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Growing Up Locked Down
Youth in Solitary Confinement in Jails and Prisons Across the United States
Summary
Key Recommendations
To the US Federal Government and/or
State Governments
Methodology
I. Background: Kids in an Adult
System
Youth Charged as if Adults
Youth Are Different
Physiological Differences and Needs
Psychological Differences:
Impulsivity, Capacity for Change, and Developmental Needs
Adult Detention Regimes
State Law and Practice - Jails
State Law and Practice - Prisons
Risks and Harm to Youth in Adult
Facilities
II. How Solitary Confinement Harms
Youth
Psychological Harm
Trying to Cope
Anxiety, Rage, and Insomnia
Cutting and Self-Harm
Suicidal Thoughts and Attempts:
“The death-oriented side of life”
Struggling with Mental Disabilities
and Past Trauma
Barriers to Accessing Care
Physical Harm
Lack of Adequate Exercise
Physical Changes and Stunted Growth
Social and Developmental Harm
Denial of Family Contact
Denial of Adequate Education
Struggling with Intellectual
Disabilities
Failure to Provide for Rehabilitation
or Social Development
III. Youth in Solitary Confinement in
Adult Facilities: Corrections Practices, Numbers, and Duration
Solitary Confinement to Punish
Inmates
Solitary Confinement to Manage
Inmates
Protective Solitary Confinement
Administrative Solitary Confinement
Solitary Confinement to Treat Inmates
Quarantine
Seclusion and SAMHSA
Rates of Solitary Confinement
Length of Time Spent in Solitary
Confinement
IV. Violations of Fundamental Rights
International Law and Standards
Human Rights Violations
US Law
V. Alternatives to the Solitary
Confinement of Youth
Getting Kids Out of Adult Facilities
Reviewing and Reforming
Training and Staffing
Programming and Activities
Assessment, Diagnosis, and Planning
Disciplinary Measures
Borrowing from Juvenile Facilities
Rewarding Positive Behavior
Small Group Living
Limited Appropriate Uses of
Segregation and Isolation
Interrupting Disciplinary Crises
Short-term Protective Segregation and
Isolation
Diverting Youth to Specialized
Facilities
Recommendations
At the State Level
State Legislatures
State Prison Systems and County Jails
State Departments of Education
State Departments of Health
State Juvenile and Adult Criminal
Court Judges
State Prosecutors
Defense Attorneys
At the Federal Level
US Congress
US Department of Justice
Department of Education
Department of Health and Human
Services and the Centers for Disease Control
US Senate and Executive Branch
State and National Medical, Mental
Health, Corrections, and Jail Associations and Standard-Setting Bodies
Acknowledgments
Appendix 1: Mapping Youth in Adult
Jails and Prisons
State Jails
State Prison Systems
The Legal Landscape
Statistical Methodology
Appendix 2: State Case
Studies
The Law and Policy Landscape
Research Findings
Avenues for Reform
The Law and Policy Landscape
Research Findings
The Law and Policy Landscape
Research Findings
The Law and Policy Landscape
Research Findings
Avenues for Reform
The Law and Policy Landscape
Research Findings
Avenues for Reform
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