Some of the top policy organizations in the U.S. have published reports that link juvenile detention with incarceration in an adult prison in later years. Criminalizing a young person can have severe collateral consequences. Loss of schooling, disrupted family life, being negatively influenced by older youths, being recruited into gangs, and lack of treatment for unrecognized mental issues are just some of the things young people face when they are sent to a juvenile detention center. There are cases where youths are housed in adult prisons. The end result is often tragic- young lives destroyed and rehabilitation negligible.
There is some encouraging news, however. Federal, state and local governments have begun addressing the issue of juvenile crime and incarceration in an effort to prevent young people from getting swallowed up in the criminal justice system. Empire State News reports that the Department of Justice Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Title II Formula Grants Program awarded the New York New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services $1, 131,799 in an effort to reduce crime among juveniles.
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