July 11, 2024
Peers who have been through the juvenile justice system can help put incarcerated young people on a path to rehabilitation and redemption, but these mentors need access. States should give it to them.
OPINION | July 11, 2024 • Dieter Cantu
Across the U.S., so-called “tough-on-crime” measures targeting children and teens are on the rise. In Washington, D.C, the City Council is considering a bill that would require more aggressive prosecution of young people who commit certain crimes. Texas wants to build more juvenile detention centers. And in Tennessee, child welfare advocates say they were baffled when a bill that would have strengthened oversight of child detention centers — aimed at protecting kids from solitary confinement — failed to pass.
If the goal is to create a better future for younger generations, the focus needs to be on helping young people rehabilitate and transition out of incarceration, not on finding new ways to put them behind bars.
. . . If we want to move young people caught up in the criminal justice system from punishment to rehabilitation, we need to give them tools that actually work for them. One of those tools is peer mentorship. Research shows that those who have been incarcerated themselves are the best mentors for people still in carceral settings.
What Kids Behind Bars Need: Mentors Who’ve Been There (governing.com)