Jailing Juveniles and the Reauthorization of the JJDPA

1. Jailing Juveniles and the Reauthorization of the JJDPA AJA 'S 30TH ANNUAL TRAINING CONFERENCE & JAIL EXPO CINCINNATI, OHIO ♦ MAY 15 – 19, 2011 Liz Ryan, President & CEO The Campaign for Youth Justice Sheriff Gabriel Morgan, Sr. Newport News, Virginia LianeRozzell, Executive Director Families & Allies of Virginia’s Youth Vicky Gunderson, Parent Advocate Onalaska, Wisconsin

2. Introduction • General review of purpose and issues to be discussed • About the presenters • Format of the workshop

3. Families of Incarcerated Youth and Their Stories • The reality for families that are living with their children in the justice system • The dangers of housing youth in adult jails and the negative impact on youth and families • Is my child safe? • URGENT action needed for states to replicate the recent jail removal successes in VA and elsewhere

4. Kirk’s Voice

5. Kirk’s Voice

6. Kirk’s Voice

7. Kirk’s Voice

9. The Importance of Families and Advocates • The role of advocates and families in the passage of the Virginia Jail Bill • Why did jail removal have wide support in Virginia? • The role of families in supporting reform at the state and local level

10. Risk to Youth in Adult Jails • Current law recognizes the risks youth face in adult jails • Sexual assault • 13% of rape victims but <1% of prison population • Suicide • Youth 36 times more likely to commit suicide in adult facility than in a juvenile facility • Lack of access to education • 40% of adult jails provide no educational services at all

11. Risk to Youth in Adult Jails • Many youth tried as adults are sent back to juvenile court or not convicted, but have spent at least 1 month in adult jail • CDC and OJJDP reports - youth tried as adults are more likely to commit more crimes • Conditions in adult jail amount to pre-trial punishment

12. Virginia’s Jail Removal Legislation • Advantages for those who work in and operate the state’s jails • Effects on sheriffs’ responsibility to keep youth safe • Connection between jail removal and reducing the disproportionate impact of harsh policies on youth of color • Call to action

13. Update on Jail Removal Efforts • Rationale for jail removal efforts • Advantages of ending the practice of housing youth in adult jails for the youth, their families, the community and those who work in jails • Oregon Success Story • Update on the status of federal legislation

14. The Dangers of Detaining Youth in Adult Jails • Every day in America, an average of 7,500 youth are detained in adult jails. • The number of youth who are placed in adult jails every year could be even higher – tens of thousands of young people according to some researchers – to account for the ‘turnover’ in adult jails. • As many as one-half of these youth will be sent back to the juvenile justice system or not be convicted. Yet, most of these youth will have spent at least one month in an adult jail and one in five of these youth will have spent over six months in an adult jail.

15. The Dangers of Detaining Youth in Adult Jails • It is extremely difficult to keep children safe in adult jails. • According to BJS, 21% and 13% of all substantiated victims of inmate-on-inmate sexual violence in jails in 2005 and 2006 respectively, were youth under the age of 18(surprisingly high since only 1% of jail inmates are juveniles).

16. The Dangers of Detaining Youth in Adult Jails • Some jailers will separate children from adults but this is not adequate either. • Children are then often placed in isolation. Youth are frequently locked down 23 hours a day in small cells with no natural light. These conditions can cause anxiety, paranoia, and exacerbate existing mental disorders and put youth at risk of suicide. • Youth have the highest suicide rates of all inmates in jails. Youth are 36 times more likely to commit suicide in an adult jail than in a juvenile detention facility, and 19 times more likely to commit suicide in an adult jail than youth in the general population.

17. JJDPA Reauthorization • “We have to be doing more…Let’s give them alternatives. Let’s work with them. Let’s make sure they don’t become criminals.” – Senator Leahy, Chairman, US Senate Judiciary Committee • Goals of SB 678 (111th Congress): • Extend the jail removal protection to all youth, including youth charged as adults • If any youth were to remain in jails or lock up, protect them by keeping them “sight and sound” separated from adults

18. AJA Policy Statement • THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT the American Jail Association be opposed in concept to housing juveniles in any jail unless that facility is specifically designed for juvenile detention and staffed with specially trained personnel. • Adopted by the American Jail Association Board of Directors on May 22, 1990. Revised May 19, 1993. Re-affirmed May 3, 2008.

19. Questions?

20. More Information • Jailing Juveniles Report • http://www.campaignforyouthjustice.org/documents/CFYJNR_JailingJuveniles.pdf • Families and Allies of Virginia’s Youth Website • http://www.favyouth.org/ • The Campaign for Youth Justice website • http://www.campaignforyouthjustice.org