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FREE Event: The Deepest Well: Healing the Long-Term Effects of Childhood Adversity

A community-wide reading of The Deepest Well! Then, join us to discuss the book and think together on building a resilient Central Florida. Join us as we read The Deepest Well by Dr. Nadine Burke Harris. Then, come together as a community…
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What’s the Meaning of “Life” When Sentencing Kids?

Say you’re a teenager who has committed a serious crime, and a judge is about to sentence you to prison for a very long time. How long a sentence would the judge have to hand down for it to feel essentially the same as being sent to prison…
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Why Do Some Kids Carry Guns to School? FIU Researchers Have a Theory

A new study suggests that children who aren’t getting enough sleep are more likely to carry handguns — and even taking the weapons to school. The study, conducted by researchers at Florida International University and the University of…
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9-Year-Old Boy Who Stabbed 5-Year-Old Sister in Ocala Likely Won’t Be Tried as Adult, Former Judge Says

A 9-year-old boy had his first appearance in court Tuesday morning for allegedly stabbing his 5-year-old sister multiple times Monday afternoon, according to the Ocala Police Department. Former judge Belvin Perry believes…
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Bill Proposed to Expunge Felony Records for Kids

Kids who get arrested can get their records cleared if they complete a diversion program. But it’s currently limited, so Senator Keith Perry wants to expand it. “Current law only permits juvenile expunction for misdemeanor offenses this…
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Webinar: How Adolescent Brain Science Supports Youth Engagement in Court Hearings and Case Planning

Please join us for a webinar highlighting the critical importance of adolescent brain science as it relates to foster care. Leslie Leve, University of Oregon, and Sue Mangold, Juvenile Law Center, two members of the National Academies of Sciences…
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Jennifer Webb Files Legislation to Curb ‘Unnecessary’ Baker Acts in Florida Schools

Rep. JenniferWebb is responding to recent reports of children being sometimes unnecessarily removed from school under Florida’s Baker Act over incidents school officials or law enforcement officers deem unsafe to the student or others. Webb’s…
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FREE Event: Juvenile Justice with Guest Speaker State Attorney Aramis Ayala – January 9 at 12:00 PM

Join us at the Rollins Philanthropy Center for the Orange County Juvenile Justice Action Group General Meeting! The receptionist will direct you to the conference room on the 2nd floor. Parking is free in the Rollins Lot on Lyman, next door…

Career Choice Series: Juvenile Justice – January 31 at 1:00 PM

Children’s law is a relatively new area of the law.  It encompasses a variety of substantive areas including juvenile justice, child welfare, immigration, education and more.  The legal representation of children in juvenile justice matters…
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Free Event: Resilience Film Screening and Discussion (Winter Park)

Join us as we screen the documentary RESILIENCE and delve into the science of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and a new movement to treat and prevent toxic stress. Partnership with The Winter Park Public Library, City of Winter Park…
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Florida’s Flawed Baker Act Rips Thousands of Kids from School

Over the past seven years, children have been taken from public schools in Tampa Bay more than 7,500 times and temporarily placed in mental health facilities. They often leave campus handcuffed in the back of police cruisers. Some are as…
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UCF Medical Students Give Free Hepatitis A Shots, Medical Care to Orlando’s Homeless

For more than nine months now, a group of volunteer UCF medical students have been giving free hepatitis A shots to the homeless in Orlando. Once a month, on a Tuesday evening, they set up their portable tent and a few tables…
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She Didn’t Know Her Autistic Son Could Be Tasered at School

Two years ago, at the start of the school year, Rosie Phillips got a call from her son’s school, asking her to come pick him up. When she arrived, she found him slumped on the hallway floor, sitting in a puddle of his own urine, with a Taser…

Eighteenth Annual PD Clothing Drive – December 7, 2019

Please remember the 18th Annual Public Defender Clothing Drive at the Orange County Courthouse on Saturday, December 7th between 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.  We will be located at the circular driveway at 435 North Orange Avenue, Orlando, FL 32801,…
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School Cop Arrested After Video Shows Him Grabbing Girl by the Neck and Slamming Her to the Floor

A school resource deputy was arrested Tuesday on a child abuse charge after he was seen on school surveillance video grabbing a 15-year-old girl by the neck and slamming her to the ground. Deputy Willard Miller, 38, turned…