Despite record budget deficits, Florida’s Department of Juvenile Justice continues to spend enormous sums of taxpayer dollars on expensive residential institutions. These institutions hold thousands of children who could be better served in less expensive, more effective community-based programs — programs that hold youth accountable, protect public safety, produce better outcomes for children and families, and make it more likely that children go on to become productive and employable members of society.
All Publications
Review of Services for Alabama Girls Charged with Delinquency
Alabama has made many important changes to the juvenile justice system. There is now an opportunity to create a statewide model for girls. Developing a statewide, locally run model system of care for girls will again demonstrate the state’s commitment to move away from a typical correctional institutional approach to troubled youth. Report by Marty Beyer, Ph.D. and Paul DeMuro.
Teaching the Movement
The National Assessment of Educational Progress—commonly called “The Nation’s Report Card”—tells a dismal story: Only 2% of high school seniors in 2010 could answer a simple question about the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision. And it’s no surprise. Across the country, state educational standards virtually ignore our civil rights history.
Attacking the Constitution: State Legislators for Legal Immigration & the Anti-Immigrant Movement
Ku Klux Klan: A History of Racism
This report on the history of the Ku Klux Klan, America’s first terrorist organization, was prepared by the Klanwatch Project of the Southern Poverty Law Center. Klanwatch was formed in 1981 to help curb Klan and racist violence through litigation, education and monitoring.
When Mr. Kobach Comes to Town: Nativist Laws and the Communities They Damage
Access Denied: New Orleans Students and Parents Identify Barriers to Public Education
New Orleans families remember the hope they felt after Hurricane Katrina when education stakeholders promised a “world-class” public school system, “in which every decision focuses on the best interests of the children.” The pledge to rebuild New Orleans public schools hinged on a model in which quality schools would be accessible to all, while providing innovative education practices tailored to meet the long-neglected needs of students. Unfortunately, these promises remain empty for many New Orleans students.
Fiscal Responsibility: The Key to a Safer, Smarter, and Stronger Juvenile Justice System
Injustice on Our Plates: Immigrant Women in the U.S. Food Industry
This report is based on extensive interviews conducted with 150 immigrant women from Mexico, Guatemala and other Latin-American countries. They live and work in Florida, California, North Carolina, New York, Iowa, Arkansas and other states. All have worked in the fields or in the factories that produce our food. They are among the 4 million undocumented women living in the U.S.
Suspended Education
This report seeks to answer the issues of efficacy and fairness in the use of out-of-school suspension, the usage of which has increased dramatically as a form of discipline. In part, the higher use of out-of-school suspension reflects the growth of policies such as "zero tolerance," an approach to school discipline that imposes removal from school for a broad array of school code violations - from violent behavior to truancy and dress code violations.
Greenwash: Nativists, Environmentalism and the Hypocrisy of Hate
Sexual Violence Against Farmworkers: A Guidebook for Legal Providers
Sexual Violence Against Farmworkers: A Guidebook for Criminal Justice Professionals
Ten Ways to Fight Hate: A Community Response Guide
This guide sets out 10 principles for fighting hate, along with a collection of inspiring stories of people who worked to push hate out of their communities.
Climate of Fear: Latino Immigrants in Suffolk County, N.Y.
This study reveals how Latino immigrants in Suffolk County, N.Y., are routinely the target of violent attacks, harassment and abuse driven by a virulent anti-immigrant climate that has been fostered by community leaders and law enforcement practices.
The Second Wave: Return of the Militias
In this report, SPLC investigates the resurgence of the antigovernment militia movement across the country, which has been fueled by fears of a black man in the White House, the changing demographics of the country, and conspiracy theories increasingly spread by mainstream figures.
Reducing Student and Teacher Dropout Rates in Louisiana
This report outlines a research-based approach to school discipline that reduces student and teacher dropout rates while improving academic performance and the overall climate in Louisiana schools.
Under Siege: Life for Low-Income Latinos in the South
In this study, the Southern Poverty Law Center found that Latinos are facing increasing hostility and discrimination as they fill low-wage jobs in Southern states that previously had few Latino residents. Based primarily on a survey of 500 low-income Latinos at five locations in the South, the report documented wage theft, racial profiling and other abuses driven by an anti-immigrant climate that harms all Latinos regardless of their immigration status.
The Nativist Lobby: Three Faces of Intolerance
This report describes how the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) and NumbersUSA were founded and funded by John Tanton, a retired Michigan ophthalmologist who operates a racist publishing company and has written that to maintain American culture, "a European-American majority" is required.
Voices for Justice
This booklet is designed to educate farmworker and other low-wage immigrant women about their legal rights.
Know Your Rights: Legal Rights for Farmworkers
A publication dedicated to educating farmworkers on their rights.