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NCYL has joined Texas Appleseed, Advocacy Inc., and the Center for Public Representation in calling for a U.S. Department of Justice investigation into reports of violence, improper use of restraints, and program deficiencies in 10 secure lockdown facilities operated by the Texas Youth Commission (TYC).
These 10 facilities house about 2,000 juveniles, and most are located far from major urban centers. Interviews conducted at these facilities, along with information from TYC records obtained through open records requests, document accounts of violence, excessive use of restraints for minor offenses, inadequate mental health care and educational programs, and a fear for personal safety among young detainees in some facilities.
Click here for Letter to DOJ
Click here for Press Release
MEDIA COVERAGE:
Amid new abuse inquiry, TYC ombudsman resigns
and
Lawmakers want hearings on Texas Youth Commission
Austin American-Statesman
Groups Urge US inquiry into alleged assaults, lapses at Texas juvenile lockups
Dallas Morning News
Groups says abuse remains in Texas juvenile prisons
Houston Chronicle
Advocate: Abolishing TYC Could be Best Fix
Texas Tribune
NCYL’s Foster Youth Education Initiative has released its long-awaited report on how California is ensuring foster children receive appropriate educational opportunities.
Most children have parents who monitor their academic progress, attend parent-teacher conferences, enroll them in appropriate classes, and generally ensure they receive a quality education. Their parents serve as their educational advocates.
Foster youth frequently lack such advocates. As a consequence, they often fail to receive the opportunities necessary to succeed in school. This report examines an emerging strategy designed to ensure foster youth receive the opportunities they need: the creation of educational advocacy systems for foster youth.
Download the report.
For more information about Foster Youth Education Initiative and NCYL's education work click here.
An on-line community for everyone working to help children and youth in California’s foster care system succeed in school. Read more
For First Time in Decades, Washington State Passes Bill to Address Legal Representation of Foster Youth
Attorneys from the law firm of Perkins Coie, with NCYL’s assistance, filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus in California’s Court of Appeal seeking the release of Sara Kruzan.
The US Supreme Court ruled that sentencing youth who "did not kill or intend to kill" to life without parole is unconstitutional.
Ms. Kruzan is serving a life without parole sentence for shooting her then 36-year-old pimp when she was 16. The pimp had sexually abused Sara since age 11 and began trafficking her as a prostitute when she was 13.
Read more
NCYL filed suit against Nevada and Clark County child welfare officials on April 13, charging them with violating state and federal law and showing "deliberate indifference to the health and safety of the children [they are] obligated to protect."
NCYL Senior Attorney Bill Grimm is interviewed in the LA Times about the effectiveness of CA's Child Death Disclosure law (SB39) almost two years after its enactment in 2008.
L.A. County welfare agency refuses to release files on children's deaths
Feb. 13, 2010 - Officials cite 2007 disclosure law in barring access to data on recent cases. Read more
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