Today, the Annie E. Casey Foundation released a new report, “No Place for Kids: The Case for Reducing Juvenile Incarceration.” The report shows us why incarcerating kids doesn’t work: youth incarceration does not help youth become productive citizens, it does not provide an overall public safety benefit, and it wastes taxpayer dollars. The report also shows that many states have substantially reduced their juvenile correctional facility populations in recent years, and it finds that these states have seen no resulting increase in juvenile crime or violence.

Kentucky Youth Advocates and the Blueprint for Kentucky’s Children have encouraged an end to the use of incarceration of youth for things like skipping school or running away from home, and the findings from this national report add further support to those efforts to not incarcerate youth for minor offenses.

For further information and resources, visit the following links:

Annie E. Casey Foundation Press Release

No Place for Kids: The Case for Reducing Juvenile Incarceration

Reducing the Use of Incarceration for Status Offenses in Kentucky