How Do US States Measure Up on Child Rights?

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) is the most ratified international human rights treaty to date. Since its adoption in 1989, 196 countries have ratified the CRC, committing to protect children from violence and exploitation, and ensure their education and healthy development.

The United States is the only UN member state that has not yet ratified the Convention.

Many people in the United States assume that, even without ratification of the CRC, the US upholds international child rights principles. This assessment calls that assumption into question. On a state-by-state basis, we assessed how state laws meet international standards regarding four core child rights issues: child marriage, corporal punishment, child labor, and juvenile justice. We found that most US states are overwhelmingly noncompliant with international child rights standards on these four issues.

Why a focus on individual US states?

In the United States, many of the issues addressed by the Convention are left to the jurisdiction of individual states, not the federal government. As a result, the protection and advancement of child rights varies from state to state.

In recognition that state-level reform is an important channel for improving the US’s child rights record, this assessment grades and ranks US states on the legal protections they extend to their children on four key issues—child marriage, corporal punishment, child labor, and juvenile justice—and offers a blueprint for reform. All 50 states are measured on these four categories through an assessment of 12 specific state-level laws. See more about our methodology here.

This report does not attempt to assess states’ performance on all children’s rights enshrined in the CRC, which includes the right to education, to health, to an adequate standard of living, to freedom of expression, and a broad array of other rights.

CHILD MARRIAGE is defined as a marriage in which one or both parties is under the age of 18.

INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS SET BY THE CRC: The Committee on the Rights of the Child “reminds States parties of the obligation to recognize that persons up to the age of 18 years are entitled to continuing protection from all forms of exploitation and abuse. It reaffirms that the minimum age limit should be 18 years for marriage.” [4]

THE MINIMUM AGE FOR MARRIAGE SHOULD BE 18 YEARS OLD

Research by Unchained at Last finds that over a quarter million children, some as young as 10, were married in the US between the years 2000-2018. Most child marriages in the US are girls marrying adult men. In fact, many of these marriages occurred at an age or with a spousal age difference that would typically be considered sexual violence.

Child marriage is legal in 41 states. The first state to ban child marriage was Delaware in 2018.

Child Marriage in the US

Minimum age for marriage:

CORPORAL PUNISHMENT is defined as any punishment in which physical force is used and intended to cause some degree of pain or discomfort, however light.[5]

INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS SET BY THE CRC: Article 19 of the CRC requires states to protect children “from all forms of physical and mental violence.”[6] The Committee on the Rights of the Child affirms that the CRC “does not leave room for any level of legalized violence against children” and that “corporal punishment and other cruel or degrading forms of punishment are forms of violence and States must take all appropriate legislative, administrative, social and educational measures to eliminate them.” [7]

Drawing on these international standards, this section reviews the legality of corporal punishment across all 50 US states in four main settings:

I. Schools (public and private);

II. Homes;

III. Alternative care settings; and

IV. Penal institutions

I. CORPORAL PUNISHMENT SHOULD BE PROHIBITED IN SCHOOLS

Approximately 160,000 children are subjected to corporal punishment in schools each year.^[9] This practice has been found to be both ineffective in correcting the behavior of children and harmful to child development.^[10] Corporal punishment is linked to numerous negative impacts to a child’s emotional and physical health as well as their ability to form and manage positive relationships.[11] Corporal punishment is also associated with higher rates of aggression and lower educational achievement.^[12] Black children and children with disabilities are significantly more likely to experience corporal punishment in schools.^[13] This is an additional violation of the CRC as Article 2 prohibits discrimination of any kind, including based on race or disability status.

Only three states have prohibited corporal punishment in both public and private schools, complying with the CRC. Twenty-five states have outlawed corporal punishment in public schools only, meaning children who attend private schools may still be subject to corporal punishment at school. Meanwhile, in 22 states, corporal punishment is legal in both public and private schools.

II. CORPORAL PUNISHMENT SHOULD BE PROHIBITED IN THE HOME

Reportedly, 49 percent of all children aged 0-9 years old in the US are subjected to corporal punishment in the home.[15] Not a single US state has banned corporal punishment in the home setting.

