Foster Care Cannot be Reformed Properly Without Reforms in the Juvenile Justice System

A judge from Houston posted an article this month about how reforms in foster care will not be as effective if the juvenile justice system is not reformed as well. He mentions the statistics that show how foster care children are more likely to be brought into the foster care system, and how modifying the way that the juvenile justice system works is necessary toward giving those foster children their best chance at becoming adults who have experienced healthy social, emotional, and cognitive developments. The writer lists four proposed changes. The first is that care for those involved in the juvenile justice and CPS systems should be coordinated, and services should not be duplicated so as to best serve the youth. The second is that records for these children should be sealed when they turn eighteen, as it is hard enough for youth in foster care to find housing, jobs, and schooling. The third is that 17 year olds should not be sent to adult jail automatically, but that there should be an option for them to be put in safer and more treatment-focused juvenile detention based on the degree of their offense. The final proposal is that children in the juvenile justice system with mental health needs should have those needs met with effective services in their communities. I think that this judge's note is an important one, and that it is a good idea to tailor services based on the communities that they are being provided to.
http://www.houstonchronicle.com/opinion/outlook/article/Schneider-Improving-foster-care-should-include-11010594.php

Point of View: For Kids' Sake, Reform Juvenile Justice System

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/opinion/point-view-for-kids-sake-reform-juvenile-justice-system/Sle0Rchrsxshjepg0zo0MI/

Former assistant public defender for Palm Beach County, Fl, Talitha Hazelton, discusses the need to pass CS/SB 192 which will provide a barrier to prosecutors to "direct file" children charged with specific offenses to adult court.  The article did not include the specific about the bill, so I was able to find a summary from the ACLU (https://aclufl.org/2017/03/06/the-florida-campaign-for-criminal-justice-reform-launches-in-advance-of-legislative-session/):

Children Tried as Adults – Florida prosecutes more children as adults than any other state. CS/SB 192 would grant judges oversight of prosecutor’s “direct-file” discretion, remove certain nonviolent offenses from eligibility for adult charges and retain voting rights for children convicted as adults.

While I had a general understanding of the different "intended" focus of juvenile court (rehabilitation) to that of adult court (punishment and maybe rehabilitation), I had not really considered how judges and jurors probably automatically consider a juvenile to be a "hardened criminal" just because he/she is being tried in adult court and should be punished.  It would be interesting to see the conviction rate and sentence severity for juveniles tried in adult court verses tried in juvenile court in Florida.  It would also be useful to find out how many Floridians are aware that prosecutors can send juveniles to adult courts without a process to ensure that the child is beyond "redemption" and in need of an adult level of punishment.  How many true criminals has Florida created by treating children who have made mistakes as career criminal adults?

I appreciated Hazelton's reflection on the support and child welfare focus of the juvenile system where children are treated like the growing, developing person they are with the belief that they can learn from mistakes and become better.  The focus on removing the child from the situation from which deviant behavior arose into an environment of supported responsibility and education should help many children to move onto a better way of living.  Although I do think Hazelton provides the most positive portrayal of Florida's juvenile justice system that may be a bit idealized, she does show the contrast the dehumanizing, punitive aspect of adult court from that of nurturing and rehabilitation of juvenile court. There is a huge difference between viewing a person as someone with potential needed guidance to succeed and considering someone without redemption and in need of punishment.  It will be interesting in this time of "law and order" if the Florida legislature will consider how the system is failing these children and ruining their future to be contributing citizens or if it will just continue to funnel these children into prisons and very bleak futures.

Youth Today published an article discussing treatment for youth offenders after contact with the criminal justice system. The article discusses the impact of out of home placements on youth and the inability of these interventions to address factors that can lead youth to recidivate. This article highlights the need for community based programs that address the factors that place youth at risk for contact with the criminal justice system.

Ideally, the treatment of at risk youth would place a high level of importance on proactive interventions that address risk factors for contact with the criminal justice system.Once youth enter the criminal justice system, they have moved beyond proactive interventions and the interventions need two focus on factors that contribute to recidivism. The implementation of home and community based programs address risk factors within the youth's support system or addresses the lack of support.

http://youthtoday.org/2016/12/beyond-bars-keeping-young-people-safe-at-home-and-out-of-youth-prisons/

Mental Illness-- Juvenile Population

http://nbc4i.com/2017/03/21/i-71nb-closed-near-grove-city-after-pedestrian-struck/

As I am sure everyone has seen, a male juvenile was part of a semi accident within the past couple days. This accident occurred in Grove City Ohio on the morning of March 21st 2017. When his happened, the male walked out in front of the semi truck. Luckily, the driver seen him and was able to stop his truck to some extent.Although he was able to slow down some, the boy was still hit and banged up pretty bad. According to the article, the boy was taken to Grant Hospital where he was treated for his injuries. He is now out of the ICU, which is great news!

