The new report “Trapped in Time: The Silent Crisis of Elderly Incarceration” by #ACLU and #PJInnovationLab addresses this issue and makes numerous policy recommendations. www.aclu.org/publications...

If you are a prison oversight practitioner, please join our Network & become part of a strong peer learning community where oversight professionals from around the world can exchange insights, share best practices, and call on each other for information. Contact me for more info.

As I told @keribla.bsky.social, “You simply can't operate a safe facility with that many staff positions vacant…Supervision checks are left undone; staff don't want to intervene in incidents b/c there is no backup; & lockdowns are more frequent b/c staff are not available to take ppl to programs.”

So glad to have finally met you in person—and on the date of this pivotal change in your career, Yvonne! Sending all good wishes your way on your new journey.

And so glad that @keribla.bsky.social is back to stay on top of developments like this!

This is so shocking and sad—what an untimely passing of a very good man. I was his student and briefly his research assistant, and he was a friend of my husband’s who was in our wedding party. What a legacy he leaves behind. RIP.

To learn more about correctional oversight, consider @micheledeitch.bsky.social's wonderful resource: prisonoversight.org

@pjil.bsky.social

Reminder: kids in adult prisons are especially vulnerable to physical & psychological risks. They face high rates of sexual assault if mixed in w/ adults, & high rates of suicide & MH issues if isolated. Adult prisons are the WORST place for them. Much higher recidivism, too.

Yes, kids need to be held accountable for violent behavior against staff, but this isn’t the way to do it. We need to be asking Qs abt why violence is occurring. Lack of MH treatment or programs? Boredom? Lack of supervision? Response to staff mistreatment? Address THOSE factors.

And cutting off advocates’ access to youth prisons is pretty clearly in retaliation for them reporting abuses of youth to the DOJ. This is happening at a time when our youth prisons need MORE transparency and oversight, not less.

The one thing that we know doesn’t work with them is treating them in ways that are purely punitive. Kids aren’t thinking about the consequences of their actions. These harsher sentences won’t be a deterrent.

The bills are trying to make things much harsher for kids, punishing them for the failures of the system to address their underlying needs. These are 15 & 16 yo kids with very serious needs for mental health treatment & other social services.

The bills will lead to worse outcomes for youth, compromising public safety. All the bills are doing is isolating & punishing youth who are at risk, & making them vulnerable to further abuses.