On this date in 1989, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). As Oma Vic McMurray points out in a letter in the Capital Times today, the U.S. played a large role in drafting the provisions of the convention. Yet 26 years after it was adopted by the UN, the United States is the only...
For well over a decade, trends in Wisconsin's key juvenile justice numbers have followed the national trends by continuing to decline. That trend continued through 2014 in which there were fewer juvenile arrests (only about 1/3 the number in 2002), a lower juvenile arrest rate (less than ½ of what it was in 2005), and fewer youth...
Borrowing from Jeff Butts, the notion that there is no such thing as a “magic birthday” struck me when I read that Governor Malloy of Connecticut announced a new initiative to look at reforming the justice system for 18 to 24 year olds. Recall that Connecticut recently raised the age of adult jurisdiction from 16 to 17 and then 17 to 18...
Cleveland, Ohio has one of the worst lead problems in the nation…it also has one of the highest crime rates. A recent news series in Cleveland is now presenting the overwhelming evidence that these two issues are connected. The link between childhood lead exposure and crime has long been established, evidenced by research in multiple...
OK- perhaps a “play on words”, but it is time we thought seriously about why and how many youth that appear in juvenile courts across the state are shackled, despite no evidence that unshackling youth results in any danger to anyone. Congratulations to the judiciary in Maine that took up this issue following sustained advocacy from some...
Last month the Department of Children and Families (DCF) released the first part of a two-part multi-year study of the YoungStar quality rating and improvement system (QRIS) for child care. Here is a link to the Executive Summary. The study was done by Katherine Magnuson, PhD who is at UW-Madison. Her conclusion is that yes, "star...
The federal Medicaid agency took a significant step last week toward improving access to health services for Medicaid participants. On October 29, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a long-awaited rule that directs states to ensure compliance with Medicaid access standards in the Affordable Care Act (ACA)....
A new report from the from the Georgetown Center for Children and Families finds that across the nation the rate of uninsured children declined sharply in 2014 following the implementation of key Affordable Care Act (ACA) provisions. The percentage of children in the U.S. who are uninsured dropped to 6.0 percent in 2014, from 7.1...
Once again a national poll shows strong voter approval for early childhood education. The bipartisan poll demonstrates remarkable support for early learning and development. Some key findings: 91% believe that learning in the early years is critical for future success. 89% agree that access to quality early childhood education is a...
This report is an update of prior reports and includes data up through 2014. Many of the trends noted in the earlier report have continued, as juvenile arrests have continued to decline and we have seen a growth in support for successful community-based programs.
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