A Road Map for Juvenile Justice Reform

[OneBlueSky]

http://www.aecf.org/~/media/PublicationFiles/AEC180%20essay_booklet_MECH.pdf

A Road Map for Juvenile Justice Reform, linked above, is from the Annie E. Casey Foundation's 2008 Kids County Essay and Data Brief, a report the foundation publishes annually . . . this year's essay is by President and CEO Douglas W. Nelson and addresses the overdue need for juvenile justice legislation in light of the fact that the "get tough" approach to addressing crimes and problems involving young people has not been working . . .

in the essay, Nelson cites six commonplace deficiencies in the operation of our juvenile justice system, i.e.:

1. Trends in juvenile justice practice blur or ignore the well-established differences between youth and adults.

2. Indiscriminate and wholesale incarceration of juveniles is proving expensive, abusive, and bad public policy.

3. Juvenile justice systems too often ignore the critical role of families in resolving delinquency.

4. The increasing propensity to prosecute minor cases in the juvenile justice system harms youth, with no benefit to public safety.

5. Juvenile justice has too often become a dumping ground for youth who should be served by other public systems.

6. System policies and practices have allowed unequal justice to persist.

The "Road Map" does recommend several policies, practices, and programs, including . . .

- Implement developmentally appropriate policies and interventions.
- Reduce reliance on secure confinement and increase reliance on effective community-based services.
- Strengthen and empower families to help youth succeed.
- Keep youth out of the System.
- Reduce racial disparities.

additional information about the Annie E. Casey Foundation and A Road Map for Juvenile Justice Reform can be found at their website, http://www.aecf.org . . .

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1. Stop the crib to prison pipeline. nt