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Acknowledgements

This report was researched and written by Mie Lewis, Aryeh Neier fellow for Human Rights Watch and the American Civil Liberties Union. The project manager was Jamie Fellner, U.S. Program director for Human Rights Watch, and the principal editors were Alison Parker, senior researcher in the U.S. Program, and Joseph Saunders, deputy program director at Human Rights Watch. Lenora Lapidus, director of the American Civil Liberties Union Women’s Rights Project, Aisling Reidy, senior legal advisor for Human Rights Watch, and Michael Bochenek, deputy director for the Children’s Rights Division of Human Rights Watch, also reviewed and edited this report. Andrea Holley of Human Rights Watch and Todd Drew of the American Civil Liberties Union provided production assistance. Keramet Reiter, former U.S. Program associate, and Sarah Tofte, researcher in the U.S. Program, provided research assistance for the report. Ashoka Mukpo, U.S. Program associate, assisted in proofreading the report.

Human Rights Watch and the American Civil Liberties Union wish to express our deep appreciation to the children who spoke with us and to the many direct service providers, juvenile rights advocates, lawyers, and other who made invaluable contributions to our understanding of the operation of New York’s juvenile facilities. The names of all of the children we interviewed have been changed to protect their privacy. Because of the refusal of New York’s Office of Children and Family Services to permit human rights monitoring of its facilities, making contact with currently and formerly incarcerated girls and others with first-hand knowledge of facilities conditions was a difficult endeavor, made possible only with the help of many people, including: Mishi Faruqee and Asadullah Mohammed of the Correctional Association of New York, Marsha Weissman of the Center for Community Alternatives, and many others.

Human Rights Watch and the American Civil Liberties Union are grateful to the Open Society Institute for its support of the Aryeh Neier Fellowship. We would also like to give special thanks to Gara LaMarche, vice president of the OSI for initiating the fellowship. We would also like to thank the Butler Family Fund for its support of our work on the conditions of confinement experienced by incarcerated girls. Human Rights Watch is grateful to Peter Lewis for his support of the U.S. Program, and Jonathan Lopatin for his support of our work on the issue of prison rape.