August 8th, 2023 by WCBC Radio
West Virginia has been slow to implement juvenile-justice reforms and reduce the number of kids behind bars. In recent years, West Virginia had the highest rate of incarcerated youths in the nation, with 329 youths in state custody in 2017. Senior Fellow at the Sentencing Project and report author Richard Mendel says effective alternatives to incarceration are catching on in some states. He points to Credible Messengers, a program that provides intensive mentoring to youths at high risk of offending.
Mendel says alternatives to traditional court processing include restorative justice conferencing, which focuses on repairing the harm caused by an offense. During conferencing, the crime victim and the young person meet along with important people in their lives, discuss the harm caused by the events, and craft a plan for the youths to make it right.
.jpg)
