COVID-19 Resources and Responses
- Brief: “COVID-19 in Juvenile Facilities,” by Josh Rovner, The Sentencing Project, November 13, 2020.
NJJN Campaign: #ShutDownSequel
A campaign to shut down the for-profit youth facility management company, Sequel Youth and Family Services. NJJN Members and partners with information or interested in investigating Sequel in your state, please email info@njjn.org.
- Article: “Utah faces criticism for its light oversight of ‘troubled teen’ treatment centers,” The Salt Lake Tribune. November 22, 2020. Investigation of Utah’s Office of Licensing lack of oversight of Sequel facilities.
- Podcast: “The bad place,” RevealNews.org, November 21, 2020. In a yearlong investigation, APM Reports found Sequel Youth and Family Services profited by taking in some of the most difficult-to-treat children and providing them with care from low-paid, low-skilled employees.
- Article: “Advocates demand Washington bring out-of-state foster children home after child's death in Michigan,” King5.com, November 10, 2020. Disability Rights Washington urges the termination of Washington state’s relationship with Sequel, with 18 groups signing onto advocacy letter.
Racial Justice/Anti-Racism News
- Article: “Superpredator: The The Media Myth That Demonized a Generation of Black Youth,” The Marshall Project. November 20, 2020. As The Marshall Project reports, the term “Superpredator” was born 25 years ago; this article looks at how the term, which had no data to back its claims, dehumanized Black youth with lasting impacts.
- Article: “Out of Jail and Back in School, Grace Finds Her Voice,” by Judi S. Cohen. ProPublica. October 31, 2020. A follow-up to the story of “Grace” which sparked an national outcry when the teenager girl was sent to detention for not completing her online school homework.
Publications/Resources/News
- Event: Virtual plenary session, "The Road to Abolition" on Wednesday, December 2, from 2:00-4:00pm ET. Hosted by The Communities for Just Schools Fund (CJSF) and the Andrus Family Fund (AFF). During this virtual plenary, movement organizers and leaders will discuss the call for abolition and what it means in this moment as the nation navigates the dual pandemics of COVID-19 and racial injustice.
- Report: “Human Rights Protections for Children in the U.S. Justice System – 2020 National State Ratings Report,” Human Rights for Kids. Provides state rankings of youth treatment in the justice system.
- Article: “Kentucky Is Succeeding in Keeping Youth Out of the Juvenile Justice System,” Urban Wire, the blog of the Urban Institute, November 23, 2020.
Jobs/Opportunities
- Job: The Center for Children’s Advocacy (CCA), the largest children’s rights organization in New England, seeks a dynamic attorney for its Racial Justice Project. CCA is a non-profit organization dedicated to enforcing the legal rights of low-income children. The Racial Justice Project uses direct legal services, administrative advocacy, litigation, legislative advocacy and collaborative work with communities and agencies to increase educational equity for children and youth of color and defend the civil rights of children and youth of color who are subjected to policies and practices that result in racial disparities in educational opportunity and juvenile justice involvement. Read full job description.
Share your news in next month's roundup! Send articles to mcswain@njjn.org.