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 bill had broad support from a cross-section of organizations and leaders. Leaders of the Oregon Department of Corrections and the Oregon Youth Authority supported it and so did the association that represents juvenile department directors. Dozens of retired Circuit Court and appellate judges from across the state submitted a letter to the Legislature encouraging a yes vote.“
The Oregonian
July 22, 2019
Read More“Instead of imposing sentences that help rehabilitate juvenile offenders so they return to their communities with the skills, judgment and motivation to contribute, the system instead broadcasts to 15, 16 and 17-year-olds that they’ve blown their chance at a future and their fate is set, no matter their willingness to make amends. How discouraging that Oregon’s communities would believe themselves to be so fragile.“
The Oregonian
April 28, 2019
Read More“On a vote of 20-10, the Senate passed SB 1008 Tuesday. It is the distillation of several bills from earlier this session dealing with juvenile sentencing. The most significant proposals include: removing the requirement that 15-, 16- and 17-year-olds be charged as adults for certain crimes; establishing the process for "second look" hearings half-way through a sentence being served by a juvenile convicted in adult court; banning life sentences without the possibility of parole for juvenile offenders; and allowing hearings to determine if people in Oregon Youth Authority custody should be turned over to adult prisons when they reach 27.“
Salem Statesman Journal
April 16, 2019
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