There may be no youth policy area more driven by myths and misconceptions than juvenile justice. The spring 2003 issue of Advocasey, from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, tackles the problem head on, with an article by Foundation president Doug Nelson decrying the trend toward fad justice for teens, Another briefing explores four crucial choices facing the juvenile justice field: rethinking "adult time for adult crime", striking a better balance between confinement and community, protecting the civil rights of youth, and making policy and program choices based on solid research, not media hype.

Project Safe Place provides access to immediate help and supportive resources for all young people in crisis through a network of sites sustained by qualified agencies, trained volunteers and businesses.

The report provides information on the number and characteristics of children who are gone from their homes because they have run away or been thrown out by their caretakers. Youth ages 15-17 made up two-thirds of such episodes during 1999.

The Child Welfare League of America has compiled a list of juvenile justice legal resources. Read more in CWLA's Juvenile Justice Division.

Instead of being "scared straight," youth who commit nonviolent crimes like shoplifting are learning about choices, consequences, and their own worth through community diversion programs like Neighborhood Youth Services in Duluth, Minnesota. One mother, whose 14-year-old son was arrested for shoplifting, says the experience changed her family's outlook.

Through photographs and words, five young people who have been through the juvenile justice system in California offer a kaleidoscope of thoughts on where they have been and where they are headed. This project by Brooklyn photographer Joseph Rodriguez also includes Rodriguez' own journey through the system as a young man in Brooklyn. This is the first web site included in the Human Rights Watch High School Pilot Program. Click on "Human Rights Watch" which is lsted on the left side of the screen.

From one of the nation's more troubled juvenile courts to a model that strives to put children's needs first, the Orleans Parish Juvenile Court in New Orleans, Louisiana has turned itself around. Judge Ernestine Gray has overseen the changes. She spoke with Connect for Kids' Julee Newberger.

In a growing number of towns and cities across the country, teens who plead guilty to minor offenses may get the chance to appear before a jury of their peers—other youth. Julee Newberger explores the reasons why youth courts, which emphasize positive peer pressure, are a growing trend in juvenile justice.

The Council is dedicated to serving the nation's children and families by improving the courts of juvenile and family jurisdictions. Their weekly newsletter has updated news and information from around the country.

Beyond Rhetoric: A New American Agenda for Children and Families (published in June, 1991) contends that the options adolescents face today are more diverse than in past decades, the demands upon them are greater, and, in many cases, their sources of support are more limited. Read an excerpt of the final report of the National Commission on Children, which calls for a movement to ensure that every young person enters adulthood confident, hopeful, and able to achieve his or her potential.