What People Are Saying about the National Standards

"I am delighted these standards have come to fruition. They represent an exhaustive and thoughtful effort by the Coalition for Juvenile Justice and allied organizations, and will be of immense help to policy makers and practitioners striving to eliminate the use of detention in status offense cases. These standards are a high quality resource that is long overdue."

Shawn C. Marsh, Ph.D.
Chief Program Officer - Juvenile Law
National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges

 


Watch Annie Salsich's full interview on YouTube


"National PTA has been a longtime supporter of policies advocating for the rights of all children including youth involved in the justice system. We believe that children arrested for status offenses are in need of family-focused, school, and community-based interventions, rather than being removed from their homes. We are happy to see the standards' emphasis on these interventions and their integration of family engagement strategies. We are excited for the release of these evidence-based standards and are committed to promoting their successful implementation."

Otha Thorton
President
National PTA


"The reasons some youth are more vulnerable to status offenses are often environmental and systemic--causes which can be changed. When nearly 40 percent of runaway and homeless youth identify as LGBT, it is because these youth are much more likely to be thrown out of their family home, simply because of who they are. These Standards of Care provide a framework to help end the vicious cycle that leads vulnerable youth into the school-to-prison pipeline, making dreams for the future possible for all youth, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, race, socio-economic class, or immigration status."

Abbe Land
Executive Director and CEO
The Trevor Project


Watch Dane Bolin's full interview on YouTube


"While juvenile justice professionals almost universally believe in deinstitutionalization of status offenders, our experience is that many systems become mired in crisis responses to family, school and community problems that ultimately result in incarceration and a failure to address underlying problems. The CJJ Standards offer comprehensive advice and support to jurisdictions around the country to move beyond, "But what other choice do we have when a child...fill in the blank?" We are especially gratified at the Standards' attention to keeping status offenders out of formal juvenile court processing and their strong position that incarceration for any purpose is inappropriate. The Standards will surely help to inspire legislative and policy change around the country."

Sue Burrell
Staff Attorney
Youth Law Center


"For girls, being detained for a status offense is far too often the first step in their involvement in juvenile justice and to their descent deeper and deeper into the system. The Standards developed by CJJ call much needed attention to the unique needs of girls and identifies important changes that can help to ensure that girls receive the support they need to heal and thrive."

Jeannette Pai-Espinosa
President
The National Crittenton Foundation


Watch Judge Joan Byer's full interview on YouTube


"The National Standards for the Care of Youth Charged with Status Offenses are perhaps the most comprehensive report on the subject to date."

Hon. Michael Nash
Presiding Judge
Juvenile Court at the Los Angeles Superior Court
CJJ Today Blog