Juvenile Justice Project of Louisiana 1600 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd. New Orleans, LA 70133

New Orleans officials this week released data that show almost 93 percent of the 7,748 children stopped for curfew violations in the city between 2009 and 2012 were African-American. The release came a few days after New Orleans police acknowledged they had misspoken in October when they told NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune that they did not track the demographics of curfew violators.

LOS ANGELES, March 27, 2013 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ — The new six-week series, premiering Friday, March 29, illuminates the school-to-prison pipeline and hears from those making a difference

Last night on PBS, a new episode of TAVIS SMILEY REPORTS titled “Education Under Arrest” examined the connection between the juvenile justice system and the dropout rate among American teens, as well as the efforts by educators, law enforcement professionals, judges, youth advocates, and the at-risk teens themselves to end what has become known as “the school-to-prison pipeline.” This weekend, the conversation continues in a new six-week series on the national syndicated radio program The Tavis Smiley Show from Public Radio International (PRI).

How we built the world’s prison capital Times-Picayune Special Projects Reporter Cindy Chang and Juvenile Justice Project of Louisiana Executive Director Dana Kaplan talk about the state’s correctional system.

JJPL’s mission is to transform the juvenile justice system into one that builds on the strengths of young people, families and communities to ensure children are given the greatest opportunities to grow and thrive. We have three key program objectives to achieve this mission: to reduce the number of children in secure care and abolish…

Over 70 attorneys, mitigation specialists and investigators attended a free two-day workshop on sentencing and resentencing based on the US Supreme Court decision in Miller v. Alabama. Attendees heard from criminal justice experts including George Kendall and Denny LeBoeuf, adolescent development expert Marty Beyer, and mitigation specialist Juliet Yackel.  Plenary sessions addressed topics such as…

Managing Director and Schools First project director, Jolon McNeil spent May 30 providing training to the incoming cohort of 200 Teach for America (TFA) Corps Members on the school-to-prison pipeline and effective classroom discipline practices.  Through these trainings, teachers have more tools for classroom management, teachers become more confident in establishing a positive classroom culture, and…

On Wednesday, May 8, POMM youth participated in a workshop on restorative justice led by POMM member organization: Kids ReThink New Orleans Schools. Rethink youth, who have established over seven clubs in schools across New Orleans, have formed a Restorative Justice Committee dedicated to promoting tactics and practices geared towards moving schools away from punitive…

June 27th at 7:30 PM Zeitgeist Theatre Presented by JJPL, ACLU, Southern Poverty Law Center, BreakOUT!, Touro Synagoue, and Jesuit Social Research Institute The injustice of solitary confinement and the transformative power of art are explored in Herman’s House, a feature documentary that follows the unlikely friendship between a New York artist and one of…

As the legislative session comes to a close, we’re pleased to report that the amended version of HB 152 has been sent to the Governor’s office for review. This bill puts Louisiana in compliance with the US Supreme Court decision in Miller v. Alabama, which determined that sentencing juveniles convicted of homicide to mandatory life…