“The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago, the second best time is today.”  DJJ Commissioner Hasan Davis used that Chinese Proverb as a metaphor for the progress of the Unified Juvenile Code Task Force, believing that in the past we did not use the available resources to plant the seeds that will enrich and safeguard Kentucky’s youth and we must seize the opportunity to do it now. School representatives talked about [...]

“The best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago, the second best time is today.” DJJ Commissioner Hasan Davis used that Chinese Proverb as a metaphor for the progress of the Unified Juvenile Code Task Force, believing that in the past we did not use the available resources to plant the seeds that will enrich and safeguard Kentucky’s youth and we must seize the opportunity to do it now. School representatives talked about [...]

We haven’t charged any 4-year-old with a crime since 2008!  Patrick Yewell, Executive Officer of Family and Juvenile Servcies at the Administrative Office of the Courts, offered that tongue-in-cheek praise at last week’s second meeting of Kentucky’s Unified Juvenile Code Task Force.  But his message was clear – we need common sense revisions to the laws that govern how we handle youth misbehaviors.  He proposed changes to handle misbehavior by young children with services to [...]

Kentucky’s Juvenile Justice Taskforce, created during this year’s legislative session, met for the first time this week to begin studying the juvenile code and making recommendations for improvement. It is exciting to see the work get underway, after the Blueprint for Kentucky’s Children has called for legislative change to improve how Kentucky deals with behaviors like skipping school or running away. The task force holds great promise for improving how Kentucky handles these children and [...]

I recently got back from a little trip to Florida. It is easy to fall in love with the sun and sand and seafood. But hey, all is not perfect down there. I mean what can you say about a state where the highest elevation is 345 feet? That is not even a molehill in certain parts of Kentucky. Also, the Sunshine State now has the official title of the nation’s most congested state, finally [...]

By: Rebecca Ballard DiLoreto, Children’s Law Center, Litigation Director The United States Supreme Court ruled today,  June 25th 2012, in Miller v. Alabama that sentencing schemes which mandate life in prison without possibility of parole for homicide offenses committed by minors violates the Eighth Amendment. The Eighth Amendment prohibits cruel and unusual punishment and guarantees individuals the right not to be subjected to excessive sanctions. That right “flows from the basic ‘precept of justice that [...]