This juvenile was from the Buckeye Ranch, which is where those between the ages of ten to seventeen. This is a place where these individuals are not sentenced to but where they are taken when they have a mental health condition that needs to be treated. At one point in the article, the leader of this facility states that he does not know where they would be if they were not here. In other words, he states that he feels that they would be homeless, in jail or at an emergency room waiting to be seen by someone who is not capable of working with them and their mental illness.

After reading what happened, it made me really think about this population. It made me think about why these individuals are driven to this place in the first place. I know that they are diagnosed with  a mental illness, but the question of what their home life has been like is one thing that strikes me. Mental illness is something that can lead a juvenile down a negative path and can lead them to make irrational decisions that can really have a negative impact on their lives. In this case, this individual made he decision to end his life. This is one of the many decisions that can come from this decision making. In other words, what led him to feeling this is the only answer? Could he have felt like this is an escape from the life his has always known? Anyways, I feel that these individuals need to be heard and that they have a past that many may not know about. So, their cases in the justice system should be looked at on an individual basis, but that they should be looked at as a whole person. Just like it has been mentioned, they would most likely be homeless or in jail without places such as the Buckeye Ranch. These individuals are human beings and deserve to be treated with respect and often times, I do not think they are treated as such. Their lives are just beginning and just like with this individual, they deserve to be heard and understood. I believe this juvenile has so much to their story and I hope they are helped more and made to feel like they do deserve to be here on Earth.

-- Jennifer Lampinen

2 teens at center of juvenile crime debate

http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=93887&page=1

This ABC news article discusses a debate that we have talked about in class - should juveniles be tried as adults for violent crimes?

One of the young men Lionel Tate, age 14, was sentenced to life without parole due to the death of his 6-year-old playmate. Florida law stated that Lionel must receive a mandatory life sentence because of his charge of first degree murder.  Tate was 12-years-old when he killed his play mate.

Charles Williams, age 15, now faces adult court for a "shooting spree" at Santana High School. The California law - Proposition 21 - enforces these laws with juveniles in the hopes to deter other juveniles from committing similar crimes.

I felt that this article was relevant after the discussions we have had on brain development and "adult crime for adult time". I also have my bachelors in criminal justice and feel very strongly about this topic. While currently working in a trauma informed agency I have gained a lot of insight on crime and how children can reach out in inappropriate ways for acceptance.

Youth justice study finds prison counterproductive

The article that I found discusses the lack of effectiveness in placing youth in prison environments. This article focuses on youth and the trauma that they have experienced up until the point in life where they come into contact with the justice system. The argument being that this model further exposes children to trauma, rather than assisting them in moving forward into successful adulthood. As an alternative, the study compared results with small homes, community programs, and rehabilitative models. The study looks at the financial aspect of the current model, yet the lack of shown effectiveness, sharing that the recidivism rate is upwards of 70%. These alternatives push for youth to be involved in programs that are effective and allow the youth to get the rehabilitation and support needed, while still maintaining public safety.

The article can be found at:
http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2016/10/youth-justice-study-finds-prison-counterproductive/

While looking into this topic, I also found an interesting article that discussed grant opportunities to press a change in the way youth in the justice system are served. These grants are focused on alternatives to youth detention center. I just thought it was awesome to see other cities and agencies thinking the same way and pushing their community to change to serve youth in a better way.

