The Pennsylvania Supreme Court reversed and remanded the order terminating parental rights in the L.B.M. case, holding that failure to appoint to counsel to represent the children's legal interests was structural error. This is a case in which the NACC signed on to the Amicus Brief in which it argued that in a termination of parental rights case, children are entitled to a client directed lawyer that will represent their legal interests, as opposed to the dual role of serving both their legal interest and best interest. The Court was highly divided and wrote in four separate opinions. The plurality opinion, authored by Justice Wecht and joined by Justices Dougherty and Donohue, held that:

CDC
April 3-7 is National Youth Violence Prevention Week. The CDC's Preventing Youth Violence: Opportunities for Action and its companion guide, Taking Action to Prevent Youth Violence, provide information and action steps to help each of us be a part of the solution.

The Chronicle of Social Change
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly last week seemed to walk back his earlier comments in which he proposed splitting up mothers and children who arrived at the border together.

AECF
Within the last decade, seven states have passed laws to raise the age on juvenile justice jurisdiction. The payoff for making this switch is clear, according to a report from the Justice Policy Institute.

KTVZ
The Oregon Senate unanimously passed a bill Monday that will unshackle juveniles when they attend court proceedings or when they are transported between foster homes or mental health treatment programs.

ACLU of Washington
The ACLU of Washington has filed a class-action lawsuit against the Office of Public Defense (OPD) — the state agency responsible for public defense in Washington — for failing to enforce minimum standards of public defense in Grays Harbor County.

The New York Times
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio vowed on Friday to close the troubled jail complex on Rikers Island, which has spawned federal investigations, brought waves of protests and became a byword for brutality, in a move he said was intended to end an era of mass incarceration in New York City.

Meredith Baker, NM

Shannon Mese, LA
Mallory Stoll, MN
Phillip Wiseman,OR