Juvenile Law Center

10/08/2026

Big thanks to everyone who came out yesterday to WHYY for Debtors' Prison for Kids: Ending Economic Injustice for Children! Cherri Gregg moderated a panel with professional football player and advocate Dequan Jackson and our Chief Legal Officer Jessica Feierman about the debilitating consequences of fines and fees in the juvenile legal system. We looked towards the ongoing fight to end this practice in every state.

Read our report, released a decade ago:https://debtorsprison.jlc.org/documents/jlc-debtors-prison.pdf

10/08/2026

Rather than spending hundreds of thousands per year to lock up a child, lawmakers could invest in community programs and resources. Less than 5% of what it costs to lock up a child per year could fund restorative justice, mentoring, diversion, or family/trauma therapy. These approaches are also proven to work better.

Alternatives to youth incarceration are possible. We’re fighting to keep kids in their homes and communities.

10/08/2026

We are so proud of our co-founder Marsha Levick, who has just been named a Distinguished Daughter of Pennsylvania by Governor Josh Shapiro. This designation honors extraordinary women for their outstanding service and contributions to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Marsha has been a steadfast champion for children's rights and is so deserving of this honor! We were happy to join her in Harrisburg yesterday as she accepted.

(Pictured in group photo with DDP President Velma Redmond and regional co-chairs JoAnne Fischer and Page Talbott).

10/07/2026

Our team is growing! Join us in welcoming new board members Shaena Fazal, Jordan Jean, and Tania Stewart, as well as our new 2026-2028 Sol & Helen Zubrow Fellow in Children's Law Jennifer Kim.

Learn more about them: https://jlc.org/news/juvenile-law-center-welcomes-three-new-board-members-and-new-zubrow-fellow

10/05/2026

We are now accepting applications for the 2027-2029 Sol & Helen Zubrow Fellowship in Children's Law. Applications are due Friday, January 8, 2027. If you are passionate about children's rights and have graduated from law school within the past two years, please consider applying! Learn more:

The Sol & Helen Zubrow Fellowship in Children's Law is a two-year, non-project-based fellowship in children’s law. Recent law school graduates with a demonstrated commitment to Juvenile Law Center’s mission and to working in the child welfare and justice systems are eligible to apply.

10/01/2026

October is Youth Justice Action Month, and we are sounding the alarm on locking up children. It costs a whopping average of $214,620 per year (roughly $588 per day) to lock up a single child in a youth prison. https://www.aecf.org/resources/sticker-shock-2020

By comparison it costs approximately $17,644 to educate a child in public school in grades K-12 in the U.S. per year.

Youth prisons aren’t just expensive; they are harmful and they fail children. That’s why we fight to keep children out of the juvenile legal system.

This brief explores the economic toll of youth confinement and its long-term harm to young people’s well-being. Read more about the lasting impact.

10/01/2026

Children and families face harmful fees and fines in the legal system - for a court fee, a child’s incarceration, ankle monitors and more. We’ve been fighting to abolish these fees and fines for more than a decade. Hear about the future of this work from Chief Legal Officer Jessica Feierman and Senior Attorney Nadia Mozaffar.

10/01/2026

It's October - and that means it is Youth Justice Action Month!

Youth Justice Action Month starts tomorrow! Our 2026 YJAM theme is Building a Future Where Youth Thrive because we believe that our young people should get to have lives that are rich, full, and include all of the support that they need as they transition to adulthood.

Check out our newly updated YJAM website and learn how you can take action for youth justice this October: https://www.youthjusticeactionmonth.org

10/01/2026

A great night out celebrating our Education Law Center colleagues at their annual event! We fight side by side for children’s rights. ELC champions a fundamental right to education for Pennsylvania children each and every day. Thanks for all you do, ELC!