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Youth

All young people must have the opportunity to meaningfully participate in our society.  The ACLU Youth Policy project seeks to ensure that young people – particularly those who have been historically excluded or underserved – receive meaningful education and services in communities, instead of being pushed to a juvenile justice system that will undermine their ability to be successful as adults.  Our current focus is on reforming school discipline policies and practices, working to limit school-based referrals to the juvenile justice system, and decreasing the over-reliance on jails and prisons for young people in the juvenile and adult criminal law systems.

Resources

News Release, Published: 
Tuesday, February 13, 2024
HB 2065 will align the judicial system with established science around brain development and adolescent behavior, reflect best practices in sentencing, and begin to rectify the vast racial disparities in Washington’s sentencing system.
News Release, Published: 
Monday, February 5, 2024
Like many community partners, we are disappointed that King County has announced the decision to delay the closing of the youth jail past the year 2025.
Published: 
Friday, January 12, 2024
Our 2024 legislative priorities promote public safety and lead with racial justice
Published: 
Friday, January 5, 2024
How to align our criminal legal system with the best science available
Published: 
Thursday, December 21, 2023
The importance of community in caretaking.
Published: 
Monday, December 11, 2023
Reducing the racial wealth gap requires lawmakers to enact proactive strategies
Published: 
Thursday, November 2, 2023
What it is, how it works, and expanding access across Washington
Published: 
Tuesday, July 11, 2023
Automated systems are changing the way Child Welfare agencies work. Are the outcomes helping kids?
News Release, Published: 
Tuesday, March 21, 2023
Over 30 labor, tribal, medical groups, and criminal justice organizations joined the ACLU-WA and FAMM in support of a bill that retroactively and prospectively repeals the use of prior juvenile convictions to automatically enhance future sentences in adult courts.

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