Priority

Treat Kids like Kids

Young people in adult DOC custody face trauma, isolation, and violence, in addition to disruptions to their education and mental instability. We’re advocating for oversight protections for young people in these facilities, and a real plan to get them out.

Data

52%

Of Connecticut’s incarcerated youth are Black, despite representing 17% of the pop.

Prison Policy Initiative

I wish there were programs for us to do, teach me something and help me learn about myself so I can do better when I leave here. It all seems like a set up so we stay here. Everything I do I’m in these chains. It just doesn’t make any sense.
Young person in restrictive housing, reported by CT Office of the Child Advocate

In the early 2000s, Connecticut led the nation in the number of kids under 18 in adult jails and prisons. We’ve made immense progress since then.

In 2007, the age of juvenile jurisdiction in Connecticut was raised from 16 to 18. We’ve continued progressing, replacing ineffective, punitive confinement with investment in community-based programs that actually support young people.

But we’re not done yet. There are still young people incarcerated in adult settings that were not designed for adolescent development. These facilities include Manson Youth Institution, an adult male facility, and York Correctional Institution, an adult female facility.

One child in an adult correctional facility is one child too many. Young people in adult custody experience prolonged confinement, disrupted education, and significant mental health needs. Research consistently shows that youth placed in adult facilities face increased risks of trauma, isolation, violence, and long-term negative outcomes.

Our priority is that no young people are placed in adult facilities. In the meantime, we’re advocating for the state to fulfill its legal and moral obligation to ensure safety, dignity, access to education, and developmentally appropriate care to youth ages 21 and under who remain in adult facilities.

Here’s how we move Connecticut forward.

Solutions

Ban the use of chemical agents on children in DOC custody

Invest in alternative behavior response training & programming

Transfer the custody of youth charged as adults to the Judicial Branch Court Support Services Division

Bolster community programming and diversionary options

Strengthen oversight of confinement conditions

Here’s how we got here

A few key moments in the history of youth confinement in Connecticut, to highlight the progress we’ve made making our state safer for everyone—and the distance we have left to go.

Wins

2021

Collaborated with the Judicial Branch to develop a plan for transferring youth under 18 from adult prison to appropriate youth facilities

2022

Advocated for and achieved raising the minimum age of arrest from 7 to 10

2023

Spearheaded legislation mandating the inclusion of directly impacted youth as voting members on the state’s Juvenile Justice Policy Oversight Committee

2023

Spearheaded legislation mandating the inclusion of those directly impacted as voting members on the Juvenile Justice Policy Oversight Committee