Child Welfare
Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski (D-Md.), chairwoman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pension subcommittee on children and families, will hold a hearing to consider child abuse legislation in the wake of the Penn State scandal, reports Richard Simon of the L.A. Times.
In Kentucky, advocates are pushing Gov. Steve Beshear for a child welfare overhaul after damaging revelations about children killed by abuse, reports Deborah Yetter of the Courier-Journal.
Young people in Los Angeles County’s foster care system are protesting the proposal by Michael Nash, presiding judge of the L.A. County Juvenile Court, to open up court proceedings to the public.
Education/Jobs
Stop arresting parents for placing their kids in different/better school districts, and start focusing on the reason they do it, writes Gwen Samuel, Connecticut Parents Union president, writing in Dropout Nation.
Juvenile Justice
Isaac Wolf of Scripps Howard News Service reports on juveniles who are tried as adults and are kept in adult jails and prisons. For those offenders, reports Wolf, federal protections for juveniles do not apply.
Busy day for Wolf! He also reported on a plan to build a 230-inmate, $100 million jail for juveniles being tried in adult court, which has “come under withering criticism from community groups who want criminal justice reform.”
Donna Carbone, a member of the Treasure Coast, Fla. Community, argues on TCPalm.com that life without parole for juveniles is just punishment.
