Submitted by crinadmin on
Summary: In the last five years, 15 states have passed nearly 30 pieces of legislation aimed at reversing policies that funnel a quarter of a million children into the adult justice system each year.
As a society, we still have a long way to go to meet the original promise of the juvenile court which was founded in Chicago over 100 years ago. Our legal system recognises a mandate to rehabilitate youth with an approach that is different than adults, but we have never fully lived up to it. Today, all 50 states and the District of Columbia, as well as the federal government have two distinct systems for dealing with adults and youth. While the majority of youth arrested for criminal acts are prosecuted in state juvenile justice systems, far too many youth are still handled by the adult criminal justice system – to the detriment of public safety, these youth and our society. This report profiles trends in state reforms across the country, with the hope that policymakers will take on board its findings and continue to make progress, especially as the reforms have broad public support and make fiscal sense in these challenging economic times. These policy reforms draw on the public’s support of investment in rehabilitation and treatment of youth, rather than approaches that harm youth and decrease public safety.