The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee approved legislation last
week that will incentivize needed reforms in states’ juvenile justice
systems. The full Senate should pass the bill, which would incentivize
states to keep juveniles away from adult prisoners, avoid sending youth
to secure facilities for status offenses (running away, truancy, etc),
and address the fact that youth of color are often dealt with more
harshly than their white counterparts.

These improvements to the federal Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
Act should serve as a reality check for our state leaders, as well.
While the rest of the nation is working to fine-tune their juvenile
justice systems, North Carolina does not yet have in place one of the
basic building blocks of an effective justice system for youth. Because
of a law passed in 1919, our state remains the only one in the nation
that automatically prosecutes all 16- and 17-year-olds as adults —
regardless of the severity of the crime and without any recourse to be
remanded to the juvenile system.

Over 30,000 of North Carolina’s children are involved with the adult criminal justice system. More than
85 percent of these children have committed minor crimes, and yet, for
many, a single adolescent bad decision will determine the trajectory of
their lives.

We all know adolescents do not think like adults. As a society, we do not permit them to vote for their leaders, smoke,
drink alcohol or make major, life-changing decisions without parental
consent, because we have determined they are not sufficiently mature to
handle these responsibilities. Current neuroscience bears out what any
parent of a teenager could tell you. The areas of adolescent brains
that regulate impulses, risk-taking and long-term decision-making are
not yet fully formed, making them susceptible to the spur of the moment
actions, peer pressure and lack of forethought that can lead to bad
choices.

Yet when these adolescent bad choices lead to a crime
being committed, current North Carolina policy throws the science out
the window. The rest of the country has realized that handling
juveniles in the juvenile system is being smart on crime. When minors
are handled in the juvenile system, fewer of them go on to commit
another crime. Lower recidivism rates mean lower costs to society, and
more youth growing up to become successful, productive citizens.

A bill is pending in the N.C. General Assembly to gradually phase 16- and
17-year-olds out of the adult system and into the juvenile system. The
bill aims to ensure that all youth under age 18 charged with a crime
start out in the juvenile system. Judges would still retain their
current authority to remand minors to the adult system for any felony.

It is our moral responsibility to ensure that youth receive
age-appropriate punishment, treatment and education, and the chance to
lead productive lives without a permanent adult record. As our national
leaders tie needed improvements to the federal juvenile justice funding
mechanism, leaders and citizens here in North Carolina should consider
how we currently handle our troubled youth. The rest of the country is
moving forward. We need to start running if we want to catch up.

Barb Bradley is president and CEO of Action for Children North Carolina, a
statewide nonpartisan, nonprofit child advocacy organization. For more
information on the Raise the Age NC campaign, please visit
www.ncchild.org.