For over a decade, the Campaign for Youth Justice (CFYJ) has supported the movement to end the prosecution, sentencing, and incarceration of youth under 18 in the adult criminal justice system. With approximately 200,000 youth touching the adult system each year in the U.S. there is still a tremendous amount of work to do. We would like to partner with Alternate ROOTS members on state campaigns to keep youth out of the adult system in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Louisiana, and Texas.
In 2017, CFYJ is working closely with state and local partners on two central issues:
- Raising the age of juvenile court jurisdiction in states that automatically treat all 16 and 17 year olds as adults in the criminal justice system, and;
- Limiting and eliminating laws that result in youth being transferred to the adult system (i.e. laws that give prosecutors unchecked power to send kids to adult court, and laws that require youth of a certain age with specific charges to be transferred to adult court automatically, without a hearing on their ability to be rehabilitated in the juvenile system).
We believe grassroots organizing and the voices of directly impacted youth and family members are central to successful youth justice campaigns. As a result, we would like to partner with artists and cultural activists with a passion for dismantling and transforming broken justice systems through organizing and creative direct actions. If you are interested in this partnership opportunity please contact: Jeree Thomas, Policy Director at the Campaign for Youth Justice at jthomas@cfyj.org or at 202-558-3580 ext. 1603.