Preventing Homelessness for System‐Involved Youth

AuthorLinda Britton,Lisa Pilnik
Published date01 March 2018
Date01 March 2018
DOIhttp://doi.org/10.1111/jfcj.12107
Preventing Homelessness for
System-Involved Youth
By Linda Britton and Lisa Pilnik
ABSTRACT
Too many youth and young adults find themselves on the streets, couch-
surfing with friends, in emergency shelters or worse, after exiting the child wel-
fare and juvenile justice systems. In some circumstances, youth have had court
hearings until their exit from the legal system, but those hearings have not
focused on long-range plans of youth and emergencies youth may encounter. In
other circumstances, there has been little or no planning prior to discharge, espe-
cially for young people who leave the juvenile justice system. Courts can and
should prevent, alleviate or end youth homelessness for youth who appear before
them through strategies that are enumerated in the recently-passed NCJFCJ reso-
lution. This article expounds on three of these strategies coordinating transi-
tion and re-entry plans, insisting on effective legal representation of youth, and
utilizing sound judicial leadership. It also describes the concurrent efforts of the
Coalition for Juvenile Justice and the American Bar Association’s Homeless
Youth Legal Network to remove legal barriers and improve outcomes for youth
and young adults experiencing homelessness.
Key words: juvenile, homeless, youth, legal needs, issues, barriers, transition, outcome,
education, employment, civil, criminal, records, disproportionate, child welfare, juvenile justice,
LGBTQ, legal services, legal assistance, representation, judicial leadership, dischar ge, resources,
juvenile court, mental health, housing, re-entry, planning.
Linda Britton is the director of the ABA Commission on Youth at Risk, which focuses on the legal
needs of marginalized youth and young adults. She previously served as a juvenile magistrate for the Hon.
Cynthia Wheless, 417th Judicial Court, McKinney, Texas, and was an adult prosecutor in Collin County,
Texas, and Hennepin County, Minnesota. Since 2002, she’s been board-certified in Juvenile Law by the
Texas Board of Legal Specializations.
Lisa Pilnik, J.D., M.S., is an independent consultant on policy and practice related to children,
youth, and families, particularly those involved with the court system. She has spent close to a decade edu-
cating a wide range of stakeholders on the intersections between health, child welfare, juvenile justice,
and homelessness and identifying ways to improve outcomes for youth across these issue areas. She serves as
Senior Advisor to the Coalition for Juvenile Justice and as a consultant to several other initiatives, including
the ABA Homeless Youth Legal Network.
Juvenile and Family Court Journal 69, No. 1
©2018 National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges
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