Some states list certain types of extreme force that are not permissible, such as force that results in death or disfigurement, whereas others draw the line at “reasonable” force.[16] The result of these systems can be immunity for child abuse veiled as discipline.[17]

III. CORPORAL PUNISHMENT SHOULD BE PROHIBITED IN ALTERNATIVE CARE SETTINGS

In the US, the use of corporal punishment in alternative care settings—such as foster care and group homes—has historically been widespread and severe, particularly against children with disabilities.^[18] Investigations have suggested that the scale of abuse in alternative care settings has been severely underreported^[19] and particularly egregious,^[20] by some accounts amounting to torture.^[21]

Most US states have banned corporal punishment in alternative care settings. Ten states fall short by simply restricting corporal punishment. South Carolina stands alone in issuing no legal guidelines on corporal punishment in alternative care settings.

IV. CORPORAL PUNISHMENT SHOULD BE PROHIBITED IN PENAL INSTITUTIONS

Maltreatment of children in juvenile detention centers has been documented in nearly every US state.[22] One study found that “systematic or recurring” maltreatment had been documented in juvenile correctional facilities in at least 14 states after 2011.[23] A national survey of youth in correctional facilities found that 45 percent said that staff “use force when they don’t really need to.”[24] Corporal punishment in penal institutions remains legal in 16 states.

CHILD LABOR is defined as work that deprives children of their childhood, their potential, and their dignity and that is harmful to their physical and mental development. Whether or not particular forms of “work” can be called “child labor” depends on the child’s age, the type and hours of work performed, and the conditions under which it is performed.[25]

INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS SET BY THE CRC: CRC Article 32 protects children from work that is hazardous or harmful to their health, safety, education, and moral development and requires states parties to set a minimum age for employment.[26] In General Comment No. 20, the Committee on the Rights of the Child reaffirms the principles in the International Labour Organization (ILO) Minimum Age Convention (Convention No. 138) which declares that the minimum age for employment is 15[27] and that the minimum age for employment in hazardous conditions is 18.[28] Article 5 of Convention No. 138 explicitly states that its principles apply to the agriculture sector.

CHILD LABOR IN THE US CONTEXT: EXEMPTIONS FOR THE AGRICULTURE SECTOR

Federal child labor provisions in the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) align with these international standards to prohibit child labor in most sectors. Yet these laws explicitly exempt agriculture, the most dangerous industry for child workers.[29] Weak protections subject children across the country to conditions that threaten their health, safety, and education – violating international law.

Under federal law children under 18 can work for hire in agriculture at younger ages, for longer hours, and in more hazardous conditions than in any other sector. In agriculture, a 12-year-old may work full-time, and a child of any age may work on a farm part-time. On a family farm, there is no minimum age for the full-time employment of children. Sixteen- and 17-year-olds are allowed to work in hazardous conditions in agriculture; in other industries, hazardous work is prohibited until age 18.

Without federal leadership to correct these child rights violations, child laborers depend on state action. A state can exceed federal standards, but few do.

This section compares state laws on child labor in the agriculture sector with the following international standards:

I. The minimum age for employment (15 years old)

II. The minimum age for employment in hazardous conditions (18 years old)

I. THE MINIMUM AGE FOR EMPLOYMENT IN THE AGRICULTURE SECTOR SHOULD BE 15 YEARS OLD

Thousands of children work in US agriculture at an age that is prohibited in every other sector.[32]

Child farmworkers often begin working in the fields at age 11 or 12, and Human Rights Watch has interviewed child farmworkers as young as 7.[33]

Not a single state complies with the CRC by setting the minimum age of employment to 15 years old in the agriculture sector.

II. THE MINIMUM AGE FOR HAZARDOUS EMPLOYMENT IN THE AGRICULTURE SECTOR SHOULD BE 18 YEARS OLD

More US child workers die in agriculture than in any other industry.[34] A child dies in a farm accident once every three days in the United States, [35] and every day, at least 33 children are injured while working on US farms[36] although there may be over four times more injuries than are reported given inadequate surveillance and reporting methods.[37] As documented by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, many fatalities involve power machinery from which, in any industry besides farming, children would be protected. Dangerous farming conditions and their impacts disproportionately affect migrant children and children of color.[38]

Not a single state complies with the CRC by setting the minimum age of work in hazardous conditions in agriculture to 18 years old.

