Every young life starts out with promise, and the adults who love a child yearn for that child to have a bright future.

But what if a simple barrier at an early age sets a child up for failure?

Difficulty in reading is such a barrier. Poor reading skill is a predictor of, among other things, involvement in the juvenile justice system.

“The literature shows a clear correlation between a grade-level reading problem and, later on, incarceration in the juvenile justice system,” said Ralph Smith, managing director of the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading, a national collaboration of foundations, nonprofits, business leaders, and communities focusing on school success for children in low-income families.

Reading is so foundational, the Campaign has a nationwide effort to bring all kids to reading proficiency by the end of third grade.

[For more of this story, written by Stell Simonton, go to http://jjie.org/reading-diffic...with-the-law/278989/]