Principles for Kansas Juvenile Justice Reform
This report lays out the case for shifting policies and budgets away from incarcerating kids and towards local intensive rehabilitation programs that will keep our communities safer, our kids healthier, and our funding stronger.
Published 2016-01-01Research shows that past trauma is the largest predictor for how deep a youth will go into the juvenile justice system, and trauma-informed juvenile justice reforms can effectively divert these youth.
To build a more consistent youth justice system, reforms should:
- Implement standardized detention risk screenings and sanction grids across all jurisdictions
- Provide meaningful alternatives to prison and out-of-home placements for youth with mental health or substance use disorders
- Eliminate the disparate punishments of minority youth
- Implement specialized policies and programs to reduce the incarceration of girls
- Ensure youth with disabilities receive appropriate programs and requirements
- End the practice of sentencing youth who have been convicted of only misdemeanors to prison
- Implement trauma-informed policies and practices throughout the juvenile justice system