Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act — Juvenile Incarceration — Galsworthy Criminal Justice Reform Program

Juvenile Incarceration

Nationally, on any given night, approximately 81,000 youth are confined to juvenile facilities and 10,000 children are held in adult jails and prisons. Approximately 1 in 10 young male high school dropouts is incarcerated or in juvenile detention. For African Americans, that number is 1 in 4. Research shows that just over two million youth under the age of 18 were arrested in 2008. Of these two million, about 95 percent had not been accused of violent crimes. In 2010, of the nearly 100,000 youth under the age of 18 who were serving time in a juvenile residential placement facility, 26 percent had been convicted of property crimes only, such as burglary, arson, or theft. Access to education both stems the tide of incarceration and improves inmates chances of re-acclimating to society after their release.

The Criminal Justice Reform Bill You’ve Never Heard Of

“The underlying purpose of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act is to use the promise of federal money to ensure four ‘core protections’ for children in states’ youth justice systems. These include not locking kids up for age-based ‘status offenses’ such as truancy, running away and curfew violations; removing them from adult jails, with few exceptions; always keeping them separate from adult inmates; and making states research and address racial disparities.“

The Marshall Project

December 13, 2018

Juvenile IncarcerationPhillip ReevesDecember 13, 2018The Marshall Project, Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention ActComment

Juvenile Incarceration

Galsworthy CJR Program

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