The National Juvenile Justice Network is joining Fix Foster Care, a consortium of leading nonprofits calling on President Biden to ban the use of for-profit foster care and youth justice placement companies.  

A little over a year ago, 16 year old Cornelius Frederick was restrained to death after throwing a sandwich while confined in a for-profit facility in Kalamazoo, Michigan.  His egregious death set off alarm bells about the dangers of these facilities, bringing to light a pattern of abuse and neglect at for-profit institutions.  We know from data and youth interviews, that the child welfare, foster care, and youth legal systems are inextricably linked. Like Cornelius, Black and Brown youth in foster care and youth legal systems disproportionately experience restrictive  placements making them more vulnerable to unsafe conditions and abuse at the hands of for-profit companies across the country.

As NJJN works to remove profit motives and bring transformative change to youth serving systems, we are grateful to partner with foster care and child welfare advocates to prevent companies from profiteering off of youth in these systems.  

To learn more about our joint effort, please visit fixfostercare.org and sign the petition urging the Biden administration to pass protections for our nation’s most vulnerable youth.