MADISON, Wis. - Seventeen-year-olds in Wisconsin may be getting second chances. In early December, there will be another hearing in the state Senate regarding legislation to reverse the 1996 law that says 17-year-old offenders must be charged in adult court.

The proposed changes would allow 17-year-olds who are violent or repeat offenders to be charged as adults, but not first-time nonviolent offenders. Jim Moeser, deputy director of the Wisconsin Council on Children and Families, points out that Wisconsin doesn't treat 17-year-olds as adults for anything else.

"A kid can actually be convicted by a jury but can't serve on one, and can't sign contracts, and all the other kinds of rights that kids that age don't have," says Moser. "But beyond that, it's really a win-win for the community and for the youths themselves. They get the services they need; they don't end up with an adult record that haunts them for the rest of their life."

A number of studies have shown that young people treated in the adult system are significantly more likely to re-offend than those who end up in the juvenile system, where they can receive treatment and services not available through adult court. Wisconsin is one of only nine states that treat all 17-year-olds as adults in criminal matters.

Similar legislation in prior sessions has stalled because the cost of implementing a change back to the old system would fall on the counties, which estimate it could cost up to $6 million. Moeser disagrees.

"We believe that the cost is not as high as the counties say – that it's a good investment, and that the Legislature needs to think in terms of investing up front in this way to really save long-term," he says. "This could be a really good, strong bipartisan positive move and a good investment."

The legislation has 70 bipartisan supporters and even the conservative MacIver Institute notes for the last several years, juvenile arrests have decreased, funding to counties has increased, and state funding for youth aid has increased in recent years.

According to Moeser, some advocates say the proposed changes in the law should apply more broadly, but he thinks 17 is the right age to start.

"Developmentally, 17-, 18-, 19- and 20-year-olds are all sort of in that same ballpark, and there are people who suggest juvenile court procedures ought to apply to kids as old as 21," says Moeser. "We think it's sort of a good middle ground at this point, to really learn from and experience, and get the kids that don't commit serious crimes back in the juvenile system."

Moeser estimates that of the more than 15,000 17-year-olds charged every year, about two-thirds would stay in the juvenile system under the narrow definitions of the new legislation.



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Efforts to keep young people out of the criminal justice system are working, according to a new Sentencing Project report.

Elie Zwiebel, attorney and executive director with the Transformative Justice Project of Colorado, said the vast majority of adolescents in the justice system - disproportionately children of color and other marginalized groups - have committed low-level, non-violent offenses.

He said programs that bring young people face to face with victims, and help them repair the harms they caused, send an important message.

"We are saying that we value keeping those young people in our neighborhoods," said Zwiebel, "because we recognize that they should have a chance to learn and grow, and to ensure that they can become pro-social beneficial members of their communities."

The report highlights a decade-long effort to increase diversion programs in Colorado. Today, half the state's court districts divert adolescents to restorative justice programs.

More than 90% complete the program, fewer than one in 10 commit a new offense, and 99% of victims reported being satisfied with the process.

Dick Mendel, senior research fellow for youth justice at The Sentencing Project and the report's author, said community-based programs also benefit taxpayers.

The average cost of locking up an adolescent is $588 a day, but it costs just $75 a day for programs with wraparound services.

"Diversion tends to be cheaper," said Mendel. "It's not a net cost, it's a net savings, even in the short term. And it's especially a net savings financially in the long term, because these young people are much less likely to come back."

The report challenges political rhetoric that only tough-on-crime policies can make communities safer.

Researchers found that being arrested in adolescence actually increases the likelihood of recidivism, and greatly reduces a child's chances for success in school and beyond.

Zwiebel said he believes it's time for a different approach.

"We have tried - as a nation, and as individual communities within our nation - to implement tough-on-crime policies for decades," said Zwiebel. "For decades we tried that, and it didn't work."




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A new report showed a decade after being passed, Kentucky's juvenile justice reform law is getting results.

It found 60% of juvenile cases were diverted to alternative programs in 2020, compared to 41% in 2013. Instead of being sent to in detention centers, kids in diversion programs participate in home supervision, group homes, foster care, community programs and wraparound services.

Richard Mendel, senior youth justice research fellow for The Sentencing Project, said the state has also made strides in reducing racial disparities among kids whose cases are diverted. He pointed out statewide coordinators work across counties to help youth and their families navigate the system and find alternatives to detention.

"Kentucky looked at this, the state, and they very quickly changed their process for notifying people," Mendel explained. "Instead of sending a form letter, they started calling and engaging the families, and explaining why it's better to keep your kid out of court."

According to the Kentucky Justice and Public Safety Cabinet, in 2022, 982 youths were placed in an alternative program. In the first half of last year, 726 were placed. A spokesperson for the Cabinet said the number is expected to continue to increase, year-over-year.

Mendel added the goals of alternative programs are to ensure the public remains safe and the young person is set on a positive life path to reduce the odds of reoffending in childhood or as an adult.

"Diversion tends to be cheaper," Mendel emphasized. "It's not a net cost, it's a net savings, even in the short term. And it's especially a net savings financially in the long term, because these young people are much less likely to come back."

Last year, Gov. Andy Beshear signed Senate Bill 162, which provides more than $25 million in funding for Department of Juvenile Justice staff salaries, transportation costs and expanded programming and diversion resources, such as residential psychiatric treatment for youth with severe mental health issues.


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A new report by national researchers says Iowa is making progress in reforming its juvenile justice system, and finding ways to steer kids away from crime - long term.

The state convened a task force last year to study youth crime diversion programs.

Senior Research Fellow for Youth Justice with The Sentencing Project, Dick Mendel, said Iowa is one of the states making progress on addressing juvenile justice issues, by focusing on ways to keep kids from being incarcerated - and maybe discouraging them from committing crimes in the first place.

"Diversion tends to be cheaper," said Mendel. "It's not a net cost, it's a net savings, even in the short term. And it's especially a net savings financially in the long term, because these young people are much less likely to come back."

Iowa has also implemented restorative justice programs, which engage young people in repairing the harm caused by their behavior. That can often mean face-to-face meetings with their victims.

The Sentencing Project report also shows that Black youth in Iowa tend to be arrested for disorderly conduct more than white youth by a factor of 8 to 1, despite comprising a much smaller percentage of the state's population.

Mendel said while Iowa and other U.S. states are starting to bolster diversion programs, the idea of finding ways to rehabilitate young people and keep them from offending again is not new.

"When you look at other nations, 75 to 80% of the young people who are identified as possibly being fit for prosecution, are diverted," said Mendel. "Other countries have seen this research, and they've responded."

Iowa, Florida, Georgia, Kansas and Utah now track results of their diversion programs, which Mendel sais helps those states to make them more effective.




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