Juvenile Criminal Justice System
They’re Just Kids
Through the juvenile criminal justice system and adult criminal justice system, the United States incarcerate more of its youth than any other industrialized country in the world. There’s approximately 34,000 youth incarcerated in the United States. This is not including the 5,200 youth incarcerated in adult prison, since they are considered adults, and the almost 20,000 youth that the juvenile justice system holds in residential facilities away from home, since that is not technically jail or prison. 1.900 youth are incarcerated for drugs charges, mostly for possession. 13,900 youth are incarcerated for person charges including sexual assault, homicide, aggravated …show more content…
North Carolina is the only state that treats all 16- and 17-year-olds as adults when they are charged with criminal offenses and then denies them the ability to appeal for return to the juvenile system. For years, North Carolina has been out of compliance with the JJDPA (The Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act), which requires “sight and sound separation”, that juveniles not be detained or confined in any institution in which they have sight or sound contact with adult inmates and that juveniles not be detained or confined in an adult jail or lockup. The violations cost the state $640,000 per year in federal funding. Moreover, juveniles who may otherwise be incarcerated could instead be ending up in psychiatric residential treatment facilities (PRTFs) which are locked, in-patient facilities for children and youth with mental illness and/or substance abuse issues. Some parents and/or juveniles are being forced to choose between going to a PRTF or some other seemingly worse fate like charges being filed, being committed to a YDC, etc. When they choose placement in a PRTF, Medicaid, the juvenile’s health insurance provider, or the parent is responsible for payment; the juvenile system charges to incarcerate. Youth in PRTFs are often denied quality services and aftercare supports. Moreover, juveniles are often held in detention for long periods of time while waiting for a PRTF bed to become available, despite the fact that detention centers are intended to be short-term facilities and are ill-equipped for long-term treatment and education services. Juveniles in PRTFs aren’t accounted for in juvenile incarceration rates. There are now 486 in-state PRTF beds, with many more kids being sent to out-of-state facilities. The number of PRTF beds in North Carolina has quadrupled since
Through the juvenile criminal justice system and adult criminal justice system, the United States incarcerate more of its youth than any other industrialized country in the world. There’s approximately 34,000 youth incarcerated in the United States. This is not including the 5,200 youth incarcerated in adult prison, since they are considered adults, and the almost 20,000 youth that the juvenile justice system holds in residential facilities away from home, since that is not technically jail or prison. 1.900 youth are incarcerated for drugs charges, mostly for possession. 13,900 youth are incarcerated for person charges including sexual assault, homicide, aggravated …show more content…
North Carolina is the only state that treats all 16- and 17-year-olds as adults when they are charged with criminal offenses and then denies them the ability to appeal for return to the juvenile system. For years, North Carolina has been out of compliance with the JJDPA (The Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act), which requires “sight and sound separation”, that juveniles not be detained or confined in any institution in which they have sight or sound contact with adult inmates and that juveniles not be detained or confined in an adult jail or lockup. The violations cost the state $640,000 per year in federal funding. Moreover, juveniles who may otherwise be incarcerated could instead be ending up in psychiatric residential treatment facilities (PRTFs) which are locked, in-patient facilities for children and youth with mental illness and/or substance abuse issues. Some parents and/or juveniles are being forced to choose between going to a PRTF or some other seemingly worse fate like charges being filed, being committed to a YDC, etc. When they choose placement in a PRTF, Medicaid, the juvenile’s health insurance provider, or the parent is responsible for payment; the juvenile system charges to incarcerate. Youth in PRTFs are often denied quality services and aftercare supports. Moreover, juveniles are often held in detention for long periods of time while waiting for a PRTF bed to become available, despite the fact that detention centers are intended to be short-term facilities and are ill-equipped for long-term treatment and education services. Juveniles in PRTFs aren’t accounted for in juvenile incarceration rates. There are now 486 in-state PRTF beds, with many more kids being sent to out-of-state facilities. The number of PRTF beds in North Carolina has quadrupled since