Twelve states have stronger protections than the federal standard. The details of these standards vary – for example California has stronger protections for children under 12 working on family farms. Massachusetts is the only state to prohibit minors under 16 from working in tobacco fields. Oregon prohibits all minors from operating power machinery. Of all states, Florida has the strongest standard, setting a minimum age of 16 and also further prohibiting all minors under 18 from work in certain hazardous agriculture conditions.

JUVENILE JUSTICE refers to the treatment of children in conflict with the law.

INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS SET BY THE CRC: The CRC establishes a robust set of international standards “to prevent children and young people from engaging in criminal activities as well as to protect the human rights of youth already found to have broken the law.”[39]

This section reviews the international standards regarding: 

I. Minimum age of juvenile jurisdiction

II. Trying children as adults

III. Juvenile life without parole sentences

THE MINIMUM AGE OF JUVENILE JURISDICTION SHOULD BE AT LEAST 14 YEARS OLD

Article 40 of the CRC calls on nation states to establish “a minimum age below which children shall be presumed not to have the capacity to infringe the penal law.” The Committee on the Rights of the Child has clarified that the minimum age of juvenile jurisdiction should be at least 14 years old and encourages states to set it at 16.[40]

NO CHILD SHOULD BE PROSECUTED AS AN ADULT

The Committee on the Rights of the Child has reiterated that no child is to be tried in the adult criminal justice system, no matter what category of offense.[41]

JUVENILE LIFE WITHOUT PAROLE (JLWOP) SENTENCES SHOULD BE PROHIBITED

Article 37 of the CRC prohibits sentencing children to life imprisonment without possibility of release.[42]

I. THE MINIMUM AGE OF JUVENILE JURISDICTION SHOULD BE 14 YEARS OLD

In the US, more than 30,000 children under the age of 12 are referred to juvenile court annually.^[43] Not a single state meets the international standard to set the minimum age of juvenile jurisdiction to at least 14, a standard endorsed by the American Medical Association (AMA)  in November of 2022.^[43a] Only eight states set a minimum age higher than 10 years old. Nearly half have no minimum age.

II. NO CHILD SHOULD BE PROSECUTED AS AN ADULT

In the US, over 50,000 children are tried in adult courts each year.[44]

Many states formerly prosecuted all 17-(or in some cases 16-) year-olds in adult court for all crimes. In the last decade, most states have limited the practice of trying 17-year-olds as adults through “Raise the Age” legislation. Only three states still try all 17-year-olds as adults for all crimes.

However, despite “Raising the Age,” all states maintain legal processes for transferring children to adult courts under certain circumstances.[45] Transfer processes can take different forms: judges can waive children to adult court, prosecutors can decide to prosecute children in adult court, or in some states children are transferred to adult courts if accused of specific crimes. Only 28 states have some form of age limit on these transfer processes – 22 states let these processes apply to children of any age. The CRC makes clear that no child should be prosecuted as an adult at any age nor for any crime.

As can be seen in the chart below, not a single state complies with the CRC in ending the practice of transferring children to adult court.

III. NO CHILD SHOULD BE SENTENCED TO LIFE WITHOUT PAROLE

At the beginning of 2020, approximately 1,465 individuals in the U.S. were serving life without parole sentences for offenses committed as children.[47] Children as young as 13-years-old have been sentenced to spend the rest of their lives in prison without possibility of release.[48]

Twenty-eight states and Washington, D.C, prohibit juveniles to be sentenced to life without parole (JLWOP) while the other 22 states permit children to be sentenced to JLWOP.

STATE REPORT CARDS:

Click on the below links to access your state’s report card.

These report cards provide a checklist of reforms for each state to improve its child rights record and come closer into compliance on the four key CRC issues analyzed. Where available, state statute citations are provided.

We encourage concerned citizens to share these report cards with your fellow constituents and elected representatives.