The best interests

Pass juvenile-justice act soonest

We are faith leaders representing different faith traditions. Faith traditions share a major concern about the way we treat juveniles in the justice system.

We are concerned about the reauthorization of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act, or S860. The act was first passed in 1974 and most recently reauthorized in 2002. It is based on a broad consensus that children, youth and families involved with the juvenile and criminal courts should be guarded by federal standards for care and custody, while also upholding the interests of community safety and the prevention of victimization.

There are four core requirements to the act.

The Coalition for Juvenile Justice describes these requirements.

● First, a status offender is a juvenile charged with or adjudicated for conduct that would not, under the laws of the jurisdiction in which the offense was committed, be a crime if committed by an adult. The most common examples of status offenses are chronic or persistent truancy, running away, or violating curfew laws.

● Second, a requirement of removing juveniles from adult jails and detention facilities.

● Third, an assurance that accused and adjudicated delinquents, status offenders, and non-offending juveniles are not detained or confined in any institution where they may have contact with adult inmates.

● And, finally, it is a requirement to focus on the disproportionate number of juvenile members who come into contact with the juvenile justice system.

We are asking that the valid court order exception (VCO) be removed. It was an amendment to the act in 1984. It enabled young people to be securely detained for the behaviors of skipping school, running away from home, or disobeying their parents if they were found to be in violation of a valid court order.

This has disproportionately impacted girls and young women. Nationally, girls make up 15 percent of the total youth population in residential facilities. Nearly 40 percent of the girls detained, however, are incarcerated as a result of a status offense case, as compared to 25 percent of incarcerated boys.

In Arkansas, we have a broken juvenile justice system. In 2014, 48 counties detained status offenders. These are kids who skipped school, ran away from home, or disobeyed their parents. Further, 50 percent of Arkansas’ incarcerated children are there for status offenses, at the cost of $70,000 per year for each child.

This legislation matters. We are calling on the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives to reauthorize the bill before winter recess. It is currently in conference and needs to be completed and sent to the president.

We also are calling on Sen. Tom Cotton to acquiesce to the House version of the bill that phases the valid court order exception out, while also allowing states to apply for hardship without financial penalty.

It is time to reauthorize the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act and to remove the VCO. It is in the best interest of the juveniles of the nation and the state. Rev. Dr. Candace Barron is a United Methodist pastor, and Rev. David Cook is a Church of Christ pastor. Both are board members of Faith Voices Arkansas.