This document looks at the impacts of juvenile court records on young people’s ability to move forward and reintegrate into the community after incarceration, providing a breakdown of some collateral consequences that can limit opportunities for successful reintegration and a discussion of what re-entry programs should know and do, along with some resources to support this work.
The challenges that young people face as they work to reintegrate into society after detention or incarceration include some parallel impacts on aspects of life beyond detention. One significant challenge is that which is posed by juvenile court records, which can follow a person for years, regardless of the outcomes of their cases, and can have far-reaching consequences for education, employment, and housing. Beyond those, juvenile records can perpetuate negative labeling and stigma, and impact how those individuals are perceived by society, and as a result, can increase the risk of criminal recidivism. This paper discusses those challenges and presents information that will allow re-entry programs to thoroughly understand the potential consequences of juvenile records as well as the available options and resources for addressing those challenges, in order to effectively support the young people they serve as they navigate re-entry into the community. Resources to support this work include legal and government websites regarding the expungement of juvenile delinquency records, and the Clean State Clearinghouse database of state policies on the topic.