As an organization, we are in the middle of a three-year strategic plan to pursue a movement-building strategy that will bring people together to advance child-centered public policy, informed by racial equity and the lived experience of children and youth.
Hundreds of young people have participated in our CDF Beat the Odds program in California. We celebrate BTO scholars, past and present.
Many county juvenile facilities charge high prices and profit from phone calls to fund their operation. Parents and young people pay the price. Learn how much California parents pay to talk to their children who are locked up.
This document identifies the actions that CDF-CA is pursuing in 2021 to ensure that children—particularly poor Black, Brown and Indigenous children—have what they need to realize their potential. Recognizing that children don’t come in pieces, our policy agenda focuses on actions that support the whole child including their families, the communities where they live, the systems meant to serve them, and their physical and mental health.
The goal of this election guide is simple: to champion policies that improve the lives of California's children, particularly those who have been historically marginalized. We hope the information will make it easier to identify worthy candidates who understand the challenges facing children and families, and who commit to taking action to level the playing field for California's children, particularly poor children and children of color.
Learn more about SB 439 and view a profile of younger children's justice involvement in Los Angeles County.
On September 30, 2018, Governor Jerry Brown signed into law Senate Bill 439 to establish a minimum age of 12 years old for prosecuting youth in juvenile court in California, except in the most serious cases of murder and forcible rape. In response to the passage, the Board of Supervisors (Board) unanimously adopted a motion to set a minimum age for Los Angeles County’s juvenile justice system. The motion directs the Department of Health Services Office of Diversion and Reentry’s Division (ODR’s) of Youth Diversion and Development (YDD) to develop a comprehensive plan to divert younger children from juvenile court jurisdiction and detention.
We have not seen a pandemic of the scale, swiftness, and severity of COVID-19 in over a century. But the virus of police violence against Black people has been with us for too long.
A timeline of achievements between 2018 and 2019 that lead us closer to achieving our vision of an equitable future for Black & Brown youth.
CDF-CA representing The Center for Juvenile Law and Policy and Independent Juvenile Defender Program filed a petition for a Writ of Mandate in the Supreme Court of California to immediately and substantially reduce and safeguard youth populations in juvenile halls and camps.