Welcome to the Commission on Youth at Risk
Features
- 2008 Commission on Youth at Risk Semi Annual Report
- NEW ABA POLICY: Addressing Racial Disparities in the Child Welfare System
- NEW BOOK: Families in Need of Critical Assistance: Legislation and Policy Aiding Youth Who Engage in Noncriminal Misbehavior
- 2006-2007 Year-End Report of the Commission on Youth at Risk
- Calendar of Events
- Online Media Kit
- Girl Scouts Seek Young Lawyers as Facilitators/Mediators
Background
Program Highlights
Resources
- Information on the DVD on Addressing the Needs of Status Offenders and their Families
- National Resource Center for Youth Services
- Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement
- Resources by State
- ABA Policies Concerning Youth
- White Papers, Fact Sheets
- U.S. Dept. of Justice Office of Juvenile Justice & Delinquency Prevention
- ABA Division of Public Education
- ABA Center on Children and the Law
- Teen Dating Violence Prevention Kit
- Dialogue on Youth and Justice
- Childrens Budget
Forthcoming Article Series on Representing Juvenile Status Offenders
The American Bar Association Center on Children and the Law (ABA) is currently developing an online article series and resource center on how attorneys can best represent juvenile status offenders. This series builds upon the ABA’s ongoing efforts to improve outcomes for this population of at-risk youth, through its publications, conferences and policy resolutions and will be available by the end of 2009. There will be six articles drafted by expert legal consultants identified by the ABA. Articles will cover issues ranging from the applicability of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA) to how to access early intervention and diversion services for juvenile status offenders.
The topics for the series include:
- Overview of the JJDPA and What the Act Means for Practitioners
- Who are Status Offenders and How to Work with Them
- Accessing Intervention Services and Avoiding Deeper Involvement in the Court System
- Preparing for Trial and Contempt Proceedings
- Transferring Cases between Status Offense, Abuse/Neglect and Delinquency Dockets
- Special Education and Disability Rights of Juvenile Status Offenders
In addition, the ABA’s online resource center will offer information about different state approaches and laws as well as video interviews of experts from multiple disciplines discussing legal advocacy for this population.
For more information about this project, please see www.abanet.org/child/jso.shtml
This Just In...
The American Bar Association Section of Litigation, Young Lawyers Division, and Youth at Risk Commission presents a FREE on-line Audio Teleconference on Fostering Connection to Success Act: Moving from Act to Action
The Fostering Connections to Success Act, H.R. 6893, was signed into law on October 7, 2008 and will become effective over the course of the next two fiscal years. The Act puts into place some of the most sweeping federal foster care reforms in over a decade. This program will examine the sections of the Act that will impact the work of judges and lawyers for children. The new law will open the door to federal support for youth through the age of 21, ending the trend, in many states, to push youth out of foster care at the ill-prepared age of 18. Other provisions from the Act that will be outlined and discussed in this teleconference include the ability to:
- Find, approve, and support relative caregivers
- Increase efforts to preserve sibling ties
- Mandate coordination and improved oversight of education and health needs
- Encourage adoptions
- Provide federal assistance and protection to native American and Alaskan native children
- Preserve educational stability and enhance education support
- Support the training of lawyers and judges
Our Expert Faculty
- Howard Davidson, Director, ABA Center on Children and the Law, Washington, DC
- Marisol Garcia, Solo Practitioner, Law Office of Marisol Garcia, Lowell, MA
- Honorable Michael Nash, Presiding Judge, Los Angeles Juvenile Court, Los Angeles, CA
- Jenny Weisz (Moderator), Tuff University, Department of Child Development and Urban Policy Newton, MA
Success Stories
- Becky's Story Video | Real Media
- Foster Case Partnership Video | Real Media
- Youth Villages Video | Real Media
ABA 2009 Mid Year Meeting - CLE
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What is the Role of Lawyers and the ABA in Promoting Public School Reform for At-Risk Students? Friday, February 13, 2009 |
ABA 2008 Annual Meeting - CLE
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Advancing
the Right to Quality Education - The Role of the Legal Profession in School Reform for Youth at Risk Friday, August 8, 2008 |




