Summary: This podcast is one in a series NCSL is producing to focus on how states are responding to the coronavirus pandemic. You can find links to podcasts, webinars and other resources at www.ncsl.org/coronavirus. Today our focus is on the U.S. juvenile justice system. Efforts to reform the system have been going on for the past 20 years, driven by research, court decisions and other factors. We’re going to talk about where the reform efforts stood before the pandemic, how COVID-19 has affected juvenile justice and how the health crisis may change the system down the road. Our first guest is Anne Teigen, an expert on juvenile justice with NCSL’s Criminal Justice Program. She’ll give us an overview of juvenile justice reform efforts and a rundown on actions states have taken. Our second guest is Nate Balis, director of the Juvenile Justice Strategy Group at the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Balis will discuss where spending is most effective in the juvenile justice system, how COVID-19 is affecting the system right now and what the system may look like post-pandemic. Resources The Annie E. Casey Foundation Juvenile Justice Program Coronavirus Resources for States Page Coronavirus and State Legislatures in the News NCSL Civil and Criminal Justice Program OAS Episode 96 Transcription
