(l-r) Judge J. Corpening; Ben David, district attorney, New Hanover County; Chief Justice Paul Newby; Judge Andrew Heath, executive director, Administrative Office of the Courts of the Chief Justice's ACEs Informed Courts Task Force. David and Heath serve as Task Force co-chairs . “There is not any more important work going on in the State of North Carolina,” said Ben David, District Attorney for New Hanover County and co-chair of the Chief Justice’s ACEs-Informed Task Force . The Task force...

To listen to the podcast, please click HERE. In this episode, Michael Yellow Bird speaks with cohost Fleet Maull on his experiences working with indigenous youth, and his research focused on "Neurodecolonization". The systemic impacts of Colonization and abolishing indigenous sacred meditative practices “Neurodecolonization” The conceptual mindfulness framework and healing trauma in incarcerated, indigenous groups Building cognitive resilience in indigenous youth MICHAEL YELLOW BIRD Michael...

Image Credit: Julian Armstrong To read more of Annabelle Le Jeune 's article, please click here. A young Native Hawaiian farmer shows up to work every day to cultivate indigenous crops using traditional and contemporary methods to feed his island home community. The best part of going to work, he says, is the view. Each day, he farms within the embrace of the Olomana mountain peak’s undulating, lush ridge. Sitting between the farm where he works and the view that he loves is the Hawaiʻi...

(l-r) Judge J. Corpening; Ben David, district attorney, New Hanover County; Chief Justice Paul Newby; Judge Andrew Heath, executive director, Administrative Office of the Courts of the Chief Justice's ACEs Informed Courts Task Force. David and Heath serve as Task Force co-chairs . “There is not any more important work going on in the State of North Carolina,” said Ben David, District Attorney for New Hanover County and co-chair of the Chief Justice’s ACEs-Informed Task Force . The Task force...

SACRAMENTO – California today became the first state in the nation to offer a targeted set of Medicaid (Medi-Cal in California) services to youth and adults in state prisons, county jails, and youth correctional facilities for up to 90 days prior to release. Currently, Medi-Cal services are generally available only after release from incarceration. Through a federal Medicaid 1115 demonstration waiver, the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) will establish a coordinated community...

Photo: Courtesy of Alliance for Safety and Justice In a new book, Lenore Anderson says the legal system doesn’t serve most victims or alleviate unaddressed trauma. For decades, the cause of victims’ rights has been one of the most powerful political movements in the US. From the 1980s to 2010s, advocates worked with law enforcement to transform the criminal justice system, passing more than 32,000 laws explicitly in the name of victims. Fueled by backlash to the civil rights era, white...

Incarcerating youth undermines public safety, damages young people’s physical and mental health, impedes their educational and career success, and often exposes them to abuse. Though the number of youth confined nationwide has declined significantly over the past two decades, our country still incarcerates far too many young people. It does so despite overwhelming evidence showing that incarceration is an ineffective strategy for steering youth away from delinquent behavior and that high...

On Sept. 19, 2019, Kaia Rolle was arrested at her Orlando school after throwing a tantrum and hitting several staffers. She was 6 years old. She was charged with battery. Though the charge was dismissed, Kaia was traumatized by the experience and now has post-traumatic stress disorder, along with a litany of other mental health problems. © Orlando Police Department Authors: To read Andrea Ball and Dian Zhang's article, ‘She looks like a baby’: Why do kids as young as 5 or 6 still get...

Join Pathways to Resilience on Thursday, December 15 at 3 PM ET to hear about how courts in Florida, North Carolina, and Tennessee have implemented trauma-informed policies and programs to better support children and families. Many individuals who interact with the justice system have experienced significant trauma. To mitigate the impact of adverse childhood experiences and improve long-term outcomes, some courts have developed programs and policies that train court personnel on the effects...

JDAIcon­nect is a vir­tu­al des­ti­na­tion — cre­at­ed by the Casey Foun­da­tion — for juve­nile jus­tice reform­ers to talk, find resources and learn. JDAIcon­nect is avail­able to every­one — prac­ti­tion­ers, pol­i­cy­mak­ers, com­mu­ni­ty-based orga­ni­za­tions, advo­cates, youth, fam­i­lies, researchers and any oth­ers — who are inter­est­ed in youth jus­tice. Mem­ber­ship is open to all, whether or not you par­tic­i­pate in the Juve­nile Deten­tion Alter­na­tives Ini­tia­tive® . This...

The Foundation’s juvenile justice reform agenda is designed to improve the odds that at-risk youth can make successful transitions to adulthood. We are working to create a system that locks up fewer youth and relies more on proven, family-focused interventions that create opportunities for positive youth development. To learn more, visit https://www.aecf.org/work/juvenile-justice .