The Campaign for Youth Justice would like to cordially invite you to a launch event and panel discussion for our newest report “Raising the Bar: State Trends in Keeping Youth Out of Adult Courts (2015-2017)”.

Save the date! Youth Justice Action Month is coming in October 2017. During this month, YJAM will focus on the arts and the infinite variety of creative ways artistic expression can inspire action.

S860 would reauthorize and strengthen the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA) to support state efforts to improve their juvenile justice systems, protect kids, and build safer communities.

2017 marks a historical milestone in the United States’ juvenile justice system.    After decades of advocacy, New York and North Carolina both passed legislation to raise their age of juvenile court jurisdiction to 18.

A new report shows that over the past decade, half of the states that had previously excluded all 16- and/or 17-year-olds from juvenile court based solely on their age absorbed these young people into the youth justice system without significantly increasing taxpayer costs.

Every year in this country, as many as 200,000 youth are put into the adult criminal justice system, most of them for nonviolent offenses. In 22 states and the District of Columbia, children as young as SEVEN can be prosecuted as adults. Each year 95,000 youth are held in adult jails and prisons.

ICYMI:  Check out our latest video about how you can get involved to protect youth from the dangers of adult jails and prisons.