California Leaders Embrace Youth Voices, but Miss Opportunity for Major Reform

California Leaders Embrace Youth Voices, but Miss Opportunity for Major Reform

Originally published by the Juvenile Justice Information Exchange (JJIE).

An Op-Ed authored by CJCJ Policy Analyst Maureen Washburn discusses several juvenile justice reforms passed by the California Legislature 2019 that increase protections for youth and place much-needed limits on harmful system overreach.

In the article:

National best practices indicate that maintaining a low population of youth and pursuing further reductions is critical to any improvements within the facilities. By investing heavily in incomplete reform and touting untested therapeutic approaches, California may be deepening its reliance on a broken system and contributing to a dangerous rise in the DJJ population.

Despite this major missed opportunity, 2019 also brought several key victories for youth in California…

Read the full article in the Juvenile Justice Information Exchange »

Related Links:

• Report: Pervasive Violence and Isolation at California’s Division of Juvenile Justice Endanger Youth

• Editorial: Gov. Newsom’s impulse on juvenile justice good, but state needs real reform

• California Youth Continue to Bring Steep Declines in Juvenile Arrests