CJJ Today

There is an epidemic in our juvenile justice system right now that The Arc is working tirelessly to address. Even with the decline of juvenile crime and incarceration over the past ten years, youth with disabilities, including intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD), are being incarcerated at higher rates. One study reports that 65 to 70 percent of youth involved with the justice system have a disability—that is three times higher than the rate compared to youth without disabilities. The first step to resolving this issue is gaining insight about the history of juvenile justice initiatives in the U.S., and how youth with disabilities are served (or not being served) by the juvenile justice system.