To support advocacy efforts to improve the juvenile justice system in New York State by promoting diversion of youth from the adult criminal system and increasing community-based services to treat youth in their home communities. This project seeks to transform New York’s juvenile justice system from a punitive model into one grounded in positive youth development principles, to raise the age of criminal responsibility from 16 to 18, and to ensure that children are no longer housed in adult jails and prisons. The Correctional Association manages a statewide juvenile justice coalition and works collaboratively with other local, state-based, and national advocates to promote a coordinated reform message. A coordinator was hired to lead this project.
