Raise the Age: Learning and Action Session

New York is one of only two states in the country that automatically prosecutes 16 and 17- year-olds convicted of any crime as adults. There is the option for children as young as 13 to be processed by adult courts. The Raise the Age campaign seeks to raise the age of criminal responsibility so teenagers receive more rehabilitative and therapeutic alternatives than being sent to adult jails and prisons. Children incarcerated in adult facilities are more likely to face abuse, commit suicide, and to return to prison later in life, than those who are offered therapeutic alternatives in the juvenile system. The vast majority of youth are arrested for non-violent, minor crimes, and 80% of those sentenced to incarceration are black or hispanic.

In partnership with Bend the Arc: A Jewish Partnership for Justice, we will have a program to deepen our understanding of this issue, learn stories of youth who have been incarcerated, and develop strategies for taking action and supporting passage of this legislation in the New York State government.