According to the U.S. Census Bureau, one out of every four children in this country does not have a father living with them in their home. TODAY’s Craig Melvin visits UPNEXT, a fatherhood program at our Midtown Community Court, to talk with non-custodial dads, like Harry, who re-connected with his daughter after being incarcerated.

The Youth Justice Board, teenagers from across New York City who investigate a current justice system or public safety issue, looked into social media and how police and schools use it for surveillance. Researching the actions and policies of the justice and school systems in New York City, the Board outline the serious consequences surveillance has on young people, identify opportunities to protect, educate, and support youth, and provide specific policy recommendations to address these concerns.

Spurred by the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and other Black Americans at the hands of police, demands are increasing for money to be redirected from police budgets. No single strategy can achieve meaningful change; through experience and research, we have identified a number of sustainable community-driven solutions that can limit the role of police, while building safe and strong neighborhoods.

Our analysis of the revisions passed in April 2020 to New York State’s bail reform projects they will lead to a 16 percent increase in New York City’s pretrial jail population, relative to the effects of the original law. However, even the revised statute makes an estimated 84 percent of cases ineligible for bail. The analysis also weighs factors, including the COVID-19 emergency, that could produce a culture change in pretrial decision-making—in the direction of less, or more, reliance on detention.