This November, youth incarceration reforms may not have been on the ballot, but there’s been forward momentum for a while now in states across the country. In New York, California, Texas, Mississippi, Louisiana and Washington, DC, the rates of juvenile incarceration have decreased through campaigns that have successfully closed youth prisons, enacted state policy reforms and invested in community-based solutions.
Polls show that 81 percent of Democrats, 83 percent of Independents and 68 percent of Republicans support a major shift in the youth legal system – from a focus on punishment and incarceration to systems advocating for rehabilitation and prevention.
Clearly, Americans across the political spectrum want drastic changes in how we treat young people who need help getting back on track. As we reimagine our legal system, we should realize we don’t need youth prisons at all. Instead of more lock ups that just warehouse kids behind bars, a far better solution would be investments in community-based solutions.
Closing youth prisons is a critical first step toward fixing juvenile punishment in the US. However, the question remains: What comes next? States like Connecticut have taken steps in the right direction by closing its one and only youth prison earlier this year. Still, officials there have not finished the job: They have yet to direct any funds saved from shuttering the prison toward community-based alternatives. Without such a commitment, some states have fallen into a wasteful trap by building new prisons and jails for their own sake.
Evidence shows that community-based programs are the best way to help youth make better choices, stay on a path toward success and get back on track when they need help. But we can only achieve this if we end the cycle of throwing state money after failed solutions like more prisons. At a time when youth incarceration has been cut in half and…