It’s a remarkable achievement that was made possible through the dedicated work of committed reformers and advocates, particularly the families who never gave up on their children or anyone else’s.
More than half of states no longer confine youth in adult prisons. Alabama, Alaska, Colorado, Delaware, Georgia, and Nevada reached that milestone in 2021 for the first time this century.
Yet, 23 states continue holding their youth in adult prisons, a list consisting of Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia and Washington state. Youth from the District of Columbia are also incarcerated with adults in federal facilities. State-by-state data for jails (which generally hold people accused but not convicted) are not reported, making this shameful list incomplete.
States that still hold their young people in adult jails and prisons risk losing federal funding under the Juvenile Justice Reform Act (JJRA) of 2018 because it is well-known that young people suffer staggering levels of mental, physical, and sexual abuse when placed in adult facilities. They have higher rates of recidivism than when retained in the youth justice system.
We’ll keep up the fight in 2023 and for as long as it takes. Legislation to remove children and adolescents from the adult courts is moving around the country, and TSP’s Youth Justice Team is proud to be part of that fight.
Year-by-year data of youth confined in adult facilities are available here.
