States Consider Legislation to Raise the Age for Juvenile Court Into Young Adulthood [JJIE.org]

During the last decade, advocates and policymakers in Connecticut and Illinois won contentious battles to keep young offenders in juvenile court until they turned 18 years old.

Now, supporters of those efforts want to go even further, saying a wave of research into adolescent brain development makes the case for treating young adults differently from mature adults.

Lawmakers in both states are considering legislation that would raise the age of juvenile jurisdiction through age 20. The move would bring young adults into a system some say is better equipped to rehabilitate them — and comes with fewer collateral consequences, such as trouble finding employment, that often accompany a criminal record.

[For more of this story, written by Sarah Barr, go to http://jjie.org/states-conside...ng-adulthood/220647/]