Great night out yesterday with our staff and friends to see the Phillies soar to victory!

This month, we join our colleagues working to abolish family policing in declaring June 2026 the second annual Stolen Children’s Month. Ashley Albert declared the first Stolen Children’s Month last year.

We’re celebrating Jessica Feierman’s 20 years at Juvenile Law Center today! Our Chief Legal Officer brings vision, passion and empathy to her fight for youth rights. From her legal acumen to her community focus, she is a stellar and unique advocate for children. Thanks for all your work, Jessica!

Our CEO @riyasahashah.bsky.social will be moderating this panel today. Join if you are interested! Register in advance for this webinar: americanbar.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

Looking for a summer internship? Juvenile Law Center is bringing on both a Communications and a Development intern for this summer! Apply today: jlc.org/careers

In an era where far too many states are moving backward when it comes to children, it's nice to see a state taking a proactive step forward. Children should not be tried as adults, period. Congrats to the advocates, youth and families who fought hard for this win. imprintnews.org/justice/juve...

Philly! We are fighting for a world in which children are free. We stand with Philly Voice for Change in bringing this beautiful event to raise awareness and build community by calling out the harm of the family policing system. Show up to honor Juneteenth and Stolen Children’s Month.

Our colleagues at the Sentencing Project have just published a powerful report making clear that sending youth to adult courts is dangerous and wrong – and it also doesn’t increase public safety. www.sentencingproject.org/app/uploads/...

Time is stolen from people who are locked away. In this op ed, hear reflections on what time on the inside meant – and how, definitively, it was not “the best thing that happened’ to the author. www.nytimes.com/2026/05/27/o...

Mandated reporting – legally requiring people families should be able to rely on for support, such as teachers, doctors, and social service providers to confidentially and anonymously report suspected child abuse, neglect, or maltreatment to authorities yields a disproportionate number

Philadelphia, we won! The ballot measure to make the Office of the Youth Ombudsperson permanent has passed. Learn more: jlc.org/news/philade...

Stand up and be heard for youth rights. Vote YES on ballot question 2 to make Philadelphia's Office of the Youth Ombudsperson permanent! Polls close at 8:00PM!

We know that kids are different, and that is why we don't believe children should be tried as adults, period. www.washingtonpost.com/national/202...

Voters head to the polls in Philadelphia today and have the chance to vote yes on a ballot measure to make the Office of the Youth Ombudsperson permanent! www.chalkbeat.org/philadelphia...

Today the Philadelphia Inquirer ran an op ed by Senior Attorney Malik Pickett and Youth Advocate Bree Hood about the dire need for an Office of the Child Advocate at the state level. www.inquirer.com/opinion/comm...

Thank you to Temple Law Review for collaborating with us to publish essays from a joint symposium in honor of our 50th anniversary. This volume features six original essays from experts in litigation, abolition, and movement lawyering. www.templelawreview.org

Today marks the 59th anniversary of the In re Gault decision from the US Supreme Court, which held that the 14th Amendment's due process clause applied to children and that young people have the right to counsel in juvenile court.

In recent years, 3 out of 4 children are removed from their homes by the family policing or “child welfare” system because of “neglect.” Often just a proxy for “poor,” neglect was added as a ground for removal by the 1974 Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) – after which the number of

NPR’s Michel Martin interviews Kristin Henning, director of the Juvenile Justice Clinic and Initiative at Georgetown Law and former Juvenile Law Center Leadership Prize winner, about “teen takeovers.”

Multiple Black children were arrested in what Florida police are calling a “teen takeover.” Rounding up groups of children en masse is harmful and bad public policy. Following the arrest, police then publicly released the names of children, some as young as 12 years old.

The “child welfare” system in the United States claims to help children but in fact causes great physical, emotional and mental anguish to the children and families caught in its web.

Hot off the presses! No Kids in Prison: The Magazine is out. Stoneleigh Youth Advocacy Fellow Brit Christopher co-edited this stunning publication featuring art, essays and poetry from young people with experience in the juvenile legal system.

We’ve had a jampacked past few days! Monday was our staff strategic planning kickoff meeting followed by a happy hour with new friends and colleagues at PHS Pop-Up Garden on South Street sponsored by the Royal Restaurant Group and the Simons family.

We are happy to welcome Spencer Symula as our new Paralegal. Read more about Spencer here and join us in welcoming him to the team! jlc.org/staff/spence...

We're proud to support Rep. Krajewksi and Rep. Delozier's bill to stop the state from taking social security and survivor benefits from children in the foster care system. Foster youth deserve this money to support their lives and their futures. www.spotlightpa.org/news/2026/04...

Conditions in solitary confinement are inhumane and degrading. Youth in solitary are often deprived of critical medical and mental health services, even if they are suicidal.

Our CEO Riya Saha Shah was in Pittsburgh today for the Players Coalition and Youth First Justice Collaborative event at the Clemente Museum joining together in our work to keep kids free!

Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) has a long history of fighting against bigotry and hate, and we are grateful for their work. We continue to stand with SPLC and our colleagues across the country in our dedication to fight for racial justice and civil rights.

55 years in the fight against hate. Still pushing forward. We’re ready for what comes next. Not alone in this work. Together, we will confront injustice. www.splcenter.org/beacon-hope-...

Today Juvenile Law Center staff and Stoneleigh Youth Advocacy Fellows joined partners and lawmakers from across the state in Harrisburg in advocating for juvenile legal system reform in the Commonwealth.

Check out the latest episode from Peace Talks Radio. Jamie Silvonek, charged as an adult at 14 and serving a 35-year sentence in Pennsylvania discusses the harm that carceral settings impose on children in part 1.

This week, Youth Advocate Bree Hood spoke alongside other advocates in Harrisburg on behalf of a bill to stop the state's practice of taking social security & disability benefits intended for children in foster care. We appreciate bill co-sponsors @RepDelozier and @RepKrajewski.

This week, Youth Advocate Bree Hood spoke alongside other advocates in Harrisburg on behalf of a bill to stop the state's practice of taking social security & disability benefits intended for children in foster care. We appreciate bill co-sponsors Reps Sheryl DeLozier (R) and Rick Krajewski (D).

Teens are human beings who want to hang out and be a part of public life. Curfews don't make communities safer; they draw more kids into the legal system, exposing them to harm. Our CEO @riyasahashah.bsky.social spoke to WTOP about the move to reinstate youth curfews in DC. wtop.com/dc/2026/04/d...

Harsh conditions of confinement young people face in youth prisons undermine and interfere with their normal adolescent development, lead to PTSD and other traumatic stress reactions, and exacerbate outstanding mental health issues.

We fight to get children out of youth prisons and foster group homes because they are rife with sexual abuse. This Sexual Assault Awareness Month, Director of Comms Katy Otto writes about urgency in this crisis and why all children deserve better. #SAAM jlc.org/news/justice...

Youth Advocate Bree Hood is speaking today at 1pm in Harrisburg on behalf of a Pennsylvania bill to stop the state from taking social security and other benefits away from youth in the foster system. Tune in to hear from Bree and other advocates! www.youtube.com/live/SIw63Df...

Strip searches. Shackles. Solitary confinement. Physical and sexual abuse. These are the horrors children face in youth prisons. They are robbed of critical years of their development, facing separation from their families and communities.

We've said it before, and we'll say it again, community over cages every time. No amount of training can solve for a system that perpetually harms children. www.wisn.com/article/milw...

This Sun is Trans Day of Visibility, celebrating & remembering trans lives – past, present, and future. Around the country, youth stand in coalition to protect trans and nonbinary youth rights. We support this TDOV Rally in Harrisburg &similar events nationwide.  pawins.org/event/2pm-tr...

Bree Hood, an alumna of Juvenile Law Center's Youth Advocacy Program, spoke on the steps of the PA Capitol in Harrisburg about the need for a Pennsylvania Office of the Child Advocate. This Office would provide greater accountability and oversight for children in the juvenile legal and foster system

Last year alone, Maryland tried a shocking 1,000 youth as adults. That’s why it is heartening to see a bill moving forward in the Maryland State House that helps to move the needle in the right direction – treating kids as kids.

We oppose trying children as adults, full stop. Punishing children in the adult court system does not advance public safety. Research shows that as youth mature, they naturally stop or desist from criminal activity and are less likely to re-offend.

Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake youth prisons have eliminated the use of pepper spray and reduced solitary confinement, but youth held there could still face harm.

Check out the latest Substack from our CEO Riya Saha Shah as she reflects on the bridge between childhood and adulthood - and how we treat individuals at this unique moment in time.  riyasahashah.substack.com/p/blurred-li...

We stand with partner organizations across the state urging Governor Shapiro to use his administrative power to call for the removal of detained immigrant children at Abraxas.

This week marks the 21st anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court decision in Roper v. Simmons ruling that the juvenile death penalty was unconstitutional.

Check out the Imprint's podcast interview with our co-founder and Chief Legal Officer Emeritus Marsha Levick. Hear some highlights from her career, including landmark cases, the law as relates to children today, and where the fight for youth justice is going. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...

We have waited long enough for bipartisan juvenile justice reform in Pennsylvania. Rep. Shusterman has three bills in the Senate that would collect key data, support indigent defense in court and limit the use of certain harsh procedures used in facilities.

Please join us in welcoming our new staff attorney Christine Lorica! We are honored to have her as part of the team. Read her bio to learn more about her background fighting for youth rights and justice. jlc.org/staff/christ...