Raising the Age
New York and North Carolina are the only two states where 16-year-olds arrested for crimes are always treated as adults. Several states presumptively treat 17-year-olds as adults, but most states set the bar at age 18. Knowing what’s best and basing state law on accurate information isn’t easy.
That’s why we helped a commission in New York and a task force in North Carolina anticipate the impact of raising the age of juvenile jurisdiction. Using nuanced system analysis and the best available research on policy and practice, we were able to help officials take a careful look at the points where serving more young people within the juvenile justice system costs more, and where innovative policy and practice can restrain costs. In North Carolina, we used cost-benefit analysis to go look beyond calculating system costs and savings to also calculating the net social benefits of raising the age.
Related Work
Redefining Who Gets to be Called "Youth"
Every year, the President declares October National Youth Justice Awareness Month, and this year is no exception. On September 30, President Obama made the annual proclamation and gave the nation this charge: We must make sure youth in every community and from every walk of life can be known for more than their worst mistakes. With enhanced possib ...
Struggle for Identity and Inclusion
Unaccompanied Immigrant Youth in New York City
Vera partnered with Fordham Law School’s Feerick Center for Social Justice to conduct a research study that explores the needs and experiences of New York City’s unaccompanied immigrant youth. The study, Struggle for Identity and Inclusion: Unaccompanied Immigrant Youth in New York City, draws upon the personal expertise of these youth and system s ...
Justice in Transition-NYC
Bringing Justice Home - Initiatives Rooted in Community
The mayoral transition in New York City provides an opportunity to reexamine the city's justice systems and ask if community needs that advance fairness and public safety are being met. This panel discussion explores the potential for initiatives embedded in communities where people have high rates of contact with the justice system—and how they ai ...
Justice in Transition-NYC
Our Kids - Our Future
What will justice look like in the de Blasio era? Our Kids - Our Future is the first in a series of panel discussions convened by Vera to assess New York City's justice systems and proffer solutions for a new administration. This panel focuses on juvenile justice and the practices that can reduce young people’s contact with the system, while improv ...
Coming of Age with Stop and Frisk
Experiences, Self-Perceptions, and Public Safety Implications
What is the impact of stop and frisk on young people in highly patrolled areas of New York City, and what does it mean for public safety? Find out in this video as lead authors, Jennifer Fratello and Andrés F. Rengifo, discuss the results of their study "Coming of Age with Stop and Frisk: Experiences, Self-Perceptions, and Public Safety Implication ...
Jamie Fader
Community Reentry of Inner-City Youth - Why Encouraging Better Decisions Is not Enough
Jamie Fader, assistant professor in the School of Criminal Justice at the University at Albany and author of Falling Back: Incarceration and Transitions to Adulthood among Urban Youth, discusses her research on incarcerated young men of color and the disjuncture between their aspirations at the point of release from a residential facility and the s ...
FCC lowers rates for interstate phone calls from jails and prisons
Lee G. Petro, lead attorney from Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP on a groundbreaking case on prison phone call rates, sat down with the Family Justice Program to discuss the implications of a recent ruling by the Federal Communications Commission that dramatically lowered interstate phone call rates from prisons and jails. What exactly did the Fede ...
United around criminal justice reform
On Monday, Attorney General Eric Holder called for criminal justice reform that was notable not only for its breadth, but for its widespread support, which crossed party lines, executive and legislative divides, and federal and state boundaries. To those working in the justice sector, it was both gratifying and compelling to hear Mr. Holder’s embra ...
Vera joins resource center partnership to advance juvenile justice reform
The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation announced today the launch of the new Models for Change Resource Center Partnership, which builds on its nearly 20-year, $150 million national initiative to guide and accelerate the nation’s momentum toward a more fair, rational, effective, and developmentally appropriate approach to juvenile justic ...
Examining the Relationship Between Family Group Conferencing and Juvenile Recidivism
Family Group Conferencing (FGC), also called Family Group Decision-Making (FGDM) is rooted in both a restorative justice and family-centered approach. Originating in New Zealand in 1989, FGC/FGDM was first implemented in the United States in 1995 and has since garnered interest nationally and globally. Much of the existing literature on FGC/FGDM fo ...
Safety and the eye of the beholder
As violent crime rates continue to decline nationally, they have remained comparatively high in Chicago. Overall, reductions in violent crime in Chicago have been modest—dropping 9 percent from 2009 to 2010. That’s why the city’s recent 32 percent drop in homicide rates caught the national media’s attention in June. Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel attr ...
Georgia’s step forward
Transforming a status offense system to help children, families, and communities
Earlier this month, Georgia Governor Nathan Deal signed into law HB 242—a complete rewrite of the state’s juvenile code. The revisions, which emerged from a multi-year reform process and were passed unanimously in the state House and Senate, represent a fundamental shift in the philosophy that underpins the state’s juvenile justice system. Aligned ...