Trump administration decides to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (“DACA”) program, which protects many undocumented vulnerable young adults–known as​ “Dreamers”–who arrived in the U.S. as children, and are now going to college or working. This decision has a six-month delay, which gives Congress time to come up with other legislative options, should they chooseRead More

The Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute’s Foster Youth Interns released their federal policy recommendations, Unlocking Potential: The Strength of Our Stories as Key to Child Welfare Reform, which highlight key federal reforms that have potential to improve the life experiences and opportunities for youth in foster care.  Recommendations address specific recommendations on a broad range ofRead More

The Aspen Institute for Community Solutions released a landmark report on the return on investment associated with reengaging opportunity youth. This report, authored by John Bridgeland and colleagues, documents the economic and societal costs associated with young people’s disconnection from school and work, and the potential savings of reengagement. This report also provides a federal funding roadmap and setRead More

By John Holland for JJIE When New York recently moved to Raise the Age, that left North Carolina with the dubious distinction of being the last remaining state to automatically charge all 16-year olds as adults, regardless of the crime. This finally motivated the state to act, and the legislature has passed a version ofRead More

After decades of debate, through the tireless efforts of numerous advocates and public leaders, New York is finally poised to end the practice of automatically trying all 16- and 17-year olds in adult court. Click the links below to read news coverage of the event: The Fine Print in New York’s Raise the Age Law,Read More

On Tuesday, June 20th, The House of Representatives passed a series of foster care related bills, including Improving Services for Older Youth in Foster Care Act, which would expand the John H. Chafee Foster Care to Independence Program from age 21 to 23.  It would allow youth to use educational vouchers until the age ofRead More

The Youth Justice Work Group of YTFG invites you to a conference call for funders on Thursday, May 18th at 1pm ET / 10am PT. Featuring Xavier McElrath-Bey of the Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth, Marsha Levick of the Juvenile Law Center, and Lauren Fine and Joanna Visser Adjoian of the Youth Sentencing & Reentry Project.Read More

The Federal Advisory Committee on Juvenile Justice (FACJJ) has issued recommendations to the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) for strategies to advance juvenile justice reform for LGBQ/GNCT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, questioning/gender nonconforming, transgender) youth. The recommendations are grouped into four categories: Policy and Program Development Training and Technical Assistance Data Collection andRead More

The Social Security Administration (SSA) has been implementing a pilot program since August 2016 that allows young people in foster care to apply for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits earlier than permissible under current rules. Since 2010, the SSA’s rules have allowed foster children to apply for this program up to 90 days before hisRead More

On March 1, the National Quality Improvement Center on Tailored Services, Placement Stability and Permanency for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning, and Two Spirit Children and Youth in Foster Care at the University of Maryland announced an upcoming grant opportunity for implementation of evidence-based, evidence-informed, and/or promising programs and interventions to address the unique needsRead More