Delaney House
Youth Justice Legislative Briefing 2025

On June 17th, Citizens for Juvenile Justice (CfJJ) and our partners hosted a legislative briefing at the Massachusetts State House. We were joined by young people, advocates, legislators, and public health experts and others from across the youth justice continuum to discuss how public policy reform can create better outcomes for young people across the Commonwealth. The bills presented during the event address critical issues impacting young people including a lack of system transparency, the need to expand diversion opportunities, increasing holistic school safety approaches and reducing the harms of legal system involvement.

Youth Justice Legislative Briefing 2025
Delaney House
A Just Healthcare System for Justice-Involved ...

Every young person deserves access to developmentally appropriate services that address their needs, including quality healthcare. This includes young people who find themselves incarcerated in juvenile and adult facilities. Research establishes that poor health is correlated with crime and delinquency, meaning that access to quality healthcare for young, incarcerated people is necessary for their positive development and ultimately greater public safety.

A Just Healthcare System for Justice-Involved Youth in Massachusetts
Delaney House
AI in Schools: Overinvestment in Technology and ...

As AI has proliferated, some school districts are turning to AI-powered “weapons detection” systems in an attempt to curb violence at schools. These systems ultimately offer the illusion of increased safety due to their visibility, but research shows that there is a lack of proven results.

AI in Schools: Overinvestment in Technology and Underinvestment in Students

Know Your Rights: ICE and Schools

Know Your Rights: ICE and Schools

All students, regardless of immigration status, have the right to a free public education. Schools must not implement policies that discourage or deny access based on immigration or citizenship status. Massachusetts law and federal precedent make it clear: schools are not immigration enforcement zones. A new guidance from the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office outlines how K–12 public schools can uphold students' rights and protect sensitive information in the event of requests from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Know Your Rights: ICE Enforcement

Know Your Rights: ICE Enforcement

The Massachusetts Office of the Attorney General (AGO) has released a ‘Know Your Rights’ guide to provide communities with guidance to increase understanding about federal immigration enforcement activity in the Commonwealth and the legal rights people have when interacting with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. Here is a summary of this guidance, which can be found in its entirety on the MA Attorney General's Office website.

Youth Justice Legislative Briefing 2025

Youth Justice Legislative Briefing 2025

On June 17th, Citizens for Juvenile Justice (CfJJ) and our partners hosted a legislative briefing at the Massachusetts State House. We were joined by young people, advocates, legislators, and public health experts and others from across the youth justice continuum to discuss how public policy reform can create better outcomes for young people across the Commonwealth. The bills presented during the event address critical issues impacting young people including a lack of system transparency, the need to expand diversion opportunities, increasing holistic school safety approaches and reducing the harms of legal system involvement.

A Just Healthcare System for Justice-Involved Youth in Massachusetts

A Just Healthcare System for Justice-Involved Youth in Massachusetts

Every young person deserves access to developmentally appropriate services that address their needs, including quality healthcare. This includes young people who find themselves incarcerated in juvenile and adult facilities. Research establishes that poor health is correlated with crime and delinquency, meaning that access to quality healthcare for young, incarcerated people is necessary for their positive development and ultimately greater public safety.

Raise the Age Rally

Raise the Age Rally

Young people and advocates show their support for Raising the age of juvenile jurisdiction.

On April 18, 2024, young people, advocates, and youth-serving organizations and agencies converged on the steps of the Massachusetts State House to champion legislation to Raise the Age of juvenile court jurisdiction, a critical transformation of our justice system that would mark the type of change that our youth deserve.

Alternative Approaches to School Safety

Alternative Approaches to School Safety

Pushing for School Hardening Measures Causes Further Harm to Students

Responses to school safety must center students’ needs, opposed to increasing the criminalization of young people. Amid alleged incidents of heightened violence in schools, such as Brockton High School, calls for school hardening measures and zero tolerance approaches fail to honor the needs of struggling students…