Pick up the Phone Today For Juvenile Justice

by Matt Kelley · 2010-07-07 06:27:00 UTC
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Today, a coalition of juvenile justice activists across the United States is calling on Congress to prioritize juvenile justice reforms. Can you pick up the phone and join them?

We've reported here before on the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act — the federal law that directs states to handle juvenile offenders with dignity and to provide alternatives to long-term incarceration. The 35-year-old law is three years overdue for renewal, and more than 10,000 Change.org members have already called on Congress to reauthorize it. Join them today by making a one-minute phone call to your representatives.

In recent months, evidence for why we need to renew the law has only mounted. Last December, for example, the Coalition for Juvenile Justice released a report finding that states are struggling to fund innovative juvenile justice programs, casting a shadow over teens who get swept up in the system for minor offenses. This is a critical issue: if states fail to effectively and compassionately intervene when young people are caught in the system, we're simply speeding up the conveyor belt to send them to adult prison.

The impact of tight budgets and a lack of focus on juvenile justice is being felt across country. This week alone, Charleston, South Carolina, finds itself wondering about the future of a juvenile drug court. Last month, the L.A. Times reported on the vast inequalities between two types of defense presently being offered to juveniles — public defenders and appointed lawyers.

In better news, though, Pennsylvania is set to launch a grant-funded "evening reporting center," which allows juveniles to continue with their lives while receiving counseling and other services after school. These types of alternative approaches work. Congress needs to take the lead in providing states with the money and the motivation to keep creative justice alive.

Make the call today. It could mean a second chance for a teenager in your community.

Photo Credit: marlon.net

Matt Kelley is the Online Communications Manager at the Innocence Project and a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. Follow him on Twitter @mattjkelley.
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