Center for Children's Law and Policy

Reducing the unnecessary incarceration of youth cclp staff help jurisdictions across the country reduce unnecessary incarceration of youth without jeopardizing public safety. We provide technical assistance to sites in states that participate in the annie e. casey foundation's juvenile detention alternatives initiative (jdai). Cclp also serves as one of three partner organizations helping the foundation manage jdai. In our reform work with jdai, we have helped many communities safely reduce their reliance on secure detention and incarceration, save money, and reallocate resources to community-based programs that are more effective at helping youth avoid future involvement with the justice system.

Cclp consulting, training and direct travel grant: cclp has engaged in individual consulting projects with several jurisdictions to help them plan for or improve various aspects of their conditions and practices in juvenile facilities. This included helping draft new state detention facility licensure standards, drafting and editing plans and responses to public comment regarding placement services, and editing draft regulations governing child care facilities, and editing standards for assessment of a juvenile facility.

Improving conditions of confinement cclp staff are leading stop solitary for kids, a national campaign to end the solitary confinement of youth in three years. In collaboration with the council of juvenile correctional administrators, the Center for juvenile justice reform at georgetown university, and the justice Policy institute, we are pursuing strategies at the federal state and local level to achieve this goal. One in ten youth in juvenile facilities in this country report being sexually victimized by staff members or other youth during their stay. Our staff members also have expertise working with jurisdictions to prevent, detect, and respond to sexual misconduct. We have worked with agencies and facilities in new york, new mexico, Indiana, and the district of columbia on implementation of the federal prison rape elimination act (prea) standards for juvenile facilities. Cclp has worked with state officials to create and update licensing standards for juvenile facilities to reflect best practices in the field. Cclp has worked with experts in medical care, mental health care, and education to conduct independent assessments of conditions of confinement juvenile facilities upon request.

Eliminating racial and ethnic disparities. Cclp staff members are working in the juvenile justice system. We have helped officials achieve significant and measurable improvements for youth of color by pursuing a data-driven approach that focuses on concrete and practical reforms. Cclp staff regularly provide training and technical assistance to jurisdictions that are interested in moving from simply studying racial and ethnic disparities to taking action to combat those disparities.