The need
What young people actually face in Colorado.
1 in 5
Colorado juvenile delinquency cases had no court-appointed lawyer on record at any point: 1,405 of the 6,561 filed.
Colorado Judicial Branch, report under C.R.S. 13-1-137, FY2024
2.8%
of youth cases in Lakewood’s city court had an attorney. The court does not appoint one, and children as young as 10 face it alone.
National Center for Youth Law, Unrepresented and Unseen, 2016 to 2022
10
years old is the youngest age at which Colorado can still charge a child. A 2023 bill to raise it to 13 passed without that change.
10.7×
Black youth in Colorado were held in placement at nearly eleven times the rate of white youth.
The Sentencing Project, 2023
693
young people were kept in Colorado detention for a day or more after a judge had decided they could go home.
Colorado Department of Human Services report, via CPR News, 2025
87%
of young people newly committed to Colorado’s Division of Youth Services needed mental health treatment.
Colorado Division of Youth Services, Annual Report, FY2023-24
4,810
police tickets, summonses and arrests came out of Colorado schools in a single school year, and fewer than half of police agencies reported.
59%
of new admissions to Colorado youth detention did not involve a violent charge.
Colorado Division of Youth Services, Annual Report, FY2023-24
48.5%
of young people leaving Colorado youth corrections were back in the system within three years. That is the lowest rate on record, and it is still half.
Colorado Division of Youth Services, Annual Report, FY2022 discharges
An honest picture
Although Colorado has made meaningful progress in juvenile defense, significant work remains.
Since 2014, every young person held in detention in Colorado automatically gets a lawyer at their detention hearing, regardless of family income. In 2021, Colorado also eliminated most juvenile court fees.
If your child has a court case, they have a right to a lawyer, and our legal team may be able to help.
But a great deal happens beyond that first hearing, and in those moments, many young people still have to navigate the system without legal support.
Where kids still stand alone
Six places the system leaves a gap.
In the police station
Police can question a young person with a parent present and no lawyer. Colorado can still charge a child from age 10.
On a summons
A child who is not held in detention can give up the right to a lawyer without ever talking to one first.
In city court
Outside Denver, most city courts give kids no free lawyer for tickets like fighting, trespassing or shoplifting.
At school
There is no right to a free lawyer when a school moves to expel a student.
With a record
Many juvenile records seal on their own, but some still need a petition to the court.
Coming home
Getting back into school, making credits count, and keeping support going after release.
Home matters too
One steady adult changes the odds.
Our courses grew out of a simple finding. Harvard's Center on the Developing Child puts it plainly: the most common factor in children who do well despite adversity is at least one stable, committed adult relationship. Active, involved adults are linked to fewer behavioral and emotional problems in children (Sarkadi et al., 2008).
A single-parent home is not a broken home. Millions of single parents raise extraordinary children while doing the work of two people. What we add is another adult who shows up on purpose, every week, and stays.
We saw the gaps and built for them.
A lawyer in juvenile court and wherever else young people stand alone. Courses that build practical skills and a plan. Support to help them come home, move forward, and build a better future.