By Joan Kaufman, Mary Dozier and Carole Shauffer | New York Times — To the Editor: Re “Study Suggests Orphanages Are Not So Bad” (news article, Dec. 18): The article describing the study of 6- to 12-year-olds suggested that orphanages are not so bad. As the authors of the study noted, institutional care is detrimental for infants and […]
Loren Warboys’ Unsung Heroes 2009
Each year, the Youth Law Center presents the Loren Warboys Unsung Hero award to individuals who have made exemplary contributions to improve the lives of at-risk youth in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems. This year’s awardees are RACHEL BARR Rachel Barr received her Clinical Diploma and her Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology with Harlene […]
SB 1147 Comments
YLC and the Western Center on Law and Poverty submitted comments on draft SB 1147 materials to the California Department of Health Care Services on December 4, 2009. SB 1147 requires California to suspend rather than terminate Medi-Cal for individuals under 21 who become inmates of the public institution. The goal of SB 1147 is […]
JDAI Training in Portland
Staff Attorneys Sue Burrell, Deborah Escobedo, and Corene Kendrick conducted a training on Dec. 3 and 4 for facility staff from Oregon and Washington in Portland. The training was on how to assess the conditions of confinement at the juvenile detention facility. The training was part of the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Juvenile Detention Alternatives […]
California JIDAN Featured in Models for Change Newsletter
The MacArthur Foundation’s Models for Change newsletter this month features the JIDAN project and includes a discussion about how the California JIDAN team has been using technology to help juvenile defenders. The Youth Law Center is part of the California JIDAN team. Click here to read about it.
YLC Participated in Traveling Training
YLC participated in the Traveling Training for legal services advocates sponsored by the Legal Aid Association of California (LAAC) in Fresno, California on November 17, 2009. LAAC developed the Traveling Training series to meet training needs identified at a 2001 meeting of California legal services advocates. The goal is to bring high-quality substantive trainings advocates […]
Equity Project’s “Hidden Injustice”
The Equity Project has just released Hidden Injustice: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Youth in Juvenile Courts. Hidden Injustice is the first comprehensive report to examine the experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) youth in juvenile courts nationwide. LGBT youth comprise a significant portion (up to 13%) of youth in detention, according to […]
Alphabet Soup Trainings
YLC provided training on benefits available for children in out-of-home care on November 6 in San Francisco and November 9 in San Jose. Legal Services for Children hosted the San Francisco training for its staff and staff from the Juvenile Court Division of the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office. Legal Advocates for Children and Youth […]
YLC One of Amici in Graham v. Florida Amici Curiae Brief
The Youth Law Center is one of the Amici Curiae in this brief to the Supreme Court supporting the elimination of life without possibility of parole. Download the Graham v. Florida amici brief.
Alice Bussiere Core Trainer for the College of Advocacy
YLC Staff attorney Alice Bussiere served as a core trainer for the College of Advocacy conducted October 9-16 in Los Gatos, California by the Benchmark Institute. The College of Advocacy provides an intensive training in advocacy skills, leadership and substantive law for attorneys, paralegals and other advocates who are new to legal services. For more […]
YLC Part of Review Team
YLC is working with consultants from the Annie E. Casey Foundation (AECF) to conduct a follow-up review of child abuse and neglect policies, protocols, and practices for the Denver Department of Human Services. In 2008, AECF and the Child Welfare League of America completed a third party review at the request of DDHS, which resulted […]
Corene Kendrick Receives Miles Rubin Public Interest Award
The Youth Law Center is pleased to announe that Corene Kendrick is the 2009 Miles Rubin Public Interest Award Recipient from Stanford Law School. Corene will be honored at the John and Terry Levin Center for Public Service and Public Interest Law Annual Public Service Awards Dinner on Monday, November 2, 2009, along with Debo […]
Sue Burrell to Present at National Juvenile Defender Summit
YLC Staff Attorney Sue Burrell will be moderating a Plenary on “Defense Strategies to Challenge and Reduce Over-Incarceration” at the National Juvenile Defender Summit in Denver, Colorado, to be held October 16-18, 2009. The Summit is an annual invitational event hosting juvenile defense counsel and advocates from around the county. Sue also is co-presenting a […]
Valley Mirror Investigates Abuses at Tehama Co. Juvenile Hall
YLC Attorney Sue Burrell was interviewed for a Sacramento Valley Mirror series exposed alleged sexual misconduct by Tehama County Juvenile Hall staff with detained juveniles. Sue provided background information about applicable laws and regulations. The four part series ran August 19 to August 29, 2009. Four part series
Training in Indiana
YLC staff Sue Burrell, Corene Kendrick and Deborah Escobedo will be heading to Indianapolis, Indiana to present an all-day workshop on Facility Conditions Standards at the National Partnership for Juvenile Services Conference held October 11-14, 2009. YLC co-authored an extensive set of standards for juvenile detention centers as part of its technical assistance work for […]
Letter to Senator Debbie Stabenow
The Youth Law Center joined with over 35 national child welfare and mental organizations to thank Senator Debbie Stabenow for introducing an amendment to ensure that Medicaid coverage includes Therapeutic Foster Care (TFC.) TFC provides medically necessary, cost effective services to at least 50,000 children with severe mental and behavioral health needs in a community-based […]
