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 state Juvenile Justice Commission has seen its share of young inmates committed to its facilities fall 85 percent since 2003, Attorney General Gurbir Grewal said during a graduation ceremony at the New Jersey Training School in Monroe Township.“
New Jersey Star Ledger
September 28, 2018
Read More"Inmates are currently banned from receiving state grants and scholarships. This legislation would reverse that. Anyone seeking the money would be subject to the same process and regulations as everyone else who applies for state aid. But they would also need the approval of the state Department of Corrections."
New Jersey Star-Ledger
April 7, 2018
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