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Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

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Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

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Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Report: Moms, Families Target Juvenile Justice Reforms

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Friday, May 6, 2016   

PIERRE, S.D. - Families of more than 170 young people in South Dakota will be feeling the pain of separation this Mother's Day weekend because of incarceration, a new report suggests.

In many states, according to the "Mothers at the Gate" report from the Institute for Policy Studies, family members are challenging the juvenile-justice system to make changes.

Report co-author Karen Dolan, a fellow at the institute, said South Dakota has taken positive steps this year including passing a ban on sentences of life without parole for juveniles. Dolan said moms across the country are trying to do more by becoming policy experts and activists.

"These mothers don't want to be seen as victims," she said. "They are experts, they are resources in terms of how to change the conditions, not just for their children, but for other children."

Nationally, Dolan said, some juvenile-justice reform advocates are trying to get states to end solitary confinement while others want to ultimately abolish youth imprisonment altogether.

Over the past decade, South Dakota is among the states that have enacted laws aimed at reducing the youth prison population. However, Dolan said her research shows more kids are being locked up for a wider range of offenses, including those that once were considered juvenile misbehavior.

"We see more criminalization and policing inside of schools," she said. "You have much less tolerance for childish behavior, and so these children end up being locked up instead of sent to the principal's office."

The report suggested several other changes South Dakota and other states could make, such as improving visitation rules and telephone access for families.

The report is online at ips-dc.org.


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