Youth Law Center Carves Paths to College for Justice-Impacted Youth

At 20, Jacqueline Rodriguez found herself at a critical junction in her life. If she continued on her path, the future looked bleak. Jacqueline was pushed out of high school without a diploma, and now, as a mother of two with a history of involvement in the juvenile justice system, the statistics weren’t on her side. 

“I wanted to avoid prison and to better my children’s future, so I chose higher education,” Jacqueline, now 26 years old, says.

Youth Law Center (YLC), a legal advocacy nonprofit with a 40-year track record of using the law to advance justice and create opportunities for vulnerable youth in the foster care and juvenile justice systems, has successfully advocated for state policies that support college education for juvenile justice-impacted students like Jacqueline. 

“Education is one of the most effective strategies to keep youth out of juvenile detention and the juvenile and adult justice systems; however, college is often completely out of reach for these youth,” says Jennifer Rodriguez, YLC’s Executive Director. 

Jacqueline enrolled in the College of San Mateo – and was connected to a program, Project Change, providing wrap-around services, resources, and community for justice-impacted young people. YLC successfully advocated for policies and state resources that created similar programs across the state to serve thousands of other students in order to position community colleges as alternatives to incarceration. 

“Project Change changed my life for the better. I had so much support, so much community,” Jacqueline says. “Now, I am graduating from UCLA and applying to law school and hope to become an attorney to advocate for other youth like me.” 

YLC’s body of advocacy work over the last four decades has impacted the lives of countless children in juvenile justice and foster care, including the closure of dangerous youth prisons and institutions, and outlawing the practice of sending youth to out-of-state institutions where youth have died and been seriously injured. 

YLC celebrated another advocacy milestone in June of 2022 when Governor Gavin Newsom signed the state budget, approving a historic ongoing annual investment of $15 million to fund programs at community colleges that specifically support youth impacted by the juvenile justice system. 

“YLC is leading the way towards a future where every student has opportunities like Jacqueline,” Jennifer says.