Focus area

Youth Justice

We work to transform the youth justice system so that it better embodies true justice and equity for children. We advance community-based, health-centered alternatives to harmful system practices and build towards a culture in which the system treats children as children. The work we do prioritizes evidence-based solutions that are proven to decrease recidivism and meet children with empathy and care.

Center Youth
We provide direct services to students impacted by the youth justice system to help improve their school’s practices to better serve them. We also work directly with youth to file litigation and mobilize youth in policy advocacy and grassroots capacity building through partnerships with community-based organizations.

Our Success & Impact

Get up to date on our latest work - from litigation and policy wins to new reports, resources, events and more.
Latest News
Success and Impact

Nation's Top Legal Justice Group for Kids, Announces New Leader

The National Center for Youth Law has chosen one of its own – and the first woman and person of color – to carry forward the organization’s mission to...
Success and Impact

Families, youth to receive cash reimbursements from Riverside County

Riverside County, per the settlement, will pay $540K in reimbursements and has agreed to stop collecting more than $4 million in outstanding fees.
Success and Impact

Settlement results in added accountability for Sacramento school district

Settlement reached in lawsuit that challenged the Sacramento district's harmful practices of excluding and segregating students with disabilities.
See All News

Our Initiatives

Replace Harmful Punishment of Youth with Community-Based Supports

Research shows that the best way to ensure healthy outcomes for both youth and community is to stop harmful and traumatizing practices such as arrest and detention, and instead invest in comprehensive, community-based supports and services.

End The School To Prison Pipeline

Schools nationwide use harsh punishments that push students - especially Black and Brown students - into what is known as the school-to-prison pipeline. NCYL uses many strategies to disrupt the school-to-prison pipeline and create positive school environments that meet students’ academic, social and

Achieve #DebtFreeJustice

When youth are involved in the juvenile legal system, they can be charged thousands of dollars in unjust fees and fines. NCYL works to eliminate this harmful practice through ongoing impact litigation, policy advocacy and nationwide and community collaborations.

Related Events

2023 FosterEd Arizona Foster Care Conference: School Experience and Promoting Student Success

Wednesday, September 27, 2023: In-Person

South Mountain Community College Student Union Conference Center
Seating is limited! 

Thursday, September 28, 2023: Virtual

 

register for free now

 

 

Legal Advocacy & Impact Litigation
See All Cases

D.P. v. School Board of Palm Beach County

Filing date
2021-06-22
Police employed by the School District of Palm Beach County illegally use the Florida Mental Health Act, also known as the Baker Act, to subject hundreds of students each year to involuntary psychiatric examinations, without their parents' input, consent and, sometimes, over their objections.
Active

Freeman v. County of Riverside

Filing date
2020-06-01
This lawsuit alleges Riverside County of illegally collecting juvenile administrative fees.
Active

Sigma Beta XI v. County of Riverside

Filing date
2018-07-01
This lawsuit alleges that Riverside County, California, through its Probation office, targets, ensnares, and discriminates against children by stripping them of their constitutional rights.
Active
See All Laws & Policy

Justice for Survivors (2023)

AB 1497 (Haney)

Creating meaningful pathways to justice for survivors of trauma, domestic violence, sexual violence, and human trafficking who are funneled into our criminal legal system is important for their healing and care, and to stop the further criminalization of victims. Often survivors of survivors of
Inactive

Youth Reinvestment Grant (2023)

AB 912 (Jones-Sawyer)

Youth deserve care and support, not surveillance and confinement. Our responses to young people should emphasize positive youth development approaches over punitive measures and incarceration. In 2018 and 2019, California made important investments in community-based services and programs that
Active

Ending Childhood Prosecution (2022 & 2023)

HB 22-1131 (Gonzales-Gutierrez)

This bill ends the early criminalization of children by establishing a minimum age for juvenile court prosecution at age 12
Active

Related Resources

Report cover with title and collage of five photos of young people's faces in bright colors

Expanded Confidentiality and Sealing Provisions for Youth Police Records

Starting January 1, 2022, California youth who are diverted from the juvenile justice system after contact with law enforcement will automatically...
SB 203 graphic showing process of youth interrogation
Factsheets

Miranda Rights - Protection Guides for Youth and Professionals

Guides to help youth, law enforcement, and school staff understand the rights youth have during police interrogations to ensure outcomes are just and...
Report cover with title and authors
Reports

Youth Justice In California: Obstacles to a Public Health Approach

This brief highlights three initiatives in California to create systems that support youth, communities, and state by endeavoring to create...
Report cover with title
Factsheets
Reports

District Leadership Checklist for Supporting the Unique Needs of Students in Foster Care, Experiencing Homelessness or in the Juvenile Justice System

This is a tool for local education agency leadership to support planning and monitoring for students that are experiencing homelessness, in foster...
Report title above a mural of young person their hand up holding a flower and the words "They tried to bury us. They didn't know we were seeds."
Reports

Ending Endless Probation

Probation is the most common court ordered outcome imposed on youth in juvenile court in California. Too often, youth are placed on probation for an...
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Where We Focus

National Center for Youth Law is committed to achieving large-scale, lasting change across multiple government systems and public agencies. Explore all the areas of our work to Center Youth.

Education

Foster Care

Health

Immigration

Commercial Sexual Exploitation

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You can be part of the mission to Center Youth and create a world where every child thrives.

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