Family rejection, discrimination in our communities, discriminatory enforcement of laws, and hostile school environments all play a part. But let's focus on how the climate in our nation's schools puts many LGBTQ youth at greater risk for being criminalized.

At Artistic Noise, young people in the justice system explore their creative potential and inherent power.

As a child abuse and domestic violence advocate, I've worked comfortable in the knowledge I was on the 'right' side of the crime -- until this spring when I found myself advocating for a 13-year-old African-American Dallas boy accused of sexual assault. He was a victim, too.

On any given day, more than 60,000 children are locked up in our nation's juvenile facilities. Whether it's an urban jail or a rural boot camp, the results are the same.

This week's developments are just part of a larger wave of reform in how communities and the justice system view and treat young people, and a growing recognition that some of our past practices and policies were ineffective.