This information was found at:
http://www.lex18.com/story/34937050/grants-available-for-alternatives-to-juvenile-detention-programs

What I Learned as a Kid in Jail

https://www.ted.com/talks/ismael_nazario_what_i_learned_as_a_kid_in_jail

This is a Ted Talk that was done in November of 2014. Ismael Nazario was involved in the juvenile justice system as a teenager and than involved in adult prison as a young adult. He spent 400 days on Rikers Island in New York. 300 of those days were spent in solitary confinement. He discusses the lack of discharge plans available for the teens so that they can have a successful, positive re-entry. However, he speaks about the impact that correctional officers can have to help positively influence the teens in the jail. In Riker Island, Ismael shares how the male officers tend to meet to the teens where they are at. Most of the young men that come into Riker Island have a lot of anger and hostility and take it out through physical altercations. He explains that the officers will fight inmates one-on-one because "they understand how it is." It gets handled the way they know and both walk away like men. It's like the fighting brings them together in a sense and respect is gained. Ismael tells a personal story of this exact thing happening while he was in jail. He points out though, that correctional officers need proper, appropriate training on how to deal with not only the adolescent population, but the mental health population as well. The officers play a significant role until a disposition is reached in these teens' cases. Ismael questions why they can't play a mentor role until then.

Ismael talks about how better programming can be used to help shape teens for a successful re-entry. He shares that things like reading and writing music was what helped him stay sane through solitary confinement. He questions why we can't target musically inclined or better incorporate art therapy that suits the interests to the inmates. The building that the teens are housed in on Rikers Island is nick-named the gladiator school, because it is just a bunch of young men trying to prove that they're tougher than everyone else. Ismael claims the danger that comes with that kind of culture and that institutions need help changing the culture where teens feel like change is possible and they don't need to continue the lifestyle that got them into trouble. He mentions that while he was in prison, it was sad to hear so many conversations about guys already planning to pick up where they left off before they went into prison. On the opposite had, he was encouraged to meet some of the most intelligent and talented people he has ever met.

Ismael ends his talk by expressing the things he would tell his 15 year old self if he could. He would encourage himself to be educated and that the people you are with and places you go can have life altering effects on you, either good or bad. These are the messages that we need to send to youth. He claims that we shouldn't be treating them like adults and putting them into cultures of violence.

I really enjoyed this Ted Talk because of how personal it was and that it wasn't just a bunch of numbers and statistics. We were able to hear real stories of what it is like to be a kid in prison. I thought Ismael hit some really good points that we need to be aware of. With the proper training, the juvenile justice system could really utilize important people in the prisons, like correctional officers, cooks, etc. So long as there is adequate training for adolescents AND working with mental health. He speaks on important treatment issues are treatment, but at the very end of his talk, mentions the importance of prevention, which I thought was great. Treatment is important because it is happening in the here and now, but as social workers looking for prevention methods should always be in the back of our minds.

Prison Kids Juvenile Justice in America Full Documentary

The Fusion Network documented stories of children and youth in America who have been incarcerated. They highlight the issue of the need for Mental Health treatment and interventions instead of incarceration. One of the stories featured is about Brian McIntosh. I work with Brian in a program here in Columbus. Brian had been on the street since he was a young child. His entire family struggles with severe mental health issues. When the film first aired last year, Brian had been homeless for a long time. Now we have worked with him to access services. I know Brian, but there are many more youth like Brian who have mental illness and are sent to prison instead of treatment. What I learned is that America incarcerates more kids than any other developed country. We also spend more, over $8 billion. Most kids don’t even commit a violent crime. I feel we should all be aware and outraged. I don’t think that it is developmentally appropriate or healthy for young people to be sent to lock up. I think we should advocate for better services and supports for families and residential treatment instead of prison.

https://youtu.be/NifPxtGi-Ns

The Forgotten Ones: New Jersey’s Locked-up Girls

http://jjie.org/2017/03/08/the-forgotten-ones-new-jerseys-locked-up-girls/

This article discusses the high numbers of girls in the juvenile justice system. Years ago, there was a school specifically for black students in New Jersey, but that school was torn down when Brown v. Board of Education came about in 1954. Now, where that school once stood, stands a youth prison for girls. The article discusses the literal “school-to-prison pipeline” created.

This article also shares the numbers of this problem. Although white and black youth commit crimes at about the same rates, black girls are three times as likely as their white girl peers to be referred to court for delinquency. 75% of the girls in juvenile facilities in New Jersey are black or Hispanic. Lastly, youth prisons are currently costing New Jersey over $25 million/year to operate.

Lastly, what can be done about this? The article talks about the fact that over 90% of juvenile female offenders have experienced some sort of abuse in their lives. Instead of locking them up, which has not been shown to reduce recidivism rates, better options include trauma-informed care and other support. Keeping these girls in their homes and focusing on prevention and diversion tailored to their individual needs is much more helpful, and cost-effective, than housing them in prisons.

