Think about what it means to ‘come home.’ A homecoming, at its best, carries the promise that you belong somewhere and that your return matters to the people around you. For the nearly 600,000 people leaving prison in the United States each year, coming home often falls short of that experience. Reentry Begins Day One When I began my career, reentry was largely an afterthought. Nearly half of all people released from a Michigan prison returned within three years. While disma

A Decade in the making: Bills head to the governor's Desk After more than ten years of hard-fought advocacy, Maryland's legislature passed significant legislation (SB0323/HB409) reducing the number of children automatically tried as adults. Until this change, Maryland automatically transferred youth charged with a wide range of offenses into the adult criminal court, a practice known to be dangerous and ineffective; over 75% of them were eventually transferred back to juvenil

A number of state legislative sessions have now ended or are winding down. We bring you an update on the legislation we reported on in our last newsletter as well as some additional bills of importance to a trauma-centered approach to youth justice. We invite you to share policies that are being considered in your state so that we can track, respond, and advocate together for what young people need most. For the most up-to-date info, check out our 2026 Legislative Tracker. A

WHAT ARE GROUNDING PRACTICES? Grounding practices are simple, evidence-informed techniques that help bring your attention back to the present moment and restore a sense of safety and stability in your body. They work by interrupting the stress response and reconnecting you to your physical senses, your breath, and the environment around you. For advocates, care workers, and directly impacted individuals, the nervous system is regularly activated by exposure to injustice, seco

Reprinted with permission from the Maryland Youth Rights & Safety Hub. When I toured the Evening Reporting Center (ERC) run by Pride Youth Services (PYS) in Rockville last year, their CEO, Ludley Howard, told us, “We are each other’s keeper.” That spirit was evident in the inviting space that PYS had created and the staff’s rapport with the young people there. ERCs are a community-based alternative to confinement—both prior to and after trial—for youth in the juvenile justice

Many state legislative sessions are well underway this year, addressing a range of critical issues that could redefine youth justice for years to come. We invite you to share policies that are being considered in your state so that we can track, respond, and advocate together for what young people need most. Age of Jurisdiction The Virginia General Assembly has passed SB 18 that would establish a minimum age for juvenile delinquency of 11 years old! Virginia currently has no