On June 24, the Annie E. Casey Foundation released an update on the Maltreatment of Youth in U.S. Juvenile Corrections Facilities. The 40-page document is a follow-up to the Foundation’s 2011 report
No Place for Kids, which demonstrated America’s need to reduce juvenile incarceration. In the four years since, a new wave of evidence on the maltreatment of youth confined in state-funded juvenile facilities has emerged.
“The troubling evidence presented in this report should remove any remaining doubt that large conventional juvenile corrections facilities — or plainly stated, youth prisons — are inherently prone to abuse,” wrote the AECF.
The update concludes with the AECF’s call for better and more cost-efficient alternatives to rehabilitating delinquent youth, including “community-based supervision, treatment and youth development programs,” and keeping children at home with their families. For those who do require confinement, the AECF urges juvenile corrections agencies to create healthier, safe and more therapeutic facilities. Regardless of the circumstances, the four years of findings show, youth should never be in dangerous, violent, or abusive situations.
