Posted on January 10, 2018
On Monday, Governor Christie announced that two of New Jersey’s youth prisons, the New Jersey Training School, commonly known as “Jamesburg” and the Female Secure Care and Intake Facility (“Hayes”), will be closing and replaced by two “much smaller state of the art juvenile rehabilitation centers.”
This is a positive step forward. We know there are better approaches to treating and rehabilitating youth offenders, other than housing them in large, prison-like facilities in remote locations, far away from family members. With only 144 youth incarcerated at the present time, our state’s need for secure facilities is minimal. The current plan is for facilities that house between 40 and 73 residents.
Kudos to The New Jersey Institute for Social Justice, which has led the charge for the closure of Jamesburg to accomplish this significant reform effort. Read their statement.
Learn moreabout Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI).
View the New Jersey Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI) 2015 Annual Data Report.
View ACNJ’s Special Kids Count Report on Juvenile Justice.
