Raise the Age: Keep Children Out of the Adult System
Op-ed: Suffer the children, News-Record (04.29.2013)
The author Pearl S. Buck once wrote, “If our American way of life fails the child, it fails us all.”
A recent report from the United Nations Children’s Fund reveals that our country is failing us all.
The UNICEF report compares child well-being in 29 of the world’s most advanced economies. The U.S. ranked 26th in overall child well-being and in the bottom seven countries in material well-being; health and safety; educational well-being; housing and environment; and life satisfaction.
Young enough for adult trial? Bill would prosecute 13-year-olds on felonies, The Charlotte Post ( 04.18.2013)
How young is too young to stand trial as an adult?
A bill that would give prosecutors authority to try juveniles in N.C. Superior Court has galvanized children’s rights and civil rights advocates.
Bills Affect Young Offenders in Different Ways, NC Health News (04.19.2013)
Bills Affect Young Offenders in Different Ways
Press Conference for Young Offenders Rehabilitation Act (4.17.2013)
On April 17, 2013 Rep. Marilyn Avila and advocates held a press conference on the Young Offenders Rehabilitation Act (H725). This legislation raises the age of juvenile jurisdiction from 16 to 18 years old for misdemeanors.
NC advocates for children visit General Assembly, WRAL (04.17.2013)
RALEIGH, N.C. — Hundreds of advocates for North Carolina children visited Raleigh on Wednesday to encourage General Assembly members to invest in education and health care and reduce the number of teenagers tried as adults for low-level crimes.
Doctors, child care operators, parents and law enforcement officials visited legislators and heard speeches on the lawn behind the Legislative Building as toddlers and others played in the midday sun with hula hoops and a life-sized game of Chutes and Ladders.
Raise the Age Fact Sheets and Infographics
Fact sheets and infographics with important Raise the Age (RTA) information.
An Open Letter to the North Carolina Legislature, The Huffington Post (04.05.2013)
Before I get into the nitty gritty, I just want to get something off my chest. I love North Carolina. Truly I do. It took me a long time to get there, in part because moving to a new town when you're 10 is hard and I didn't want to allow myself to love this new place. But I do. They say absence makes the heart grow fonder, and I have found that to be almost painfully true as someone who is no longer a resident of North Carolina. I find myself often longing for the cool mountain breezes, ice-cold creeks, sweet tea, and southern hospitality.
