Blog Aug 8, 2018
Direct File of Youth to Adult Court: Gone and Unlamented as Youth Arrests Fall to All-time Low in 2017
The abolition of direct file in California has resulted in more selective and less political decisions by judges, rather than by prosecutors, to better meet the individualized needs court-involved youth.
With over 6 million people barred from voting on Election Day through felony disenfranchisement policies, their communities are left without the voting power to access resources and address their needs. Opportunities for civic engagement, including voting, among justice-involved individuals can bring us closer to solutions.
In the FY 2018 – 19 budget, California makes prudent new investments in community-based youth but fails to modernize the state’s juvenile justice data bank and needlessly expands the troubled state youth correctional system.
Despite initial fears that reductions in prison populations would rebound to counties by increasing jail populations, statewide prison reform now appears to be a model for “jail reform.”
Blog May 23, 2018
Building Collective Power for a Better Future
Tina Curiel-Allen – a writer, poet, community leader, and Next Generation Fellow – offers a glimpse into her past, the challenges she faced during re-entry, and her hopes for the future.