As social workers, this article reminds us to not forget about those youth girls who are locked up. We must continue to advocate for them, and remember they are an important part of society. I agree with the article – it would be much more effective to help get these girls the support they need instead of sending them off to prison. Not only is it more cost effective, but it helps the girls individually in the long run. It would reduce recidivism rates, and ensure their lives include more than offending and being sent back to prison. These are important things to remember when we continue our careers – advocate and inform. Inform those community members of issues such as these, and continue to remember those effected by the racist policies in the US. Issues such as these bring awareness to the school-to-prison pipeline and ensure we continue fighting to eliminate it.

For juveniles sentenced to Shakespeare, the world's a stage

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/6b07f693ed4544c481fed32c1d368a93/juveniles-sentenced-shakespeare-worlds-stage

A theater in Massachusetts works with the courts to sentence juveniles to perform in their theater by playing roles in Shakespeare plays by memorizing their lines, contributing ideas to costume and set, and performing in front of family and court personnel. Their collaboration with juveniles is intended to boost self-confidence and increase literacy. Participants also end the program with a sense of accomplishment as well as new friends. Programs like these help juveniles foster a sense of commitment, pride, and respect by getting youth to open up about themselves, sharing feelings with each other, and eventually working up towards working in groups. Many courts across the U.S. are adopting Shakespeare programs for youth offenders in order to teach these valuable lessons.

Death in prison sentences

https://youtu.be/0gTJgwpcs_Y

The above link is a link to a video about the United States and sentencing 13 and 14 year old youth to die in prison. It gives many case examples where this has occurred in different states and also about court cases to no longer allow states to give children life without parole sentences. Now, states must provide an opportunity for release under the statement from the Montgomery vs. Louisiana supreme court case in 2016, that "children who commit even heinous crimes are capable of change."

The Sexual Abuse to Prison Pipeline

http://rights4girls.org/wp-content/uploads/r4g/2015/02/2015_COP_sexual-abuse_layout_web-1.pdf

"The facts are staggering: one in four American girls will experience some form of sexual violence by the age of 18. Fifteen percent of sexual assault and rape victims are under the age of 12;1 nearly half of all female rape survivors were victimized before the age of 18.2 And girls between the ages of 16 and 19 are four times more likely than the general population to be victims of rape, attempted rape, or sexual assault."

This is sickening, but very true statistics about sexual abuse.  The article then talks about how many girls who have been sexually abused are "routed" into the juvenile justice system. It then talks about how girls who are victims of sex trafficking are a lot of times arrested on prostitution charges when in reality they should be given help to recover from being a victim and survivor of this awful act that they were forced into.  The article talks about how prison can bring up the trauma of the abuse and could even continue the abuse while in prison.  These girls need help in order to be successful human beings and live the life they were born to live.  

Judges Treat Juveniles of the Same Race as Themselves More Harshly

Judges Treat Juveniles of the Same Race as Themselves More Harshly 

http://www.npr.org/2016/06/01/480247291/study-judges-treat-juveniles-of-the-same-race-as-themselves-more-harshly

A research study examining racial bias in juvenile court cases unveiled that judges have a higher rate of sending juveniles of their own race to jail and for longer sentences. This article details a conversation between NPR host, Steven Inskeep, NPR’s social science correspondent, Shankar Vedantam and Naci Mocan, an economist and scholar. Mocan completed this study analyzing thousands of cases in the Louisiana juvenile justice system between 1996 and 2012. When looking at cases where the defendant pleaded guilty, Mocan found that judges treated those of their own race with harsher penalties. A defendant facing a judge of their same race is about 20% more likely to be penalized with incarceration rather than probation. That defendant is also likely to receive a sentence that is 14% (3 months) longer than otherwise. One theory behind this is that people are more willing to punish someone from their “in-group” for breaking a norm. They find it easier to reason why someone from another group would not have followed this norm in the same way. 

