Youth Justice
Vera’s Center on Youth Justice (CYJ) works with policymakers and practitioners who want juvenile justice to be rooted in the community, more effective, and smaller in scale, touching the lives of fewer children.
Featured
Restoring Promise
A Young Adult Reform Initiative
Young people ages 18 to 24 make up 10 percent of the U.S. population but comprise 21 percent of people admitted into adult prison every year. Neuroscience shows that young adults in this age group are still developing in important ways. When mistakes they make lead to prison, we should ensure they are housed safely and that they’re given the tools ...
Project
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Alex Frank
Richard Ross
Ending Girls' Incarceration in New York City
Over the last decade, successful reforms have reduced the number of youth in juvenile custody by 50 percent nationwide—largely by sharply reducing confinement for low-risk offenses. However, despite the fact that the vast majority of girls are still incarcerated for behavior that poses no public safety risk, girls’ incarceration is declining at a s...
Status Offense Reform Center
Providing community-based alternatives to court and juvenile justice system involvement
Every year, thousands of kids are brought to court or even placed in locked facilities for misbehaviors like truancy, running away, and curfew violations—also known as status offenses—which are only illegal for kids under the age of 18. While these behaviors can be typical in adolescence, they can also be symptomatic of underlying issues at home or...
Related Work
Image credit: Netflix
The Initiative to End Girls’ Incarceration
Across the country, juvenile justice reform efforts have driven down juvenile custody populations, putting the end of incarceration for girls in the United States within reach. The number of girls in most jurisdictions is small and most girls are still incarcerated for low-level offenses that pose no risk to public safety. Placing girls in custody ...
Project
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Lindsay Rosenthal
Can Mentoring Take the Place of Punishing?
The Choice is Yours (TCY) is a felony diversion program in Philadelphia that channels young people arrested for drug possession with intent to distribute away from jail and into education and job training services. Nigel Bowe, program director, and Miguel, program participant, discuss how TCY mentors young adults who have grown up distrusting the c...
Graduation Instead of Incarceration
The Choice is Yours (TCY) is a felony diversion program in Philadelphia that channels young people arrested for drug possession with intent to distribute away from jail and into education and job training services. Derek Riker, former ADA in the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office, and Byron Cotter, from the Defender Association of Philadelphia...
Learning How to Ask for Help
The Choice is Yours (TCY) is a felony diversion program in Philadelphia that channels young people arrested for drug possession with intent to distribute away from jail and into education and job training services. Alberta LLoyd, TCY career training and life skills instructor, and Marta Buechler, TCY case manager, discuss some of the numerous life ...
Without Youth Voices, There Can Be No Youth Justice
Illinois provides one example of how this works in practice. Since 2015, Vera has partnered with the state’s Department of Juvenile Justice to create an Aftercare system—an adaptation of parole—that takes the lessons of the youth it serves to heart, using their experiences to improve the policies and practices that inform its day-to-day work. One k...
Blog Post
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Cymone Fuller
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Ja’Vaune Jackson
Closing the Courthouse Door to Kids Who Misbehave
All of this comes at an enormous fiscal and social cost. Processing status offense cases in court is both inefficient and expensive, particularly for kids or families who require immediate help. When these cases do result in confinement, the costs can be upwards of hundreds of thousands of dollars annually. Meanwhile, this approach isolates kids fr...
Just Kids: When Misbehaving Is a Crime
This special report offers a primer on status offenses—misbehaviors that are only illegal because of a person’s age and that unfairly land many kids in the justice system.
Skipping School Can Get Kids Locked Up?
Every year, thousands of American children are shuffled through the justice system for misbehaviors like skipping school and running away – referred to as “status offenses”—when their families, schools, and communities don’t know how else to help them. While it may seem like the best option, research shows that the juvenile system just isn’t equipp...
Series: Dispatches from T.R.U.E.
My Old Friends
A T.R.U.E. mentor reflects on how books have shaped his life behind bars
The books would pile up so much that I would send home a banker box full of books every few months to keep within the confines of my property allotment of six cubic feet. My parents dutifully packed them in the storage area of their home, waiting for our reunion. I spent so much time in those books they became my closest friends. Their attention co...
Series: Dispatches from T.R.U.E.
Working Together Toward Community, Connection, and Comradeship in T.R.U.E.
An offender in the T.R.U.E. unit asked me, “Why do you want to participate in this program?” I explained that I was tired of the revolving door in Corrections and the disruption it causes to the community. They then asked, “What experiences do you have dealing with this population?” Even though there has never been a unit like this in an ...
Series: Dispatches from T.R.U.E.
Looking Back Toward a Better Future
The purpose of this blog series is to allow you to gain an appreciation for the T.R.U.E. program through the words of those of us who have been blessed with the opportunity to be a part of this unique experience. In future posts, I will write about the day-to-day life of a mentor and some of the experiences I have had in the unit. For now, I want ...
Series: Dispatches from T.R.U.E.
Connecticut’s T.R.U.E. Prison Program Offers New Beginnings
First, I knew I would be a good asset to this program. I know right from wrong and I’ve never been in trouble while incarcerated. Since being in prison, I have come to an even better understanding of right from wrong. Second, there are some things I need to work on within myself so I can be a better person for myself and society. For example, I nee...