YLC Statement on Solitary Confinement

Statement of the Youth Law Center, Reassessing Solitary Confinemnet II: The Human Rights, Fiscal and Public Safety Consequences, Hearing Before the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Human Rights

Protecting Youth in the PREA National Standards

These are public comments from youth advocates on proposed standards for the implementation of the National Prison Rape Elimination Act. Although the organizatons support many of the draft regulations, they recommend several revisions that are necessary to fulfill PREA’s mandate and protect youth in secure custody. This publication includes recommendations for the following key issues: […]

D.J.R. v. Christean Consent Decree

D.J.R. v. Christean was a federal civil rights class action which challenged the use of excessive and unnecessary ‘preventive’ pretrial detention of children in the Salt Lake County Detention Center. The Detention Center’s records revealed that less than five percent of the 2,200 children detained during 1982 were charged with serious crimes against persons, and […]

The Prison Rape Elimination Act Standards – Comments from Youth Advocates on Minimum Staffing Ratios in Juvenile Facilities

Youth Law Center joined other advocacy organizations in submitting formal comments to Attorney General Eric Holder requesting that the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) regulations retain staffing ratios for juvenile facilities. PREA regulations were issued in June 2012 calling for juvenile facilities around the country to increase staff training, provide Although the proposed regulation on […]