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Justice for Wisconsin Youth

All kids deserve fair treatment in court. WCCF seeks to ensure that youth are treated through the juvenile court so their developmental needs can be better accounted for throughout the court and rehabilitative process.

Research shows that providing developmentally appropriate treatment significantly reduces future criminal activity. Incarcerating youth with adults increases the likelihood they will re-offend more quickly and more seriously.

Recent News

The State of Juvenile Justice in Wisconsin: What Do We Really Know? Check out this report that highlights the steady decline of juvenile arrests, youth waived to adult court, youth placed in correctional institutions, and youth placed in temporary detention centers over the past decade and includes policy recommendations going forward, including returning 17-year olds to the juvenile system and reinvesting savings in proven prevention and intervention strategies.

Thanks goes to Vicky Gunderson for organizing Wisconsin’s first Campaign for Youth Justice Run/Walk for Youth Justice on Sunday, October 16 in Onalaska.  Approximately 80 community members participated in the run/walk and had the chance to learn more about why youth should not be held in adult jail/prison.  The event also was an opportunity for community members to remember Kirk Gunderson, Vicky’s son who at age 17 committed suicide while in the adult jail in La Crosse in 2006.  Information (including a video) about the event was covered by WXOW in La Crosse.  You can also learn more about this important issue through the Campaign for Youth Justice.

The most recent Raise the Age bill, AB732, that proposed raising the age of juvenile jurisdiction to 17, starting with less serious cases in 2011 and moving all 17 year-olds to juvenile court as of July 1, 2012 was introduced in the legislature by Representative Fred Kessler on February 11, 2010. A hearing on the bill was held by the Assembly Committee on Corrections and Courts on April 1, 2010, but the bill was not voted on by the committee nor other action taken prior to the end of the session. We will be working with legislators to again introduce a bill to raise the age of juvenile jurisdiction yet this year--along with other changes to ensure that youth in the system are dealt with appropriately.

Governor’s Juvenile Justice Commission unanimously approves returning 17-year-olds to the juvenile system. Read the commission's statement related to Wisconsin's age of adult Criminal Responsibility.

WCCF Report: Risking Their Futures: Why trying nonviolent 17-year-olds as adults is bad policy for Wisconsin.  WCCF analyzed 1,000 17-year olds for over six years to track their recidivism rates after an adult conviction.  Overall 70 percent of the youth committed new crimes, and 80 percent of the youth who were jailed committed new crimes. Read the full report and WCCF press release. Governor’s Commission on Reducing Racial Disparities in the Justice System recommends returning 17-year-olds to the juvenile justice system.  Read WCCF’s statement and read full report.

WCCF is collecting names of people and organizations who want to return 17-year-olds to the juvenile court system.  See details and add your name to the list.

Project Goals

Return 17-year-olds to the original jurisdiction of the juvenile courts;

Create a statutory preference for diverting non-violent juvenile offenders;

Improve data reporting and tracking capacity in the state by race and ethnicity of kids for all critical decision points in the juvenile justice process, arrest through incarceration;

Ensure that youth who do not commit crimes are not locked up with youth who do;

Modify statutes to ensure that non-adjudicated 17-year-olds are held pre-trial in a juvenile facility.
 

Project Staff

Questions? Contact Jim Moeser.