Policymaking
From the Executive Summary, developed by Citizens for Juvenile Justice: “In the context of aggressive federal immigration enforcement that has shifted away from the border and into our communities, this report examines the role that Massachusetts local law enforcement and justice actors play in federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations. State law prohibits local…
This law review article written by Professor Kristina Kersey explores transfer as a form of punishment and calls for jurisdictions to enact a moratorium on transfer, drawing lessons from the movement to end the death penalty. Noting similarities between transfer and the death penalty, this article analogizes the two and argues that transfer mechanisms operate…
From the Background of this issue brief by National Immigration Law Center: “This issue brief is designed for individuals or groups advocating for state legislation to protect access to a free public K-12 education for immigrant students and for immigrant students to be safe and protected while in school. The brief outlines some steps that…
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…
From the Discussion: “This study illuminates pathways for future research to explore facility closures. Such research should investigate the impact of specific drivers supporting completed closures of youth facilities, including the combination of stated reasons to appeal to different audiences. Notably, we only found 1 paper in our scoping review that explores the strategies used…
This paper is part of the Series on Learning from Civil Rights Lawsuits from the Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse and focuses on parole review procedures for individuals serving long sentences for crimes committed under age 18, discusses constitutional dimensions of parole review for this group, and proposes model policies supporting a meaningful opportunities for release. From the Executive Summary: “In recent years, people serving…
The Columbia University Justice Lab released a report spotlighting New York City’s Close to Home initiative, an effort that reduced the rate of youth sent to state-operated prisons in New York City. “This case study describes the development of the Close to Home (C2H) initiative, beginning with a review of what the system looked like…
This report from the Urban Institute features results from a survey of young people in four Chicago neighborhoods to “learn from young adults firsthand whether and why they decide to carry guns, how they acquire firearms, how they experience gun violence, and what they view as the best strategies to reduce gun carrying and promote safety in their communities.” From the report: …
This paper from the Executive Session on Community Corrections at the Harvard Kennedy School examines the history of youth incarceration and discusses how the inherently flawed model of youth prisons demands systemic reforms, including closure of youth prisons, to actualize safer communities, and positive youth outcomes. From the introduction: “For 170 years, since our first youth correctional institution opened, America’s approach…
