We still have a juvenile incarceration problem | TheHill

This article, written by Richard Ross, was published by The Hill on September 13, 2014. Below is a small excerpt from the piece which details some of the problems with juvenile incarceration in the United States.

“There is no shortage of children behind bars in the United States. Each night, more than 60,000 of our children fall asleep in juvenile detention facilities and other residential placements, according to data collected by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. More than 3,000 of these boys and girls are there because they engaged in behaviors that are known as status offenses. Status offenses include running away from home and skipping school. They are considered illegal only because the child who engaged in them had not yet reached the age of adulthood. In 26 states and the District of Columbia, these children can be incarcerated, according to the Coalition for Juvenile Justice. The Annie E. Casey Foundation reports that 88% of the children in custody are incarcerated for non-violent crimes. A little research and I found that 22 states and the District of Columbia can charge kids as young as seven as adults.”

The full article can be found at: http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/education/217480-we-still-have-a-juvenile-incarceratiom-problem