Professor Cara Drinan guest-blogging on "The War on Kids"

I am heading out today on a family trip that will take me off-line (and thus not blogging) for much of the next week.  I am very pleased to be able to welcome Professor Cara Drinan as a guest-blogger to discuss her book, titled "The War on Kids: How American Juvenile Justice Lost Its Way," which was just published by Oxford University Press and is available here.  I am so very grateful Cara was interesting in doing some blogging while I am away. 

Here is a part of the publisher's description of Cara's book:

In The War on Kids, Cara Drinan reveals how the United States went from being a pioneer to an international pariah in its juvenile sentencing practices.  Academics and journalists have long recognized the failings of juvenile justice practices in this country and have called for change. Despite the uncertain political climate, there is hope that recent Supreme Court decisions may finally make those calls a reality. The War on Kids seizes upon this moment of judicial and political recognition that children are different in the eyes of the law.  Drinan chronicles the shortcomings of juvenile justice by drawing upon social science, legal decisions, and first-hand correspondence with Terrence [Graham] and others like him -- individuals whose adolescent errors have cost them their lives.  At the same time, The War on Kids maps out concrete steps that states can take to correct the course of American juvenile justice.

I believe Cara may be covering ground in this blog space that goes beyond what appears in her book, and I am very happy to share this space and am excited to see what Cara wants to say here.  (I hope and expect to do still do a little blogging while on the road over the next week, but I certainly will not be able to keep up my usual pace.)