A Pennsylvania juvenile court judge was sentenced Thursday to 28 years in prison for accepting some $1 million in bribes from a builder of two juvenile detention centers. Judge Mark Ciavarella, Jr., 61, was convicted earlier of racketeering in a scheme where he sent juveniles as young as 10 to the detention facilities. Ciavarella apologized…

This is episode 1 of The Ish, a weekly video series examining youth culture and the issues impacting young people. Check in each Thursday for a new video, and don’t forget to head over to Facebook to enter our sweepstakes to win $100 and a JJIE VIP Swag Pack! The Ish is brought to you…

As many as one in five child welfare cases in New York City involve a parent with a mental health diagnoses, attorneys estimate, which creates challenges for parents, children and caseworkers. Challenges that advocates believe aren’t being addressed, according to a recent story in the weekly,  City Limits Activist Lauren Shapiro, who works in the city to…

A 43-year-old man faces charges in a California juvenile court for the murder of a 14-year-old classmate more than two decades ago. Steven John Carlson was arrested this week and charged with the 1984 death of Tina Faelz, a fellow student at Foothill High School in Pleasanton, Cali., near Oakland. Faelz was found stabbed to…

Logan* was five when he entered foster care for the second time. Nine years later, at 14, he’s still in foster care.  This Georgia boy’s long stay in the foster care system started when his mother signed a temporary voluntary relinquishment of her parental rights because of her alcohol and drug abuse. Back then, the plan was…

A missing or abducted child may be one of the most frightening possibilities a parent can imagine. And in those first moments of panic, when every second counts, providing an accurate description of the missing child to authorities is critical. That’s where the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) first smartphone app intends to help….

Heroin may be about to get a mean on. That’s what JJIE’s Ryan Schill writes in a three-part series this week. Though statistics don’t show an enormous surge in heroin arrests, both current and former users, as well as counselors report an upsurge in use among teens, mostly white, mostly suburban. Increased supply, its relative…

Aren’t experiments cool? Well, OK, not always. Sometimes the chemistry set blows up, but most of the time you learn something at least. We just finished up an experiment here at JJIE, and thanks to you it was successful. Bill Sanders, a former features writer at the Atlanta Journal Constitution brought us a story idea…

The Francis L. Abreu Charitable Trust for metro Atlanta, provides grants for children and youth services, education, health associations, arts and culture organizations. The trust supports capital campaigns, program development, seed money and matching funds. The deadline for this grant is September 30.  

Connor Whitesell, 17, was riding his dirt bike and wanted to try out a homemade ramp. Cody Holder, 16, dove into a shallow pool at a relative’s house – despite his father’s warnings. Kristyn Osterhaus, 19, was joyriding — without a seatbelt — in the backseat of an overloaded Jeep, following a summer party.  The…