Maryland lawmakers work toward solution on juvenile justice

Friday, March 8, 2024

Good morning readers. Today we have stories about Maryland lawmakers moving toward consensus on changes to the juvenile justice system, reproductive rights advocates urging Congress to recognize the economic burdens women face and Maryland's massive education reform plan.

Lawmakers work toward solution on juvenile justice

By Steph Quinn

Lawmakers are moving toward consensus on changes to Maryland’s juvenile justice system, discussing how to address crime by children ages 10 to 12 and get them into rehabilitation programs that can help.

What’s the main point of contention?

Whether kids who are being shielded from prosecution should go to programs without Department of Juvenile Services involvement or, instead, go into a Juvenile Services process that would play out in court.

Blueprint or budget-breaker? No one knows how to pay for Maryland’s massive education reform

By Kiersten Hacker, Christina Walker and Ela Jalil

Maryland’s Democratic-led legislature passed the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future in 2021, vowing to pour billions of dollars into the state’s public schools to offer universal pre-K, improve teaching and make sure students are ready for college or careers.?

But the General Assembly didn’t outline a long-term plan to fund the ambitious 10-year education reform effort? — which increasingly looks like a blueprint for red ink.?

Diving deep into the reform plan in reporting “Behind the Blueprint” — a multi-part look at the state effort — the Local News Network at the University of Maryland found that the Blueprint is already devouring hundreds of millions annually from the state’s fund balance, which is on target to be fully drained in 2027.

Reproductive rights advocates urge Congress to recognize women’s economic burdens

By Yesenia Montenegro

With ever-changing laws on reproductive rights across the country, advocates are urging Congress to recognize the economic burdens women face when trying to access reproductive healthcare, especially in states where it is restricted.

The committee hearing came after an Alabama Supreme Court decision last month in February that limited access to IVF treatment in the state, ruling that a frozen embryo is considered a baby. While the ruling does not eliminate IVF treatment in the state, it allows fertility clinics to be sued under the state’s wrongful death law if embryos are lost or destroyed. This has led several fertility clinics in Alabama to pause treatment.

More from Capital News Service:

• Lawmakers may derail dreams of high-speed transit
• Lawmakers reached a tentative funding agreement but now face a countdown to avoid a shutdown
• Maryland’s Ruppersberger reflects on over two decades in Congress ahead of retirement
• Proposed bill in Montgomery County, Maryland aims to limit police searches
• DC Council cracks down on speeding with new ‘Steer Act’
• ‘It’s certainly over’ for aid-in-dying bill this year