History of IDEA
Jeannie Oakes, Founder and Former Director
Youth Voice in School Finance
NEW REPORT: Los Angeles' road to A-G for all
Without Dollars and Sense Powerpoint
Past Educational Opportunity Reports
Study: Incarcerating hordes of youth is costly and ineffective
- 10-06-2011
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By Jorge Rivas/Color Lines
It doesn’t pay to aggressively put children who commit crimes behind bars. That’s the conclusion of a new report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation. The study is titled “No Place for Kids” and uses national data to reinforce a growing consensus among experts that the current model of incarceration doesn’t do much in the way of public safety. Though juvenile violent crime arrest rates are only marginally higher in the United States, we rely heavily on incarcerating kids. In total, 336 of every 100,000 of the world’s incarcerated youth is locked away in a U.S. prison facility. That’s nearly five times the rate of the next country on list, which is South Africa. Even the Justice Department Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention recommends a series of alternatives to traditional incarceration. Sill, the largest share of incarcerated youth— about 40 percent in total — are held in long-term youth correctional facilities operated primarily by state governments or by private firms who contract with the state. (more...)
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