Should we incarcerate children for skipping school?

Status offenses are generally crimes that are age-specific. For example, an adult would not be arrested for skipping school, running away from home, or disobedience to parents, but these are all potential offenses for juveniles. When the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevent Act (JJDPA) was first enacted it provided that juveniles could not be securely confined for committing status offenses. In 1984 the JJDPA was amended to allow for the secure confinement of juveniles for status offenses if it is determined that the juvenile violated a valid court order (VCO) in committing the offense.

However, opinions on this change have transformed over time. The National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, who advocated for the change at the time of its adoption, now supports its removal. The NCJFCJ advocates instead for a “service oriented approach that keeps youth in their community.” Research has found that juveniles who are sentenced in their communities have lower rates of recidivism and improved outcomes. Additionally, a bill was recently proposed to reauthorize the JJDPA, a portion of which would phase out the use of incarceration pursuant to a court order violation for status offenses.

http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/judicial/297241-should-we-incarcerate-children-for-skipping-school