WHAT NEEDS TO CHANGE?

WHAT NEEDS TO CHANGE?
We can't arrest our way out of a problem.

Currently, the United States jails more than 25 percent of the world's incarcerated criminals. 2,000,000 of these are children. 95 percent of kids who are in jail did not commit violent crimes. They are the result of a justice system that values punishment over rehabilitation and education. While there is a massive societal issue with troubled, underserved youth, America has tried to arrest our way out of the problem.

The Crime Prevention and Youth Development Caucus is committed to answering some key questions:

•  Why do we put kids in jail?
•  Does our justice system address the fundamental differences between kids and adults?
•  Is the way we treat children the best possible way to create tomorrow's society and tomorrow's workforce?
•  What happens to our children once they enter the justice system?
•  Are there ways to stop crimes before they are committed?
•  Once a child enters the justice system, are there ways to keep them from committing more crimes, and to bring them back to a more accepted development track?
•  How can we change America to discourage the "loop of crime" that so many of our kids are getting lost in?
•  How do we make schools a place of learning, not the beginning of a "school to prison pipeline"?