One year after securing $37 million in state funding for programs that keep young people out of the criminal justice system, an assemblyman from Los Angeles is seeking to more than double support for the initiative in next year’s budget.
Violence & Justice
The murder of a Fresno woman by her partner on May 4 is a reminder of the dangers many domestic violence survivors confront when trying to leave a relationship, police and experts said.
A routine outing with her sons changed Rhonda Foster’s life forever, when gunfire killed one of her young children. “It was just a very devastating time. I felt personally so broken.”
Many teen victims do not tell their family or friends about the abuse, in part because they believe violence is “normal” in a relationship. Some fear not being believed or that their abusers will cause more harm to them or their loved ones.
Immigrant detainees in California are confined in prison-like conditions for up to 22 hours a day, while the counties and cities that contract with ICE exercise little or no oversight of local detention facilities, according to a pair of blistering state reports released Tuesday. The reports from state attorney general Xavier Becerra and state auditor Elaine Howle chronicle shoddy medical care and mental health treatment
Spooked by ICE raids in their communities, news of family separations at the border, and anti-immigrant policies from the federal government, undocumented domestic violence survivors are staying with abusers longer and shunning help, often at risk of their lives. Survivors who do come forward also face greater challenges to pursuing safety and stability than in the past.
From Gunshots to Galleries: Wraparound Violence Prevention Program Helps Victims Restart their Lives
Hospital stays for victims can run hours to months but during that time the caseworkers—who often come from the same neighborhoods as their clients—listen, talk and link them to assistance.
Although California is spending millions of dollars on rehabilitation programs for prison inmates, there’s little evidence to show those programs are effective, according to a state audit.
Advocates for juvenile justice reform are both optimistic and wary of a proposal to put the California Health and Human Services Agency in charge of the state’s juvenile justice system.
Advocates for gun control in California have a lot to celebrate this year as the state enacts a slew of bills aimed at reducing gun violence, and hopes rise that Gov. Gavin Newsom will be more amenable than his predecessor to additional gun reform efforts.