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the independent voice for Kentucky's children

Juvenile Justice

Publications | Press Releases | Resources

All youth need strong connections to family, community, and school to help them move successfully into adulthood. However, engagement with the juvenile justice system often further disconnects youth from these supports. Although youth crime is on the decline, punishments have become increasingly harsh in recent years. National research suggests many youth are locked-up unnecessarily during the justice process, oftentimes with profound long-term consequences. 

Research also shows that incarceration for minor offenses can disengage youth from family, school, and work and increase the likelihood that youth will re-offend. Juvenile detention is the strongest predictor that an individual will be incarcerated as an adult.

Recent Work

Updated May 2012

Kentucky has one of the highest rates of any state in the nation of putting kids in jail for things like running away or missing school, yet the trend is moving to fewer youth incarcerated, according to an updated report, Ending the Use of Incarceration for Status Offenses in Kentucky, by Kentucky Youth Advocates. The report recommends continuing to lower the number of youth in jail for misbehaviors by shifting to more effective alternatives that hold youth accountable while saving tax dollars and avoiding the unintended consequences on public safety of incarcerating youth for minor offenses.

Report (pdf) | Press Release (pdf)

  • Are you satisfied paying for failure or are you ready to invest in success? - This brochure by Kentucky Youth Advocates, The National Juvenile Justice Network, and the Tow Foundation, highlights the stark contrast between the cost of incarcerating a youth and his or her likely continued involvement with the criminal justice system compared with the cost of investments in helping a child become a successful, contributing member of society. 

KYA released Reclaiming Futures in Kentucky, a framework that identifies the critical stages of implementing a successful plan for youth who have been or are at risk of being charged with a status offense (a misbehavior like skipping school or running away from home). The framework consists of six stages that direct how the juvenile justice system, other youth serving agencies and organizations, and the community can work together to reduce the secure detention of youth charged with status offenses and work toward positive outcomes for these youth and their families.

Currently, Kentucky locks up youth for status offenses at the second highest rate in the nation – a response which fails to address the underlying causes of the problem. The Reclaiming Futures framework provides a roadmap for communities to implement what is known to be effective for public safety in the long run.

Reclaiming Futures in Kentucky (pdf) | Press Release (pdf)

This fact sheet explains how Kentucky can stop locking up kids for things like skipping school and running away from home and reinvest the cost savings in evidence‐based strategies.

  

Youth who enter the child welfare or juvenile justice system have typically encountered complex personal and family issues that contribute to their involvement in either system. Intense treatment and services can address those experiences and help set youth on a positive trajectory in life.

  

KIDS COUNT Essay (pdf)

   

September 2009

A report released today by Kentucky Youth Advocates measures the level of disproportionality at key decision-making points within Kentucky’s juvenile justice system, with data as recent as 2008. The report finds that not only do youth encounter disparate treatment at each stage, but those disparities are compounded as they move further into the system.

Issue Brief (pdf) | Press Release (pdf)

Other Work of Interest

The Annie E. Casey Foundation released a new report, “No Place for Kids: The Case for Reducing Juvenile Incarceration.” The report shows us why incarcerating kids doesn't work: youth incarceration does not help youth become productive citizens, it does not provide an overall public safety benefit, and it wastes taxpayer dollars. The report also shows that many states have substantially reduced their juvenile correctional facility populations in recent years, and it finds that these states have seen no resulting increase in juvenile crime or violence.

No Place for Kids (pdf) | Annie E. Casey Foundation Press Release

This fact sheet from the Coalition for Juvenile Justice summarizes the problem, shares national data, and offers examples of policy and practice changes underway.

  

Article from Juvenile and Family Justice Today, a Publication of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges.

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