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In the midst of a tough environment for reform, the youth justice team has been working closely with our state partners and shaping national discussions about effective reforms.
State partnerships
Maryland
After a big year in 2022, passing an omnibus reform that has sharply reduced justice system involvement, Maryland advocates were ready to fix the state’s aggressive charging of teenagers as if they are adults. The Youth Justice Team has been working with a coalition of advocates in Maryland to pass the YES Act, legislation that would end this practice. The Sentencing Project's Director of Youth Justice, Josh Rovner, testified [[link removed]] in support of the legislation.
In February, we joined the Maryland Youth Justice Coalition who hosted a rally prior to the bill hearing and several directly impacted individuals showed up in support. We are thankful for the coalition's efforts to show up another year for the YES act, and look forward to working to pass this legislation next year!
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Connecticut
In Connecticut, Governor Ned Lamont signed bills to end extreme sentences for people under 21 ( SB 952 [[link removed]] ) and to move the state closer to removing its youth from adult prisons ( HB 6888 [[link removed]] ). Our supportive testimony is here [[link removed]] . We are excited to continue working with the Connecticut Justice Alliance’s Justice Coalition and Justice Advisors on removing youth from the adult system entirely.
Tennessee
In Tennessee, we've taken a close look at the data [[link removed]] on youth offending and seen how young people's role in crime has been shrinking over time. As the state legislature heads toward a special session, we urge leaders in the Volunteer State to keep their teens away from adult courts, jails and prisons.
Diving into research
The Sentencing Project has released three reports so far this year to highlight transformative youth justice:
1.
Youth
Justice
by
the
Numbers
[[link removed]]
provides
key
data
on
youth
incarceration
and
racial
and
ethnic
disparities.
2.
Why
Youth
Incarceration
Fails
[[link removed]]
shares
decades
of
evidence
proving
that
locking
up
our
kids
harms
their
futures
and
does
little
to
protect
public
safety.
3.
Effective
Alternatives
to
Youth
Incarceration
[[link removed]]
identifies
six
alternative
models
that
consistently
produce
better
public
safety
outcomes
than
incarceration,
with
far
less
disruption
to
young
people’s
healthy
adolescent
development
at
a
fraction
of
the
cost.
In our latest webinar, we discussed alternatives-to-incarceration program models, bringing together youth justice experts, mentors, and people who’ve benefited from the alternatives.
Click to watch webinar [[link removed]]
It’s been a great year so far. But we’re just getting started!
[[link removed]] Jordyn Wilson
Youth Justice Campaign Associate
Email: [email protected]
Donate [[link removed]]
[link removed] [[link removed]] [link removed] [[link removed]] [link removed] [[link removed]] [link removed] [[link removed]] The Sentencing Project
1705 DeSales St. NW
8th Fl
Washington, DC 20036
United States
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