Transforming Closed Adult and Youth Prisons
In recent years policymakers and practitioners have implemented reforms to scale back the United States’ punitive criminal justice policies. By year-end 2016 the number of people held in U.S. prisons had declined by 6% since a 2009 peak. Reductions in prison populations have led to 22 states eliminating or planning to eliminate an estimated 48,000 state prison beds. Similar dynamics have been observed in the juvenile justice system where states and localities are increasingly embracing community-based alternatives for justice-involved youth. These reforms have resulted in a significant decline of youth detained in out of home placements leading to hundreds of facility closures. Closing adult and youth prisons has created opportunities to use these institutions for new purposes that meet the needs of their local communities.
Presenters
Carmen E. Daugherty – Policy Director, YouthFirst Initiative
Samantha Harvell – Senior Research Associate, Urban Institute
Sharlen Moore – Co-Director, Youth Justice Milwaukee
Nicole D. Porter – Director of Advocacy, The Sentencing Project
Additional Resources
Transforming Closed Youth Prisons: Repurposing Facilities to Meet Community Needs
YouthFirst Initiative Campaign Starter
Repurposing: New Beginnings for Closed Prisons
