Fewer Kids Incarcerated in California

A new study out shows California reduced its youth incarceration rate by 46 percent between 2001 and 2011. It’s one of several states singled out in a new report from the National Juvenile Justice Network 

Director Sarah Bryer said the states have made progress by implementing alternatives to incarceration that keep youth offenders connected to their communities.  

 “We can accelerate that path to being a productive citizen by ensuring they are in school, by giving them whatever kinds of service they may need," she said, "by helping their families with other kinds of supports.”

Bryer says California has gone from being a leading incarcerator of kids to having of one of the lowest juvenile incarceration rates. She says the high cost of confining kids and several Supreme Court rulings have also contributed to a reduction in incarnation rates.