RETURN TO SENDER: ITEM IS DAMAGED
Stop Solitary for Kids — Part 1
It’s about time.
Despite international pressure, the United States is the only United Nations Member State that has not ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). A 2014 report by the United Nation’s Committee Against Torture specifically called on the U.S. to “prohibit any use of solitary confinement against juveniles.” In his most updated March 2015 report, Special Rapporteur Méndez describes the continued use of solitary confinement on children in the United States, which he defines as a form of torture. The ACLU has compiled a summary on international law and practice related to youth solitary confinement.
Solitary confinement is unquestionably one of the most common, damaging, and counterproductive practices that occurs in prisons and jails. Each year, thousands of young people are subjected to solitary confinement in juvenile and adult facilities across the country. Administrators and staff who supervise youth in the juvenile justice system have a fundamental responsibility to ensure the safety and security of the youth in their care. Solitary confinement can cause psychological and emotional harm, trauma, depression, anxiety, and increased risk of self-harm. It can also exacerbate mental illness and post traumatic stress responses suffered by many youth in the juvenile justice system. Sadly, research shows that more than half of youth who commit suicide inside facilities do so in solitary confinement.
Solitary confinement — also known as “seclusion,” “isolation,” “segregation,” and “room confinement” — is the involuntary placement of a youth alone in a cell, room, or other area for any reason other than as a temporary response to behavior that threatens immediate harm to the youth or others. Solitary confinement is often used in situations where there are insufficient staff or resources to respond to disruptive behavior in less restrictive ways, or in situations where staff feel they have no other options available. Because of limited resources, facility administrators and staff often use solitary confinement for youth with unaddressed mental health, behavioral, or developmental needs.
There is no research to show that solitary confinement reduces behavioral incidents or improves the safety of facilities. In fact, experience shows that solitary confinement is not an effective tool for reducing behavioral incidents and may actually increase violent behavior in youth. Because youth in solitary confinement don’t have access to behavioral health services, education, and treatment, solitary confinement undermines the very purpose of juvenile justice facilities — rehabilitation.
Many professional organizations including the American Academy of Adolescent and Child Psychiatry, the American Psychological Association, the National Partnership for Juvenile Services, the American Bar Association, and the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges support the end of solitary confinement for youth.
Please visit the Stop Solitary for Kids website for news updates, state legislative efforts, resources, reports and publications.
Stop Solitary for Kids is a national campaign to end solitary confinement of youth in juvenile and adult facilities in the United States. The campaign is a joint effort by the Center for Children’s Law and Policy, the Center for Juvenile Justice Reform, the Council of Juvenile Justice Administrators, and the Justice Policy Institute.