Marquez v Calif. Dept. of Health Care Services – Filed
The Youth Law Center, along with other legal advocates, have filed a lawsuit challenging California Medi-Cal policies that deny necessary medical care to children who have other health care coverage (OHC) when the other coverage does not provide the health care services the child needs. Medi-Cal policy requires individuals to use other available health care […]
ACLU and CYFD Reach Agreement on JJ Facilities
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Friday, September 4, 2009 Contact: Peter Simonson, ACLU of NM Executive Director (505) 266-5915 x1002 ALBUQUERQUE— In a settlement reached today with the ACLU of New Mexico and the Youth Law Center (San Francisco, CA), the State of New Mexico Children, Youth, and Family Department (CYFD) agreed to continue to make substantial […]
California to Close Its Largest Juvenile Prison
By Michael Rothfeld | Los Angeles Times — Reporting from Sacramento – The state is closing California’s largest youth prison as the population of juvenile offenders in state custody continues to decline, corrections officials announced Thursday. The Heman G. Stark Youth Correctional Facility in Chino will be converted into an adult prison, state officials said. The move is […]
Fostering Connections to Success
By Alice Bussiere, Jennifer Pokempner, Jennifer Rodriguez | YLC staff attorneys Jennifer Rodriguez and Alice Bussiere co-authored an article with Juvenile Law Center Attorney Jennifer Pokempner, entitled “Fostering Connections to Success: Extending a Social Safety Net for Youths Facing Homelessness and Poverty.” The article discusses provisions of a new federal law that affect older youth in […]
YLC Works on Sam M. v. Carcieri Amicus Brief
The Youth Law Center joined fourteen other children’s advocacy organizations in an amicus brief filed with the First Circuit Court of Appeals in the case of Sam M. v. Carcieri. The amicus brief was filed by Suffolk University Professor Erik Pitchal on behalf of the National Association of Counsel for Children (NACC) and the other […]
Evaluation of GALs in Nebraska
YLC Staff Attorney Corene Kendrick is working with Madelyn Freundlich, Senior Child Welfare Consultant at Excal Consulting Partners, and the National Association of Counsel for Children (NACC) on an evaluation and analysis of the Guardian ad Litem (GAL) system in Nebraska. GALs are attorneys who represent abused and neglected children in dependency proceedings. The evaluation […]
Damon King, Skadden Fellow to Begin Work at YLC
Damon King, our Skadden Fellow, will begin work here on September 14th. His project is to enforce the rights of children in California’s group homes through direct representation, legal support to court-appointed attorneys, and collaboration with state agencies to resolve facility licensing violations. The goal of his project is to reduce the frequency of group […]
Nicole M. Lewis Joins the YLC Board of Directors
The Youth Law Center is happy to announce that Nicole M. Lewis has just joined our board. Ms. Lewis is vice president of global marketing for Kelly Services, Inc., a world leader in human resources solutions. She is charged with the development of new products, as well as, the marketing strategies for Kelly’s global client […]
People v. Nguyen Decision a Disappointment
The California Supreme Court ruled on July 2, 2009, that juvenile felony adjudications count as “strikes” under California’s Three Strikes Law, even though youth do not have the right to a jury trial in juvenile court. The Youth Law Center is disappointed by the court’s decision, as we had joined in an amicus brief in […]
Strip Search of 13 Year Old Student Unconstitutional
The Youth Law Center celebrates the United State Supreme Court decision in Safford v. Redding, finding unconstitutional the strip search of a 13 year-old middle school student. The 8-1 decision held that strip searching Savana Redding based on information from another girl who was found with prescription strength Ibuprofen and over the counter drugs. The […]
Mercury News Article re Lack of Mental Health Services
California’s Locked-Up Children Languish without Mental Health Services By Karen de Sá | Mercury News — The lengthy detention of a mentally ill 11-year-old boy in Santa Clara County’s juvenile hall has raised alarm among national juvenile justice experts. But while the jailing, recently reported by the Mercury News, is rare, it reveals a far more common problem: […]
Press Release re Alejo v. O’Connell
Lawsuit Filed to Protect Programs for Homeless, Neglected, Migrant, English Learners and Other “At Risk” Students Concerned parents and community groups throughout California filed suit in San Francisco Superior Court today challenging State Superintendent Jack O’Connell’s decision to suspend monitoring of specialized education programs for Homeless, Neglected, Juvenile Justice, Migrant, English learners, and other disadvantaged […]
CMS Acts to Withdraw Harmful Medicaid Rules
In December 2007, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued rules that would have restricted Medicaid funding for case management services for children in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems. Case management services are particularly important for children with complex medical and mental health needs. The Youth Law Center opposed these changes […]
No Discrimination Against Foster Children with Disabilities
San Francisco Superior Court Judge Peter Busch ruled on June 4th that California state foster care officials must comply with state and federal disability laws in the AFDC-FC program, which provides support for children in foster care. The ruling came in Leonard v. Wagner, a case filed in California state court in July 2007 by the Public […]
Corene Kendrick on ABC Channel 7 May 10, 2009
Corene Kendrick will be on “Beyond the Headlines” at 10:00 a.m. this Sunday, May 10th, on ABC Channel 7 to talk about A.B. 12, the California Fostering Connections to Success Act, and transition-aged foster youth.
