After many years of families, youth and other impacted stakeholders making their voices heard,  New York is no longer one of only two states in the nation that continues to automatically prosecute 16 and 17 year olds as adult criminals. Raise the Age legislation was enacted on April 10, 2017.  Now that the legislation is law, we now must turn our attention to ensuring that this legislation is implemented effectively and looking further ahead, strategize on how we can further improve outcomes for young people and their families.Here is a link to an overview of the law and a review of the state’s implementation plan. For more information, visit the New York State website and the Raise the Age NY campaign website.

Regarding other states that have ‘raised’ the age:
“From a longer-term outcome, they see a lot of savings, a lot of savings,” said Families Together CEO Paige Pierce. “The cost of processing kids through the adult criminal justice system and sending them off to state prison is greater than providing alternatives to detention and getting them the services that they need so they don’t recidivise.”