Innovations in Juvenile Justice

Juvenile Justice, like most of the privatization of the American prison system, costs more than it's worth. The Justice Center of States Rights explains, “In Connecticut, it costs about $14,000 a year to educate a student: it costs $270,000 a year to house a child in custody,” stated Senator Murphy. “In a time of tight budgets, it makes absolutely no sense to continue to house as many kids as we do in prisons when it costs about 10 percent of that amount to keep the kids in school and in communities." However, there are some states that are using funds more in more innovative ways. RECLAIM Ohio is one of them. This is a funding initiative that encourages the placement of children in community based programs rather than the Department of Youth Services. Programs and initiatives such as these are creating more cost-efficient but more importantly, more productive programs for youth.  



https://csgjusticecenter.org/youth/posts/a-capitol-hill-briefing-on-states-innovations-in-juvenile-justice/

Muskegon's Attempt to Re-design Juvenile Justice Center

http://www.mlive.com/news/muskegon/index.ssf/2017/03/5_takeaways_from_effort_to_re-.html


This article talks about an attempt to re-design the juvenile justice system in Muskegon, Michigan. The county has hired an expert from the University of Cincinnati Correctional Institute to re-design the system to apply more evidenced-based practices. The expert is working with court employees, judges, politicians and other public officials for this re-design. The main things Muskegon is trying to incorporate are treatment versus punishment, identifying high-risk offenders based of the likeliness to re-offend versus the seriousness of the offense committed, and focus on criminal thinking patterns that lead to committing crimes.
This article does not go into depth about the specific strategies that will be implemented to make these changes, but I think the county is at least on the right track in recognizing that the current juvenile justice system is broken and needs re-designed to better serve the youth. One statement I really appreciated from the article when talking about treatment for youth offenders rather than punishment was the expert "encourages juvenile parole officers to view themselves as coaches, rather than referees, always concerned with enforcing the rules". I think just that simple shift in the way parole officers approach their jobs and their youth could have a huge impact on the youth in this system.

Proposed Bill Looks to Reform Juvenile Justice System in Chicago

According to this CBS Chicago news story from March 13, a proposed bill in Chicago--the Youth Opportunity and Fairness Act--could make it easier for youth and teens with delinquency charges on their record to have those charges expunged. Currently, in Illinois, only 3 out of every 1,000 teens is able to get their record expunged. The process is time-consuming, arduous, and filled with red tape. These charges can have significant impacts on their futures. The charges can make it very difficult to find jobs, get approval for housing, and obtain and education. Additionally, the proposed bill would limit the unlawful and broad sharing of juvenile records. The proposed changes would bring Illinois standards in line with best practice recommendations for confidentiality and expungement put forth by the American Bar Association, including the automatic expunging of records of juvenile delinquency two years after the case is close.



Fielding, L. (2017, March 13). Proposed bill looks to reform juvenile justice system. CBS Chicago. Retrieved from http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2017/03/13/proposed-bill-looks-to-reform-juvenile-justice-system/

The Unfair Criminalization of Gay, Transgender, and Gender Nonconforming Youth

https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/lgbt/reports/2012/06/29/11730/the-unfair-criminalization-of-gay-and-transgender-youth/

This article does a great job of highlighting several issues within the juvenile justice system that specifically relate to the LGBTQ+ population. It suggests the need for policy change and an overall cultural shift in the juvenile justice system rather than any sort of quick fix that has been pushed in the past. According to the author, gay, transgender, and gender nonconforming youth are significantly over-represented in the juvenile justice system--with about 300,000 gay and transgender youth being arrested and/or detained each year. Gay and transgender youth represent 5-7% of the overall youth population, but make up 13-15% of the current juvenile justice system. This article points out the unfair criminalization of these individuals by acknowledging that these high rates are the result of youth abandonment/rejection by families and communities, abuse, homelessness, and victimization in the school system. Unfortunately, many gay and transgender youth who leave their homes simply to protect themselves from hostility and abuse end up in temporary placements, and are likely to end up being homeless, which is the greatest predictor of involvement in the juvenile justice system. In fact, this article claims that transgender youth make up about 40% of the homeless youth population. Once these children enter the juvenile justice system, the individuals with which they interact and work with are not trained to work with the unique experiences and challenges that gay, transgender, and gender nonconforming youth face. These leads to more harm by unfairly criminalizing these youth and subjecting them to discriminatory and harmful treatment within the system.

The article delves into this issue in much greater detail and explains the unfair criminalization of the LGBTQ+ population. All of the issues mentioned are extremely important for us to consider as social workers. Additionally, we need to consider some ways in which we can create change and push a cultural shift toward more competent supports. The article suggests the following practical recommendations:

• Promotion of family center interventions
• Gay and transgender inclusive training for all juvenile justice professionals 
• Development of gay and transgender inclusive policies, procedures, and programs
• Gay and transgender inclusive data collection by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
• Dismantle the school-to-prison pipeline for all youth and for gay and transgender youth in particular
• Pass the Safe Schools Improvement Act and the Student Nondiscrimination Act
• Gay and transgender cultural competence in Safe Schools/Healthy Students
• Amend the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act
• Reauthorization of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act
• Passage of Federal Legislation Prohibiting Gay and Transgender Discrimination in the juvenile justice system.

