Check this out – The UCLA School of Law recently released a review of the literature related to the Impact of Prosecuting Youth in the Adult Criminal Justice System. Perhaps no surprise, but after reviewing all the studies related to this issue, their summary includes a statement that “As the overwhelming majority of research studies show, the adult criminal justice system is ill-equipped to meet the needs of youth offenders at all stages of the process, from trial to sentencing options to incarceration. The findings of this literature review indicate that justice is not served by forcing juveniles through a system never intended to process youth and that transfer laws have exacerbated the problems they sought to address”. The review covers such issues as which youth end up being prosecuted as adults, what is the impact of transfer on reoffending rates, comparisons of conviction rates, mental health concerns, and racial disparities. The full document (over 130 pages, so don’t hit “print” too soon!) also contains copies of an earlier 1995 literature review, the report from the Centers for Disease Control, and a 2008 OJJDP bulletin. While there may be individual cases in which sending a youth to the adult court system is necessary, the research clearly supports a presumption that both community safety and youth are better served in the juvenile system for the vast majority of youth.
Language Access in Wisconsin
Wisconsin’s diversity is one of our greatest strengths. But when children and their families face language access barriers, they are often excluded from critical information and services, which can hinder their development and well-being.
