YJAM is a Time to Reflect and Celebrate Efforts in the States

 

By Liz Ryan

 

National Youth Justice Awareness Month (YJAM) celebrates those states that have taken a giant step in improving the justice system for kids. Over the past several years, four states have launched successful "Raise the Age" efforts to reduce the automatic prosecution of 16 and 17 year olds in the adult criminal court that impact more than 20,000 young people.

 

Connecticut led this effort by changing its law in 2007 and was recently featured in a report, “Juvenile Justice Reform in Connecticut: How Collaboration and Commitment Have Improved Public Safety and Outcomes for Youth”, highlighting how it achieved this success. Many individuals, organizations and state leaders are featured in the report, most notably the Connecticut Juvenile Justice Alliance (CTJJA).  As a result of the CT campaign, 8,000 youth will no longer be automatically tried in adult court.

In 2010, Mississippi passed legislation to remove 17 year olds from automatic prosecution in adult court (with certain exceptions).  This new law, which went into effect  in July, 2011, was championed by the Mississippi Coalition for the Prevention of Schoolhouse to Jailhouse, the NAACP, the MS ACLU and the Southern Poverty Law Center.

 

During the 2013 session, the Illinois legislature passed legislation to remove 17 year olds charged with felonies from automatic prosecution in adult court, a move which gives 4,000 more youth the opportunity to access rehabilitative services and programs in the juvenile justice system.  The Illinois Juvenile Justice Initiative and the Illinois Juvenile Justice Commission spearheaded these efforts. And Massachusetts raised its age to 18 in the 2013 session, thereby giving 6,000 youth an opportunity to participate in juvenile justice programs, rather than the adult criminal justice system.  Citizens for Juvenile Justice advanced these reforms.

 

All these "Raise the Age" efforts will improve outcomes for youth and communities by increasing access to more effective programs and services in the juvenile justice system. We applaud the state officials in these states who championed these initiatives -- CT, MS, IL and MA -- and the advocacy groups who advocated for these policy reforms. For the ten states with lower ages of juvenile court jurisdiction remaining -- NY, NC, GA, LA, MI, MO, NH, SC, TX, WI -- the pressure is on!