Stop Solitary for Kids

The Vera Institute of Justice, using a $2.2 million matching grant from the Justice Department, is working with five state corrections departments on reducing the use of solitary confinement of prisoners, a strategy that is disproportionately employed on young wards.

“We’re going to end solitary confinement of juveniles, period, end of story,” said Marc Schindler, executive director of the Justice Policy Institute, with a wry laugh. He was discussing with Youth Services Insider the new Stop Solitary for Kids campaign, led by JPI and three other groups: Center for Children’s Law and Policy (CCLP); Georgetown University’s Center for Juvenile Justice Reform (CJJR); and the Council of Juvenile Correctional Administrators (CJCA).