It’s not news that research has consistently shown that brain development is an on-going process that continues through adolescence and into the early 20s.  The structures of the brain responsible for reasoning and cognitive functioning are often not fully developed until several years after reaching legal status as an adult. Given what is now known about brain development and effective decision-making, reform advocates, including WCCF, have been working for more developmentally appropriate responses from the juvenile and adult justice systems.

The National Institute of Justice bulletin “Young Offenders: What Happens, What Should Happen, and What We Need to Know” is a good review of the work of a study group formed to explore issues related to on-going juvenile delinquency and criminal activity in early adulthood.  Youth who are transferred to the adult system are more likely to reoffend and do so more quickly and frequently.  They are also more likely to commit serious or violent offenses.  To reduce the number of negative outcomes for both youth and public safety, advocates suggest reforms that take into account developmental stages and service needs.
Recommendations for policy changes suggested by the NIJ work group include:
•    Raising the age for criminal court to 21 or 24 years old, even beyond the age of 18 that all but 10 states use as the adult age
•    Creating special correctional facilities for young adult offenders that better address their developmental stage needs
•    Decreasing the severity of penalties for young offenders
•    Conduct risk and needs assessments of young offenders to provide better services
•    Improve reentry services that address drug treatment, therapy, and educational needs

Developmentally appropriate services and interventions help youth and young adults move towards a better future and help prevent future harm to both themselves and their community.

While we continue to work to get the age of criminal court raised to 18 in Wisconsin,  there are other ways for the juvenile and adult systems to work together to improve outcomes for youthful offenders and our communities, so we encourage creative criminal and juvenile system reforms that we know can make a difference.

Emily Bergmann