Proposed New York Legislation Would End Juvenile Delinquency For Kids 7 to 11

New York state lawmakers and justice reform advocates are trying to end formal prosecution for all children under the age of 12, in a measure that would steer them toward county-based social services.

The bill, sponsored by state Assemblywoman Ellen Jaffee and state Sen. Velmanette Montgomery, both Democrats, would raise the minimum age requirement for juvenile delinquency from 7 to 12. This age range made up about 2-4% of the state’s incarcerated population from 2014-18, according to state data. (Twelve-year-olds would still be eligible for juvenile delinquency status under the bill.)

The Legal Aid Society, the Children’s Defense Fund and other advocacy groups helped draft the legislation as part of a New York state black youth agenda, unveiled Tuesday. The three measures in the agenda would regulate how law enforcement agencies can search and charge youth across the state.

“Amid the nation’s moment of reckoning around racism and the disparate treatment of Black and brown communities, New York must take action to protect our most vulnerable children and ensure that they are treated as children and not unjustly funneled into the prison pipelines that have historically ravaged communities of color,” said Dawne Mitchell in a statement. She is attorney-in-charge of the juvenile rights practice at the Legal Aid Society. “We urge the governor and state legislature to stand up for children and ensure equal justice for all youth across New York.” 

The announcement comes as protests and advocacy groups mount pressure on city halls and the New York state capitol to shift resources from departments widely seen as reactive, including police and prisons, toward social services. The Legal Aid Society released a statement on the agenda on the same day protesters camped outside the New York state capitol in support of three other justice reform measures that did not make it to a vote.

Bill linked to raise the age

Several experts and advocates drew similarities between the bill and raise the age legislation that was passed three years ago, also sponsored by Montgomery. Raise the age shifted 16- and 17-year-olds charged with misdemeanors and certain felonies from criminal to family court. Raising the minimum age for the juvenile delinquency status was a measure considered — and quietly removed — in early negotiations for raise the age due to back-and-forth negotiations in the Assembly. 

“That's where this bill came in,” said Pascale Jean-Gilles, communications director for Jaffee. “For raising the age on one end, you need to do it on the opposite end too."

Jaffee’s office expects the bill will be put to a vote during January’s legislative session. 

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio is currently reviewing the legislation.

Data provided by the Children’s Defense Fund New York details the 150 petitions filed against children aged 7 to 11 in 2018: Seventy-seven were for crimes against a person, 60 were for property crimes, one was on a weapons charge and 12 were for unknown charges. No petitions were filed on drug charges.

In New York City, over 90% of children aged 7 to 11 who are charged with juvenile delinquency are of color and 100% of delinquency petitions filed against that age range are against Black and Latino children, according to the Legal Aid Society.

With approval from the state’s Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS), local service districts throughout the state — almost all of them counties — would establish programs that use “the least restrictive intervention protocols possible” for youth under 12. Each service district would report back to the state for each child they accommodate with a description of services provided, its planning process and its reasoning for service approaches. 

An OCFS spokesperson said in an email they do not comment on pending legislation.

Syracuse nonprofits mentor troubled youth

Several experts said social service programs that keep the incarcerated closer to home are a more effective tool in keeping incarceration levels down in the long term. And reform on this end isn’t new: In 2012, Gov. Andrew Cuomo passed a “Close to Home” initiative, allowing some incarcerated youth in New York City to reside in group homes near their residence. Raise the age came five years later.

“Ideally the juvenile justice approach is focused on rehabilitation, but often the disposition that kids face within the juvenile justice system end up having a component of punitive response as well,” said Emily Haney-Caron, assistant professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. “And dispositions often aren’t tailored to a kid’s needs.”

In Onondaga County, particularly the city of Syracuse, a network of nonprofits mentor troubled youth. Hasan Stephens, a former employee at Hillbrook Detention Center in Syracuse, now runs the Good Life Youth Foundation. He uses hip-hop culture as a vehicle to connect children with their identity and entrepreneurship. 

Stephens said he’s talked with the county about referring more kids to programs like his than Hillbrook — a secure youth detention center being renovated and expanded due to raise the age. He said the county is “in line” with the foundation’s goals, and realizes they need to lean on community organizations like Stephens to rehabilitate troubled youth. 

Yet many county-funded social services are facing budget cuts due to the coronavirus pandemic. New York City faced a 20% budget cut. Onondaga County faces a 15% cut.

The Good Life Youth Foundation would be an organization primed to take in children diverted from the state detention facilities. But if the bill were passed now, the budget cuts would not permit him to take any children in.

“So we are at capacity right now,” Stephens said. “We would require additional funding for us to really do it the right way.”