From Juvenile Justice Information Exchange:
WASHINGTON — A new report finds that while juveniles housed in adult jails have dropped more than 50 percent from a recent peak of 7,600 on a single day in 2010, there are still at least 32,000 — and as many as 60,000 by some measures — youths entering adult jails each year.
The report from UCLA Law School, " Getting to Zero," offers a mix of optimism and alarm: Several states have moved in the last few years to limit sharply the number of youth in adult jails, among them New York, California and North Carolina, but the risks to those who are in adult jails remain shockingly high. Youth under 18 in adult jails are 36 times more likely to commit suicide than youth in juvenile detention — and more than 400 percent more likely to be sexually abused than those in juvenile facilities.
"There's no question that there have been a lot of lawsuits instrumental in helping bringing about change," said the report's author, Neelum Arya, the former director of the law school's Criminal Justice Reform Clinic. The lawsuits have reinforced the reform messages of such advocacy groups as The Campaign for Youth Justice (CYJ), even if settlements aren't compiled nationally and averaged a relatively modest $227,000 payout when successfully sued for suicide attempts. Continue reading >>>
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