I think that it is important to mention that all of the recommendations mentioned above need to include interventions, training, and support for gender nonconforming youth as well. Especially in terms of training professionals who interact with this population, it's crucial to recognize the unique needs of all of the overrepresented groups within the juvenile justice system. Throughout the article, gender nonconforming youth were specifically mentioned frequently, but were not included in the conversation regarding recommendations for change. Lastly, I think that the juvenile justice system should place individuals in settings based on their gender identity or personal choice rather than the sex on their birth certificate or their genitals. By placing individuals in settings based on their birth certificate/genitalia alone, it places them at a greater risk for violence, sexual assault, and harassment while in detention facilities. 

We know what works, so why don't we do more of it

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rahel-tekola/we-know-what-works-to-sav_b_10442878.html


The juvenile justice system is broken. This article discusses one woman's experience working with a 13-year-old African-American Dallas boy accused of sexual assault. Rahel Tekola is a child abuse and domestic violence advocate. She became involved and angered by the juvenile justice system when she started working with a teenager accused of sexual assault, and he was a victim too. The boy suffered child abuse and emotional trauma at the hands of his stepfather who falsely accused him to deflect attention from his actions. The judge did not discuss the case with his stepfather, no screening or rape kit assessment was completed for his 3-year-old sister, the accuser. Tekola states child abuse experts were not consulted, and the little girl's testimony appeared to be coached.


The boy was wrongfully convicted of sexually assaulting his sister and is now labeled a felon. He now makes up a large percentage of African American jailed youth, nearly five times more than their white peers. The author discusses the injustices within the juvenile justice system, even discussing the case of Brock Turner. I was disturbed by the statistic that, "2.7 percent  of the poorest white youth ended up in prison, whereas 10 percent of affluent black youths went to prison." Youth in the system are less likely to graduate high school and have an increased likelihood of facing adult incarceration.


However, the author states a solution to this problem. "An obvious solution is deferring to non-punitive orders such as behavioral and rehabilitative programs focusing on emotional health and discipline will allow us to address a bigger issue. Programs dedicated to helping incarcerated students also increase the chance of graduating high school." Missouri has a successful community-based rehabilitative program where only 8% of youth offenders return to the juvenile system once released. These programs are also cost effective. On average, incarcerating a child costs $88,000 annually. A prevention program on average costs $2,500. The purpose of these programs is to educate youth and teach them skills to succeed instead of punishing them and continuing the pipeline from juvenile penitentiary to prison. "When we become more intentional about saving young lives instead of throwing them away, we can navigate young men or color, all trouble youths really, into another steady pipeline — away from prison and into college."

3rd Lawsuit Filed Against Missouri Prison System

         In Jefferson City, Missouri, the Prison System has had three lawsuits filed against them in the last two months. The reasoning behind this is the treatment of youth who go on parole as well as the lack of rights offered to those sentenced. The Director of the McArthur Justice Center said "young offenders are given a one-sided, 15- to 20-minute interrogation by Board members and prison staff, without any real consideration of modern brain science, adolescent development or the impact that trauma has had on them.

This lawsuit also is due to the law that prohibits inmates from reviewing the evidence brought up against them before a hearing and makes the defendant choose between having a lawyer or a witness present in the courtroom.
The youth in this prison system are not being offered trauma informed care nor are they interested in the privacy, rehabilitation, or re-entry of these youths. 

http://www.publicnewsservice.org/2017-01-03/juvenile-justice/third-lawsuit-filed-against-missouri-prison-system/a55717-1

California Law Makers

http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-sac-juvenile-justice-bills-20170320-story.html

This article discusses a page of bills to attempt to divert children from a school-to-prison pipeline that disproportionately affects low-income families, black and Latino families. There was 8 proposals introduced that would extend protection for children facing arrest or detention and ease the punishments and fees for those who are inside the juvenile justice system.

I really love and agree with what one of the Senators said at a press conference about the bills. they said “Jail is no place for a child under 11, children are not pint-sized adults. They have a developmental process that they go through to grow into adults. So, for us to expect that a child will have the same judgment, understanding of legal terminology is simply naive.” I find this statement to be so true about children and also a very true statement that most adults forget about when working with/being around a child; that they are still developing and that they are going to make mistakes ust like most adults now did when they were children.

