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 number of children charged as adults in Philadelphia has been cut in half under District Attorney Larry Krasner, according to a review of court records by The Appeal. In the two years before Krasner took office, an average of 127 children were charged as adults. In 2018, Krasner’s first year in office, that number fell to less than 50, The Appeal found.“
The Appeal
August 30, 2019
Read More"Of the 22 children I cared for at our clinic on a single day last week, five were exposed to this serious health risk. A 6-month-old not rolling over yet. Two 7-year-olds – one was suddenly not doing well in school, and the other was exhibiting all the signs of ADHD. A remarkably sullen 11-year-old. A teen who was emotionally disengaged from everything she once found exciting. The public health crisis all these children share: having a parent in prison."
Philadelphia Inquirer
August 15, 2018
Read More"Solitary confinement is merely one symptom of the cruel and inhumane practice of incarcerating children in adult jails and prisons. Studies confirm what common sense tells us: young people are safer, and do better, when they are in age-appropriate settings with other youth. The community is safer as well."
Philadelphia Inquirer
June 12, 2018
Read More"In 2011, sweeping cuts were announced to public education, general assistance, and other critical social services. Despite massive movements demanding that the state fund schools, not prison expansion, politicians refused to stop construction."
Philadelphia Inquirer
June 5, 2018
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