New OJJDP Initiative Promotes Community-Based Alternatives to Youth Incarceration
By Liz Ryan, OJJDP Administrator
Far too many young people are housed in juvenile justice facilities, and often their detention does more harm than good. Community-based alternatives—working with youth where they live—achieve better results than warehousing youth in prisons.
We currently spend an estimated $5 billion per year to incarcerate children. And research shows that locking up kids doesn’t work. This money is better spent...
