The COVID-19 pandemic has created an urgent need for safety planning within secure facilities due to a unique set of risks and vulnerabilities for youth who are in custody.1 In comparison to other states, Wisconsin has demonstrated a strong commitment to preserving the health and safety of all by implementing Coronavirus emergency guidelines across the juvenile justice system.2 This report examines the implications of those shifts in relation to the current state of youth justice and the future based on the Wisconsin Model of Juvenile Justice (Appendix A).
These emergency protocols have focused on safely reducing the number of youth in secure custody across the state, in order to decrease the risk of infection. They have been successful as the data indicate that the number of referrals to counties for youth justice intakes fell by almost half once the pandemic started. We need a deeper understanding of how this has been achieved in order to replicate them in ways that improve child well-being for all youth.
Read the full report here.