Trying to Fix America's Broken Juvenile Justice System

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/trying-to-fix-americas-broken-juvenile-justice-system-20150122

The linked article provides a brief overview of The Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Reauthorization Act of 2014 (S. 2999). Though introduced last year by Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-Rhode Island) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), advocates are focusing on this bill in the new session. This bill will reauthorize and update the only federal legislation regarding juvenile justice, the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act, originally passed in 1974. It has been modified several times, but since 2002 it has not been reauthorized or updated. The current reauthorization bill aims to fix that. 

Though the original law aimed to eliminate status offenses, which allowed youth to be jailed for behaviors which were not crimes, a 1980 amendment allowed for exceptions, which has led to thousands of youth being jailed every year for behaviors such as skipping school.  The current bill will reverse this amendment, returning the law to its original intent, and require states to phase out these exceptions. 

Additionally, the JJDPRA will close loopholes allowing children to be housed in adult jails or prisons. Though changes since its original passage have mandated the creation of separate housing facilities for juvenile defenders, the current laws do not protect youth who are charged as adults. Further, many states have passed laws making it easier to transfer youth from the juvenile system to the criminal system, taking advantage of this loophole. The current bill would protect all juveniles, regardless of their status in the juvenile or criminal systems.

Finally, the bill would clarify a mandate in the original law that calls for a decrease in the disproportionate number of minorities in the juvenile justice system. The original law gives no clear instructions as to how juvenile systems should achieve that, but the current bill under Senators Whitehouse and Grassley would directly require a decrease in the number of minorities coming into contact with the juvenile system. 

I think the basic idea of this reauthorization and update is very necessary. Limited federal laws and oversight create a cacophony of disparate state systems with no one to answer to. So, from that perspective, a stronger federal stance and national guideline is important in creating a regular, easily monitored, experience nationwide. Regarding the three specific ideas laid out in this article, that is, status offenses, juveniles in adult prisons, and the disproportionate minority population, all are significant problems which need to be dealt with. However, the first two are relatively easy fixes with a concrete mandate. That is, states would no longer be allowed to do those two things. It will be much trickier, of course, to write the language regarding the disproportionate population. It is difficult to simply states are required to reduce the number of minorities involved in the system. Though there is a clear problem with the way juveniles, and adults, are arrested, whether it is that fewer Caucasians targeted, more minorities are targeted, or the, most likely, combination of the two, I believe there is some danger in simply saying "reduce the number." If taken too far, the new law could create something of a reverse quota, in which officers may hesitate to arrest juvenile offenders because they need to save their allotment for worse offenders. I am unsure. I feel like there is something else that bothers me about this provision, but I cannot quite place a finger on it. I think, perhaps, that it does not seem to fit the rest of the spirit of the bill, and may be better served as its own piece of legislation.   

If anyone is interested, the bill in its entirety is available here: https://www.congress.gov/113/bills/s2999/BILLS-113s2999is.pdf