Publications, Articles, Reports

ARTICLES

New Mexico Mother Suing After Young Son Left in Solitary Confinement for 11 Months (KOBTV, July 2016)

OJJDP Joins National Campaign To End Solitary Confinement of Youth (OJJDP News, May/June 2016)

What I Really Want for Father’s Day: Stop Solitary for Kids (Huffington Post, June 2016)

Casey Supports National Campaign to Stop Solitary for Kids (Annie E. Casey Foundation, May 2016)

Ex-Corrections Chief Calls For Ending Solitary For Youth (The Crime Report, May 2016)

Juvenile Corrections Director: End Youth Solitary Confinement (Indianpolis Star, May 2016)

Ohio Leads the Way Against Juvenile Solitary Confinement (Circleville Herald, May 2016)

6×9: A Virtual Experience of Solitary Confinement (The Guardian, May 2016)

Stop Solitary for Kids: Vincent Schiraldi and Mark Soler (Huffington Post, April 2016)

Solitary Confinement of Juveniles Disproportionately Impacts LGBTQ Youth (Human Rights Watch, April 2016)

The Short and Long Game on Ending Juvenile Solitary (Chronicle of Social Change, April 2016)

Abandon Outdated Practice of Juvenile Seclusion: Ohio Director Harvey J. Reed (Cleveland Plain Dealer, April 2016). To read more about Ohio’s efforts to reduce solitary, click here.

Senator Cory Booker: It’s Time to End Juvenile Solitary Confinement, Once and For All (The Guardian, April 2016)

Closing the Door on Solitary Confinement (National Conference of State Legislatures, April 2016)

OJJDP Plans to Help States Eliminate Use of Solitary Confinement for Juveniles (JJIE, April 2016)

Solitary Confinement Is What Destroyed My Son, Grieving Mom of Kalief Browder Says (National Public Radio, April 2016)

Stop Solitary for Kids Aims to Build on State, Federal Momentum (JJIE, April 2016)

Stop Solitary for Kids (JJIE, April 2016)

Recent Wins in Juvenile Justice Provide New Advocacy Opportunities (Child Law Practice, March 2016)

Ban on Solitary for Juveniles in Federal Prison Could Ignite State Reforms (JJIE, January 2016)

Stop Solitary for Kids: A National Campaign for Change, December 2015 (JJIE, December 2015)

 

REPORTS & PUBLICATIONS

Justice Blog – OJJDP Supports Eliminating Solitary Confinement for Youth, April 2016

On April 19, 2016, OJJDP Administrator Robert Listenbee called for the end of solitary confinement  for youth and encouraged all states to act to discontinue this punitive practice discontinued.

ACLU Discussion Paper, Solitary Confinement Reform in the U.S.: Current Status and Next Steps, January 2016

This discussion paper provides an overview of the history and context of the movement to end solitary confinement for both adults and youth in the United States as well as new tools and opportunities for reform.

Department of Justice Report and Recommendations, January 2016

In July 2015, President Obama called on Attorney General Loretta Lynch to conduct a review of the overuse of solitary confinement in the United States. The Department of Justice released its report on January 26, 2016. The report contains information, recommendations, and over 50 guiding principles, including prohibiting restrictive housing for juveniles and key principles on staff training and programming to reform the use of restrictive housing for young adults (ages 18-24). These principles track very closely with the JDAI and PbS Standards and the Stop Solitary for Kids Position Statement. The President adopted the Department of Justice’s recommendations in this report, banning solitary confinement of juveniles in federal prisons and setting a model for state and local corrections systems.”

51-Jurisdiction Survey of Solitary Confinement Rules in Juvenile Justice System

In October 2015 the law firm of Lowenstein Sandler released an updated 51-jurisdiction survey on juvenile solitary confinement. The survey provides an overview of the laws and policies in each state as well as best practice recommendations. It focuses largely on safeguards for the use of non-punitive confinement.

Alone and Afraid: Children Held in Solitary Confinement and Isolation in Juvenile Detention and Correction Facilities, June 2014 

This report documents the harms of solitary confinement on children, the reasons why it is still used, regulations governing the use of isolation, protections provided to children through human rights laws, and an appendix on the statutory landscape for solitary confinement in juvenile facilities.

Time-in-Cell: The ASCA-Liman 2014 National Survey of Administrative Segregation in Prison

The Arthur Liman Public Interest Program at Yale Law School and the Association of State Correctional Administrators (ASCA) released a report outlining data on both the numbers and the conditions in restricted housing nationwide, excluding juvenile facilities. The report also provides information on rules and practices on the use of restricted housing in state and federal correctional systems.

United Nations Resources on Solitary

In a report to the United Nations General Assembly in 2011, United Nations Special Rapporteur Juan Mendez called for a ban on solitary confinement for youth under age 18. Also, a 2014 report by the United Nation’s Committee Against Torture specifically called on the U.S. to “prohibit any use of solitary confinement against juveniles.”

Use of Restrictive Housing in U.S. Prisons and Jails, 2011-12, Bureau of Justice Statistics

The Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Statistics released data on the use of segregation and solitary confinement in adult prisons and jails. This report, is based on data from the National Inmate Survey conducted in 233 state and federal prisons and 357 local jails, with a sample of 91,177 adult inmates nationwide.  The report found that younger inmates, inmates without a high school diploma, and lesbian, gay, and bisexual inmates were more likely to have spent time in restrictive housing than older inmates, inmates with a high school diploma or more, and heterosexual inmates. The use of restrictive housing was also linked to inmate mental health problems.