Create a Youth Justice System That Supports Development and Opportunity
Through a collaborative approach, we work hand-in-hand with communities disproportionately impacted by the criminal legal system to develop, pass, and implement policies and practices that divert young people away from punitive systems and toward supportive, community-based solutions. When young people are incarcerated, we ensure their experience honors their humanity and supports their health and development.
Community-Driven Policy Solutions
NCYL works with communities to create an equitable justice system that prioritizes positive youth development. Our approach is rooted in grassroots organizing, leadership development, and comprehensive policy reform strategies. We strive to eliminate the prosecution and incarceration of youth in the adult criminal justice system, reduce reliance on youth incarceration, end the overrepresentation of youth of color in the juvenile legal system, and increase investments and developmental opportunities for youth in their home communities.
Building Community Capacity
Communities have the inherent capacity to be the solution. We focus on building community leadership and capacity to not only advocate for reforms but also to deliver culturally and developmentally appropriate services that replace the harmful, punitive punishments often doled out by the legal system.
Transformative Impact
NCYL’s Youth Justice Team has been instrumental in passing 25 landmark state bills and launching collective impact campaigns that have reformed juvenile justice systems in California, Colorado, and Nevada. Key accomplishments include:
- Eliminating Youth Prosecution and Incarceration: We've significantly limited the ability of courts in California and Nevada to prosecute youth under 18 as adults, helped abolish life without parole sentences for minors, and expanded parole opportunities for youth serving lengthy sentences in California.
- Reducing System Involvement: We've established a minimum age of juvenile jurisdiction at 12 in California and are working toward similar goals in Colorado. Our efforts have expanded Miranda rights protections for youth and increased pre-arrest diversion programs for vulnerable youth populations across California, and ended the incarceration of girls in Santa Clara County, California.
- Developing Alternatives to System Involvement: We’ve secured substantial state funding to support community-based services and diversion programs for youth, emphasizing health-centered approaches to youth justice.
- Building Capacity to Advocate and Provide Services: By organizing collective impact campaigns and partnering with local organizations, we empower communities to advocate for and implement youth justice reforms in California and Colorado.
Youth, their families, and communities desire a justice system that genuinely supports community health and safety by uplifting young people, enabling them to realize their potential to thrive. NCYL is dedicated to empowering and supporting communities to take the lead in shaping their own future and realizing the change they wish to see.
“I did not get better because of my experience in the so-called justice system. I needed to get out of that system to get better.”
