When kids act up, locking them up is the wrong thing to do in most cases - yet Wyoming locks up kids at the highest rate in the nation. A new report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation compiles decades of research, along with new data, that shows putting kids behind bars doesn’t keep them from committing crimes later. Wyoming Kids Count director Marc Homer.
Bart Lubow with the Casey Foundation says since the research shows locking kids up hasn’t paid off, it’s time for Wyoming and other states to adopt policies to slow the sentencing stream, and invest in alternatives that focus on treatment and supervision.
The report also shows that incarceration doesn't provide public safety benefits, wastes taxpayer money and exposes young people to violence and abuse…and in almost every case, the “crimes” committed are minor. Homer says Wyoming is spending 66-million dollars a year to incarcerate kids. Compare that to Vermont - a state with a similar population, which spends three million a year and keeps most kids out of jail.
Bart Lubow with the Casey Foundation says since the research shows locking kids up hasn’t paid off, it’s time for Wyoming and other states to adopt policies to slow the sentencing stream, and invest in alternatives that focus on treatment and supervision.
The report also shows that incarceration doesn't provide public safety benefits, wastes taxpayer money and exposes young people to violence and abuse…and in almost every case, the “crimes” committed are minor. Homer says Wyoming is spending 66-million dollars a year to incarcerate kids. Compare that to Vermont - a state with a similar population, which spends three million a year and keeps most kids out of jail.
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