The article highlights some of the other proposals that seem to be very common sense, like a child not talking to police without an attorney before waiving their constitutional rights and that judges can not sentence a child 11 years old or younger to life in prison without parole, as well as ending the costly court and administrative detention fees against the child families. If all of this were to pass, then they would be allowing a child a second chance, and not placing a child into a situation that can ultimately be very hard to get out of. 

Our broken justice system

http://fairsentencingofyouth.org/the-issue/crime-and-safety/

  This article cites many sources that focus on some of the flaws in our juvenile justice system. It really seems to highlight a handful of the key factors we talked about in the first section of this course, such as overly punitive treatment of youth, disproportionate minority contact, lack of judicial discretion, and inadequate assistance of counsel. it is very interesting to read through the information provided within the article, and they compare it to the issues within our society today.

Why Young People of Color Are Central To 'Raising The Age' Debates

http://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2017/03/20/520204938/why-young-people-of-color-are-central-to-raising-the-age-debates

There have been numerous reports regarding the Raise the Age campaign in the recent news. This particular article from NPR summarizes the campaign and the arguments from both proponents and opponents, and touches on the racial disproportionality in juvenile justice.

New York is one of two states, the other being North Carolina, that automatically tries 16 and 17 year-old youth as adults in the criminal justice system. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has been in support of raising the age or, in other words, changing the law so that 16 and 17 year-old youth are tried in the juvenile justice system as opposed to the adult criminal justice system, for some time, though it seems he has recently made this issue a priority. Proponents for the change cite research suggesting that brain development is not complete until one's early to mid 20s, resulting in lower impulse control for 16 and 17 year-old youth. The executive director of the Justice Policy Institute, Marc Schindler, stated belief that youth with criminal records "have the deck stacked against them" as they face employment and education hurdles. The article also provides a link to studies that suggest youth placed in adult prisons may be more likely to re-offend. Proponents also cite statistics from other states that have raised the aged which show decreased numbers of youth in juvenile detention since the change. Researchers attribute the decrease partially to states' use of alternatives to incarceration, like probation and outpatient rehabilitation. Meanwhile, opponents express concern that the juvenile justice prison population would greatly increase, worrying about where juvenile offenders would be housed and the ease of identifying repeat offenders whose juvenile records would be sealed. The president of the Corrections Officers Benevolent Association of New York stated beliefs that raising the age may increase the likelihood of young people being recruited to gangs and committing crimes due to facing light punishment for doing such. Governor Cuomo recently stated at a public event that the policy greatly affects poor minorities. Marc Schindler is quoted in the article stating that the current policy would not exist if it were middle and upper class white kids being disproportionately impacted. The article points out that 90% of New York's youth sentenced as adults are black or Latino. Schindler pointed to the case of Kalief Browder (Google his story if you don't know it and watch "Time: The Kalief Browder Story," produced by Jay Z, on Spike) who was arrested at age 16 and received harsh treatment at Rikers Island, leading to his suicide post-incarceration. Celebrities like John Legend have recently shown support for Raise the Age, as well (not cited in the article).

I definitely support raising the age based on what is known about brain development and the outcomes for youth who are incarcerated, particularly in adult prisons, regarding recidivism. I find myself in agreement with Marc Schindler regarding the deck being stacked against youth with criminal records. Kids with underdeveloped brains who commit crimes should not be placed in adult prisons where they must constantly be in survival mode and expected to function in society upon release from prison. Knowing what we know about ACES, it is likely that offenders have experienced ACES prior to offending, and incarceration itself is an adverse experience. The increased cortisol production in their brains due to the constant activation or fight or flight while incarcerated, especially in adult prisons, leaves their brains wired to perceive danger and threats and act on those perceptions. On top of treating youth as adults, we are then expecting them to navigate the world with impaired emotional regulation and jump through hoops to get a job and further their education.
While raising the age can mitigate some of these factors, it is not a perfect fix. Our jails and prisons, both juvenile and adult, focus on punishment. All states should follow suit of those who are choosing to focus, at least for youth, on alternatives to incarceration, like rehabilitation. It is clear based on our society’s crime and recidivism rates that our system doesn’t work. Raising the age is a step in the right direction.