The juvenile justice system is supposed to be different than the adult system. It’s meant to be less about accountability and paying your debt to society — and more about rehabilitation.
But some policy in our state’s juvenile justice system are not meeting that goal, according to January Contreras, who runs ALWAYS, or Arizona Legal Women and Youth Services.
ALWAYS just received a nearly $120,000 grant from the Vitalyst Foundation to look at the issue of juvenile justice in Arizona and try to come up with some solutions that balance public safety and rehabilitation.
I spoke with Contreras more about this, and we began by talking about one of the big issues she wants to address: juvenile records. She says in most states juvenile records are kept confidential. But, here in Arizona, that’s not always the case.
