According to a new CJCJ report, California’s counties have spent significant resources and jail capacity, often at their own expense, to detain suspected undocumented immigrants who do not have a reported criminal history. Yet if this population is notably law-abiding, why are so many of them in our local jails?
A new report from the Center for Juvenile and Criminal Justice suggests California jails could alleviate overcrowding by refusing to detain non-criminals accused of immigration violations.
While the enactment of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is an exciting step in our society’s health care reform, its exclusion of undocumented immigrants will only further highlight the disparities that this population faces and induce a chain reaction of increased health care costs for all Americans.
This month CJCJ began providing mentoring services to youth in detention, and staff visited innovative post-Realignment programs in San Francisco and published an op-ed on SB 260.
Local model practices exist throughout the nation and there is substantial empirical research available to interested parties who seek to re-think their approach to juvenile and criminal justice. Justice leaders do not need to reinvent the wheel, but learn from others who have boldly risked a different approach within their local jurisdiction.