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.

The Campaign for Youth Justice (CFYJ) is thrilled that after nearly 100 years of treating 16 and 17-year olds as adults, the North Carolina legislature has passed a budget bill that includes raising the age of juvenile court jurisdiction to 18 in North Carolina.   Although Governor Cooper vetoed the budget bill due to other policy concerns, the bill has enough support in the legislature to override the Governor’s veto.

The Campaign for Youth Justice (CFYJ) welcomes the news that legislation to Raise the Age of criminal responsibility in New York from 16 to 18 has been passed as part of NY’s Executive Budget. Governor Cuomo, Assembly Speaker Heastie, and Senate Majority Leader Flanagan, worked extended hours to ensure that raise the age passed as part of the Executive Budget.

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.

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, and the number of youth in the adult system nationwide was nearly cut in half.

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