Health concerns created by the COVID-19 pandemic prompted a massive push to keep youth out of restrictive, secure facilities. The pandemic’s unique constraints fostered creativity and forced leaders to seek new practices within the youth justice system. Further, a report released by Youth Justice Wisconsin found that the number of youth referrals across Wisconsin dropped by half during COVID-19. This reduction in referrals resulted in part from the need to close or severely limit placement of youth in facilities, the administrative capacity of county and state agencies, and school closures. In examining how youth justice practices may have changed during the pandemic, this study contributes to a nationwide conversation on how to divert youth from the youth justice system and shrink the current youth justice population permanently.
“Lift as We Climb” into 2021
In 2020, both our state and our nation face unprecedented challenges, yet the words of educator and activist Mary Mcleoud Bethune articulated almost 100 years ago still resonate, “The progress of the world will call for the best that all of us have to give.” We strive...