permanently entangled in the criminal justice system.

Don't give up on kids
(Daytona Beach News Journal) The Supreme Court recognized the differences between teenagers and adults when it held a few years ago, in Roper v. Simmons, that it was unconstitutional to impose the death penalty on defendants younger than 18. Locking up a youth for the rest of his life, with no hope for parole, is surely unconstitutional for the same reasons.

Abuse, neglect deaths high in Florida, budget low
(The News-Press) Florida ranked third highest in the rate of deaths from child abuse and neglect nationally and among the bottom in child welfare spending in a report released today.

U.S. House Subcommittee Held Hearing on Girls in the Juvenile Justice System
Witnesses addressed the unnecessary incarceration of female status offenders, abhorrent facility conditions, and the unique needs of girls in the system.

Conyers Slams OJJDP Boss at Girls JJ Hearing
Witnesses stress need for less confinement, more gender-specific programs for girls

Prevention, not punishment, best remedy to girl criminals
As Floridians, we must contemplate how to protect our citizens and avoid future innocent victims - and one way to start is by keeping our girls on a productive path to adulthood.

Troubled girls behind bars a consequence of neediness
Neediness is leading more of them to prison

First Coast pair among Florida's youngest female inmates
The No. 1 risk factor for women going to prison is spending time in juvenile detention.

The Lion's Legacy
Kennedy was a leader who worked for the poor, the disadvantaged and the disabled

Teen Offenders Find a Future in Missouri

Harvard Honors Missouri Division of Youth Services