The federal Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has published proposed regulations, a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), intended to provide better care for LGBTQ youth in foster care. These young people are disproportionately represented in the foster care system and need appropriate care to thrive and be safe. Though imperfect, the proposals include strong accommodation for religious foster care agencies with morally conservative sexuality standards. The proposals, however, incorporate an understanding of LGBTQ youths’ experience that undermine  the stated intent to ensure “safe and appropriate foster care” for all children and young persons who need it.  The NPRM […]

On September 28-29, 2023, Notre Dame Law School’s Religious Liberty Initiative hosted the Black Church & Religious Freedom Conference in partnership with the Seymour Institute for Black Church and Policy Studies, whose Founding Director is Rev. Dr. Eugene Rivers, and whose current Executive Director is Dr. Jacqueline Rivers. The Religious Liberty Initiative works to live out the university’s Catholic mission of integrating education, research and service. Their vision emphasizes a world where peaceful flourishing is harnessed through strong legal protections and a cultural embrace of freedom of religion or belief. Their mission is to “promote human flourishing by serving as […]

Joya Schreurs: Hello! We’re so excited to hear about everything that’s happening with the DOVE (Diversion, Occupation, Vocation, Education) program. To begin, could you give us an overview of what DOVE is and how it serves at-risk youth? Kolbe Cole: We want to divert at-risk behaviors, because we recognize that any behavior could be good or bad. We want to catch any kind of truancy or delinquency, like small crimes or infractions and turn those in a positive direction, like entrepreneurship, engineering, or farming. We have a lot of amazing youth in our county and we have a lot of […]

Introduction The trajectory of an entire nation is greatly influenced by how its systems of justice treat the  younger and future generations. Unfortunately, the magnitude of this sobering reality may cause us to delegate the responsibility of opposing harmful juvenile justice policies and of crafting beneficial juvenile justice policies to adults alone. Juvenile justice reforms are sweeping the nation, and the prime movers behind them are the voiced experiences and passionate policy proposals and protests of America’s youth. The VOYCE (Voices Of Youth In Chicago Education) movement in Chicago, IL, is Exhibit A. Background of the SB 100 Campaign By […]

This interview is another part of our series on diversion programs and juvenile justice, exploring how institutions and individuals can help redirect youth from justice system involvement. Joya Schreurs: To begin, can you give us an overview of your connection to the community of Allison Hill, Harrisburg and how that led to your current leadership of the Rock City Learning Center?  Pastor Joshua Robertson: I was born and raised in the Allison Hill community, so it’s near and dear to my heart. I grew up here with my mother and father. My dad’s a pastor, so I’ve been in church my […]

There are 6 million students in a school where there is a School Resource Officer (SRO) — usually an armed member of law enforcement — but no school psychologist on staff, according to a recent Brookings report. The Center for Public Integrity reveals that in the 2017-18 school year alone, almost 230,000 students were referred to law enforcement. These statistics are often used to illustrate the consequences of the school-to-prison pipeline. But what is the school-to-prison pipeline? Sociologist Mark Warren defines it as “an interlocking system of policies and practices that push students of color from low-income communities out of […]