In Part 1 of this blog, we described the data on suspensions and expulsion by race/ethnicity in the United States. But, what about Wisconsin? Unfortunately, rates of suspensions and expulsions in Wisconsin are more disparate than they are nationally. According to 2013-14 data from the Department of Public Instruction: Only about 4% of...
Youth Justice
The Truth about Juvenile False Confessions
The recent Netflix documentary Making a Murderer unleashed a wave of scrutiny over procedures in the criminal justice system, including investigation and interrogation practices. In that vein, we posted a few weeks ago discussing what Making a Murderer shows about juvenile confessions—that false confessions by youth can be fairly easily...
Youth in Confinement II: The Not so Good News
In Part 1 of this blog, we discussed the good news that rates of youth confinement are declining nationally, demonstrating a 40% decline in youth confinement from 2003 to 2013. However, we also alluded to a caveat—the data doesn’t look equally as good for all groups of youth, especially youth of color. A further analysis of youth in...
Youth in Confinement I: The Good News
Many are aware of the high rates of incarceration in America and, not surprisingly, this applies to youth as well, with the United States holding more youth in juvenile detention, correctional facilities, and residential facilities than any other industrialized country. Fortunately, as evidence builds that confining youth is...
Future Trouble in River City! (Flint, Michigan that is)
Although many thought that lead poisoning has been largely abated over the last decade, the Flint water crisis has reminded the country that lead poisoning is a real threat for many children and families. You can check out a January WCCF post on the health concerns that remain. It’s well established that lead exposure is damaging to...
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