Gateway Charter High School Fundraiser
Through their Future Leaders Institute, Gateway Charter High School Students, lead by Maricarmen Hernandez, are hosting a fundraiser to support the Youth Law Center’s “Baby Elmo” program. Baby Elmo is our program that helps incarcerated teen parents stay connected to their children. The event takes place at Gateway Charter High School on May 6, 2009, […]
Corene Kendrick Part of Nebraska NJDC Team
Staff Attorney Corene Kendrick was part of a team of juvenile justice experts organized by the National Juvenile Defender Center to travel to Nebraska to assess the access to and quality of juvenile defense counsel in the state. The National Juvenile Defender Center has performed 16 of these assessments across the country. The assessments provide […]
Sacramento Bee Article re Youth Jails Closure
Closure of Youth Jails Proposed in Cash-Strapped Sacramento County By Andy Furillo | Sacramento Bee — Sacramento County probation officials have proposed shutting down their two main youth jails for convicted juvenile offenders, a budget move that carries potentially drastic implications for public safety. The Probation Department’s proposal to close the Sacramento County Boys Ranch and the Warren […]
YLC Supporting AB 154, AB 47 and SB114
Additional child welfare bills that the Youth Law Center is supporting are AB 154 that will inform adoptive parents about the availability of the federal and state adoption tax credits; Assembly Bill 47 that will adjust a tax credit that is currently available to offset the cost of adoption of older foster youth or youth who were […]
YLC Co-Sponsoring AB 12
YLC is co-sponsoring AB 12, which will extend foster care benefits to youth after the age of 18 and allow California to participate in the federal Kinship Guardianship Assistance program. AB 12 has broad support, with 37 co-authors, and 8 co-sponsors including: the California Alliance of Child & Family Services, the California Youth Connection, the […]
YLC Supporting AB 938
YLC is supporting AB 938, which provides for early identification and notification of relatives of children who have removed from home because of abuse or neglect. AB 938 also implements a recommendation of the Blue Ribbon Commission on Children in Foster Care to insure that all parties in juvenile court proceedings have a meaningful opportunity […]
Signing on to Amicus
We have signed on to an amicus brief in a strip search case, Safford v. Redding, that is going before the Supreme Court. The case has to do with a teenage girl being strip searched at school after another student said that she had prescription strength ibuprofen and it turned out that she did not. Safford v. […]
Santa Clara County Jails Youngest Child Ever
By Karen de Sa | Mercury News — One of the youngest children ever to be locked up in Santa Clara County spent five days in juvenile hall late last month, the Mercury News has learned, an unusual detention of a 10-year-old that has top officials scrambling to correct a case they describe as deeply disturbing. "In hindsight, […]
Governor Schwarzenegger’s Support of AB 12
In his March 9, 2009, press conference, Governor Schwarzenegger issued a statement of support for A.B. 12, the California Fostering Connections to Success Act, co-sponsored by the Youth Law Center: “I am committed to working with Assembly Speaker Karen Bass and Senate Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg on a bipartisan solution that ensures our children and […]
John and Marcia Goldman Foundation Grant
The John and Marcia Goldman Foundation has awarded the Youth Law Center and the Santa Clara University Law School a grant for leadership training. The Youth Law Center will provide training and supervision to two to four Santa Clara University law students for ten weeks full-time this summer followed by part-time work during the academic […]
YLC Awarded Attorney Fees in L.H. v. Schwarzenegger
U.S. District Court Judge Karlton recognized the Youth Law Center and its co-counsel for their outstanding work in L.H. v. Schwarzenegger, in the attorneys’ fee award order he wrote today: “The resumes of both of the Youth Law Center attorneys demonstrate experience in litigation on behalf of juveniles…the quality of representation by plaintiffs’ counsel throughout […]
Santa Cruz Kicks Off Participation in YLC Birth to Six Initiative
The Youth Law Center assisted Santa Cruz County in hosting an event on February 4th to educate and involve the community in their new department initiatives to improve the lives of children in foster care, including participation as the newest YLC Birth to Six Initiative and Family to Family site. Approximately 175 attendees, including foster parents, […]
California Working Families Policy Summit January 13, 2009
The Youth Law Center is co-sponsor of the 2009 California Working Families Policy Summit to be held January 13 at the Sacramento Convention Center. Organized by The California Center for Research on Women and Families, the Summit is expected to bring together over 700 policymakers and advocates to address high priority policy issues for California […]