September 2007Vol. 8, No. 8The ABA Youth at Risk Initiative
The American Bar Association (ABA) Youth at Risk Initiative is the theme of the July 2007 issue of Family Court Review. The initiative focuses on how attorneys and the legal system can better help teenagers whose family or behavioral problems place them at a significantly higher risk of involvement with the courts. These teenagers may come to the court's attention through the child welfare or juvenile justice system.
The articles in this special issue address the following topics:
- Juvenile status offenders
- Youth aging out of the foster care system
- Girls, particularly girls of color, involved with the juvenile justice system
- Abused and neglected adolescents
- Youth placed in unregulated treatment facilities
Several articles discuss the findings and policy recommendations of the ABA in such areas as licensing, regulation, and monitoring of residential facilities serving at-risk youth; enhanced support for foster and homeless youth and juvenile status offenders; and improving laws and policies related to youth exiting the foster care system.
This special issue was edited by Howard Davidson, director of the ABA Center on Children and the Law, and the co-director, with Mabel McKinney-Browning, of the ABA Youth at Risk Initiative. It can be accessed online:
