Friends, the Senate Judiciary Committee is holding a hearing soon to mark up and vote on the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act, S. 1169. The JJDPA is the core of nearly everything the federal government does in Juvenile Justice, but it's past due for re-authorization. It will require states to keep youth separated from adults prior to trial as well as in prison, strengthen rules on disproportionate minority contact, invest in alternatives to incarceration, and removes an exception that allowed states to put status offenders in prison.

20,000 people were killed in terrorist attacks in 2014, up from an average of 2,000 a year only 10 years ago. This despite $trillions spent and countless lives lost in the "war on terror." It seems clear that our strategies for dealing with terrorism have been grossly ineffective and many say is even counter-productive. Our long-term strategy and resources must focus much more on the work of peacebuilding.