National Analysis
This report from the Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth provides a national overview of the progress states have made post-Montgomery in changing sentencing laws for young people in adult court facing life without parole and other lengthy sentences, and opportunities for continued legislative, legal and policy change. From the resource: Ten years ago, the…
This report, written by the Sentencing Project, highlights the harmful practice of direct file, or “auto-charging” youth in adult court. This national analysis looks at the practice of direct file and the pervasive harms that it has on the wellbeing and future thriving of young people and makes recommendations for states to limit pathways for…
This report, by The Sentencing Project, examines the changes in involvement of women and girls in the criminal and juvenile legal system over the past quarter century. The report includes data examining the rise of women and girls’ incarceration in jails, state and federal prisons, residential placement centers, as well as women under the control of the U.S. Corrections systems through probation or parole., This…
In October 2025, the Gault Center convened over three hundred youth defense lawyers and advocates at our annual Youth Defender Leadership Summit. Together, we practiced the cultivation of community in service of building a more just, more liberated, and more human humanity for all children and for us all. This resource captures the shared learnings…
The Sentencing Project released an updated snapshot of the numbers of youth in the juvenile legal system from 2000 to 2023, finding significant declines in youth arrests and incarceration, though racial and ethnic disparities persist. The report calls for the need to continued shrinking the juvenile legal system by increasing informal or diversionary responses to youth arrests. Introduction: “Youth arrests and incarceration increased dramatically in the closing…
This report from Vera Institute for Justice provides examples of reforms from various states that are working to reduce the incarceration of girls in detention and long-term placement. “Over the last decade, as a direct result of focused efforts by youth advocates and a growing body of research on developmentally appropriate practices, many states have…
This report highlights D.C. transfer laws and discusses the current U.S. Attorney’s argument that the District of Columbia should amend its law to transfer more young people to to adult court. The report compares D.C.’s transfer law to transfer laws across the country and highlights decades of research that has concluded transfer laws do not…
The Annie E. Casey Foundation released its annual Kids Count Data Book, which offers a national analysis on four indicators of child wellbeing: economic wellbeing, education, health, and family and community. This report is part of the Kids Count Data Center, which provides demographic and wellbeing data on children and families. This report includes data…
The Center for Native American Youth (CNAY) at the Aspen Institute released a report detailing survey results of nearly one thousand Native youth on their needs and priorities across issues that matter most to them. This survey was built and disseminated by Native youth leaders who worked in partnership with CNAY staff to practice and…
This one-page infographic from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention illustrates trends in delinquency cases in 2022.
The National Institute of Justice issued five key findings from research and data on youth and delinquency. The findings include: 1) risk-taking behaviors are a normal part of adolescent development; 2) risky behaviors increase through adolescence and then decline over time as youth mature; 3) few youth are arrested for any crime, and even fewer…
The Sentencing Project released an updated snapshot of youth arrest and incarceration rates, revealing that youth arrest rates have declined 80% from 1996 and youth incarceration declined 75% between 2000 and 2022. Despite these shrinking rates, the juvenile legal system is still marked by significant racial and ethnic disparities. Black youth are 4.7 times more…
