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On Thursday, the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee will decide whether to take action on the reauthorization of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act — a critical law that provides states with funding and requires them to follow a set of guidelines aimed at improving conditions for juvenile prisoners and reducing recidivism.<\/p>\n
The bill before the Judiciary Committee contains a list of improvements to the law<\/a>, and it will take your voice to make sure these measures survive to the final version.<\/p>\n Please join me in contacting lawmakers today to urge them to take action on this critical bill<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Several of the improvements to the bill involve ensuring that children are not housed in adult facilities, whether it’s temprorary or permanent, before trial or after sentencing. Putting people under 18 in adult prisons and jail is putting their lives in danger, and we need to do everything we can to ensure that states comply with these rules.<\/p>\n In a moving personal post this week<\/a>, Dwayne Betts wrote about the constant dangers he faced when he was tossed into an adult prison at 16 years old.<\/p>\n Please take action today, and visit the websites of the Campaign for Youth Justice<\/a> and the Act4 Juvenile Justice Coalition<\/a> to learn more.<\/p>\n