Juvenile justice advocates: Let's ‘Raise the Age' again

It’s now common for youth to remain in foster care or residential treatment for years. For troubled or victimized children in need, assistance at home is often more effective than foster placement.

Philadelphia's criminal justice system is overwhelmed. New York is allowing judges to release low-risk defendants accused of non-violent crimes with the goal of saving money, reducing prison overcrowding, and cutting down on prison violence.

A consent decree ensures juveniles are not held more than 21 days in a Jackson, Miss., facility that was the subject of a lawsuit over the number of children it held and the conditions they faced. But opponents, including a youth court judge, say this is not solving the underlying problems facing the young offenders and even the plaintiffs in the suit says the larger issue is the approach to juvenile justice in the state.

Two years after the fall of the Rana Plaza killed more than 1,000 garment workers, “More than 200 clothing brands have pledged to make their source factories safer under two international agreements called the Bangladesh Accord on Fire and Building Safety and the non-binding Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety.” The accident also led to the government employing more safety inspectors, and an increase in unions.

In Colorado, four communities are piloting a program that offers low-level drug or prostitution offenders an alternative to prison. This program, known as Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion, matches the offender with a case manager who in turn connects them with treatment and training resources.

In Mancos, Colorado, the school board voted “no” to arming school staff in the traditionally Western town. Across the United States, the question of arming teachers is being brought up as a response to the increase in school shootings. The policy is highly contested, with some saying it provides students with a feeling of safety, but others saying the risks associated are too high. For the Mancos community, such a vote is a surprise given the town’s gun-friendly history, but is explained by the increase in new residents.

The Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) program in Alamosa, Colorado, gives police officers the option of sending people to substance abuse treatment rather than straight into the criminal justice system. Used in non-violent cases, the diversion program is based on a harm-reduction model that uses a health-care approach rather than a punitive approach to address the underlying issues when a crime is committed. Some police officers object to the program's mission, but proponents say that forcing compliance would be counterproductive.

The Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) protects states from having to fund federal laws. Prior to its passage, Congress passed bills without worrying about how to fund them, leaving states, cities, and counties to pay for federal mandates. Though UMRA has not been foolproof, 185 unfunded mandates were passed in 1993 before the law was passed and only 15 laws that violate UMRA limits were enacted between 1996 and 2018. Congress is not required to fund the whole bill, which means localities can still be required to pay significant amounts for federally mandated laws.

As an alternative to traditional courts, community courts provide resources to those experiencing homelessness. Fines and jail time are often the punishment in traditional courts for those charged with trespassing or loitering, but community courts provide services that help people find housing, jobs, health care, and even offer mobile showers, food stamp assistance, and mental health care. While the long-term data are lacking and don't offer a clear picture of recidivism rates, community courts do provide a better quality of life for those living on the streets.

Following the overturn of Roe v. Wade, access to safe, legal abortion in the U.S. is scarce. While several states have banned mifepristone and misoprostol — the two drugs that makeup abortion pills — misoprostol, which has been found to be the more effective of the two, can still be accessed at some pharmacies and through nonprofits in the U.S. and overseas like Plan C and Aid Access.