The Sentencing Project has released a new report, “System Reforms to Reduce Youth Incarceration: Why We Must Explore Every Option Before Removing Any Young Person from Home.”
“The research is clear that incarceration is not necessary or effective in the vast majority of delinquency cases. Moreover, it exposes many youth to abuse, exacerbates existing trauma, and disproportionately harms youth of color," says report author, Richard Mendel, Senior Research Fellow at The Sentencing Project.
“Most state and local youth justice systems continue to employ problematic policies and practices that often lead to incarceration of youth who pose minimal or modest risk to public safety.
“It’s essential that state and local jurisdictions seize every opportunity to keep young people safely at home with their families, in their schools and communities.”
The report outlines an agenda of proven and promising state and local reforms, citing examples from across the nation where reforms are being employed constructively, including:
State reforms:
• Prohibiting incarceration in state-funded youth correctional facilities for some offenses
• Creating fiscal incentives that discourage local courts from committing youth to state custody
• Redirecting savings from decarceration to fund alternative-to-incarceration programs
• Ensuring access to rigorous mental health treatment
• Shortening the duration of confinement for those who are incarcerated
Local reforms:
• Narrowing the pipeline to incarceration in the early stages of the legal system process
• Transforming probation practices to focus on supporting youth’s long-term success
• Ending the incarceration of youth for violating probation rules and conditions
• Undertaking comprehensive race-conscious system reforms aimed at reducing correctional placements
• Convening stakeholder meetings to explore every alternative-to-incarceration before placing any young person into a long-term facility.
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