Stargate Theatre pays at-risk youth to script and stage performance pieces. Their aim: to reduce recidivism, teach literacy and provide work experience that looks far better on a CV than jail time. An alternative-to-incarceration program recommended Thompson to Stargate, a pilot project founded last year by the prestigious Manhattan Theatre Club (MTC), which produces Broadway and Off-Broadway plays. The unconventional Stargate theater troupe pays “court-involved” and at-risk teenage boys...

The Mendocino County Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Commission is happy to present the book Inside/Outside: Your Choice - A letter from Prison by John Mendoza F65673. The book is geared towards youth between twelve and eighteen years old. The link to the website is: inside-outside.me This book was made possible by a grant from the Mendocino County Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Commission and the generous donations of Heroes for Youth, sponsored by CASA (Court...

After decades of debate, New York this week raised the age at which juveniles are automatically tried as adults, from 16 to 18. It was one of the last states in the country to make the shift — and it was hailed as a triumph. “This is one of the strongest raise the age bills passed to date,” said Marcy Mistrett, C.E.O. of the Campaign for Youth Justice, a national advocacy group that fought for the change in New York and is still working on a similar bill in North Carolina, now the only...

This series has been supported by the Solutions Journalism Network , a nonprofit organization dedicated to rigorous and compelling reporting about responses to social problems. Kids in Prison: Getting Tried as An Adult Depends on Skin Color Part 1: Hundreds of minors as young as 14 are being tried as adults in New Jersey, and almost 90 percent of them are black or Latino kids. Kids in Prison: Germany Has a Different Approach, Better Results Part 2: Our reporter went looking for a state with...

Back for the second year, Beyond Paper Tigers conference will take place June 28th and 29th in Walla Walla, WA. Featuring Dr. Ken Ginsburg from Children's Hospital of Philadelphia as the keynote speaker, BPT builds on the story of one community and how they've learned that embracing trauma-informed care and implementing ACEs science truly takes a village. Operationalizing the latest in brain science, BPT will provide concrete strategies for intervention with youth, families, and communities...

Last week, a group of California-based foundations announced a $1.3 million investment into nonprofit community-based organizations in 11 of the state’s counties, including Los Angeles, through the Positive Youth Justice Initiative. This comes after two previous investments as part of PYJI’s three-phase initiative to eliminate racial disparities and transform the state’s juvenile justice system to better serve California’s vulnerable youth in need of trauma-informed care. This third monetary...

Want to curb juvenile delinquency and prevent incarceration? Try fruits and vegetables . Too often efforts to keep kids in school and out of jail fail to consider the link between nutrition and behavior. Programs designed to prevent juvenile delinquency, or rehabilitate offenders, tend to focus correcting problem behaviors and pay little attention to what kids are eating. Several studies have found that poor nutrition in childhood can lead to the externalization of aggressive, antisocial,...

This 7-page fact sheet delineates the path from complex trauma exposure to involvement in the juvenile justice system; describes the “survival-oriented coping” that youth adopt to manage their lives; and explores the many challenges these youth face in managing their emotions, physical responses, and impulses. The fact sheet presents recommendations for judges and juvenile justice program administrators, parents and family members, and adults who supervise youth. To read more, visit: ...

Not long ago, the city of Richmond, Calif., was considered one of the most dangerous cities in America. There was a skyrocketing homicide rate fueled by gangs of young men settling personal or territorial disputes. But today, the city of about 100,000 residents is called a national model for reducing gun violence. Many cities around the country are adopting their unconventional strategy to prevent violence —– which includes paying potential criminals to stay out of trouble. This street...

Sen. Holly Mitchell sits at her desk on the fifth floor of the Capitol and holds up a book. On the cover a small boy in oversized jeans and a Tommy Hilfiger T-shirt stands on a plastic milk crate, too small to reach, as a police officer presses the young child’s ink-soaked fingertips onto a piece of paper. “That image just stuck with me,” Mitchell said. The senator from Los Angeles is pushing a bill through the Legislature that would bar the state from prosecuting children under age 12. In...

WASHINGTON, D.C. – March 14, 2017. The Institute for Higher Education Policy (IHEP) today launched # CollegeNotPrison (link is external) , a social media and public awareness campaign to educate policymakers, campus leaders, and the public about the financial aid barriers justice-involved youth face when pursuing higher education. The #CollegeNotPrison (link is external) social media campaign showcases a short, two-minute video featuring Alton Pitre, 25, a senior at Morehouse College...

For youth in underserved San Diego neighborhoods, Francisco Carbajal is a turnaround specialist. He has a gift for diverting at-risk students away from the juvenile justice system and toward a path to educational achievement and community leadership. Francisco manages the Restorative Community Conferencing (RCC) Program at the National Conflict Resolution Center (NCRC) as part of the organization’s celebrated “Avoiding the Pipeline to Prison” Initiative. With strong support from regional law...