Health concerns created by the COVID-19 pandemic prompted a massive push to keep youth out of restrictive, secure facilities. The pandemic’s unique constraints fostered creativity and forced leaders to seek new practices within the youth justice system. Further, a report released by Youth Justice Wisconsin found that the number of youth referrals across Wisconsin dropped by half during COVID-19. This reduction in referrals resulted in part from the need to close or severely limit placement of youth in facilities, the administrative capacity of county and state agencies, and school closures. In examining how youth justice practices may have changed during the pandemic, this study contributes to a nationwide conversation on how to divert youth from the youth justice system and shrink the current youth justice population permanently.
Rich Get Richer under Proposed Tax Plan
From Racine to Rhinelander, everyone in Wisconsin deserves the freedom to make a good living and care for our families. However, the tax plan proposed by Republican legislative leadership would further rig the rules in favor of the wealthiest and make Wisconsin’s glaring racial disparities even worse. The four proposals leave everyday families even further behind because none of these tax proposals effectively target families who are struggling to make ends meet.
