PORTLAND, Ore. - In Oregon, 16 percent fewer juveniles are being incarcerated compared to 20 years ago - but nationally, the drop is 40 percent. A new report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation (AECF) analyzing data from 1997 to 2010 says most states have expanded community-based alternatives to locking kids up, but there is still a long way to go.
David Rogers, executive director of the Partnership for Safety and Justice, said Oregon is out of step with what research says works for kids, because of mandatory minimum sentencing laws that treat them as adults when they're charged with a serious offense.
"We know that the best thing that we can do is to rehabilitate them, so that they can become productive members of society. But placing youth in the adult system and giving them an adult felony conviction actually takes them in the opposite direction," said Rogers. "It's a very serious problem."
The report recommends incarceration only for youth who pose a threat to public safety, and small, treatment-oriented facilities for those who must be confined.
Oregon passed a law in 2011 requiring that kids be held in juvenile facilities instead of adult jails, but Rogers said there hasn't been any funding to create those facilities in many communities.
A joint legislative committee is studying alternatives from the Governor's Commission on Public Safety. Rogers said for juveniles, one recommendation creates a set of hearings for a young offender sentenced as an adult, so a judge can periodically reexamine their progress.
"If that young person is doing well, a judge could allow them to be moved into mandatory community supervision, and avoid getting transferred to adult prison," he explained. "That's a step in the right direction."
Laura Speer, AECF associate director of policy and research, said about 75 percent of kids in detention are there for nonviolent offenses, and the research shows locking them up only makes them more likely to re-offend.
"They have a chance to get their lives back on track, so we want to make sure they get put in the best possible program to get them back on track," she explained.
The report also calls attention to a racial gap in the juvenile justice system, noting that Latino and Native American youth are two to three times more likely to be incarcerated than their white peers, and for African-American children, jail is five times more likely.
The report is available at www.aecf.org.
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By Rachel Dissell and The Marshall Project for Signal Cleveland.
Broadcast version by Farah Siddiqi for Ohio News Connection reporting for the Signal Ohio-Public News Service Collaboration
A new Ohio law will lift driver’s license suspensions for people with unpaid court fines and fees, some of which stretch back years.
Along with the new law — which takes effect April 9 — come several steps that the state and local courts, and some drivers, must follow to make it all work.
Going forward, courts can no longer issue immediate license suspensions when drivers don’t pay a court fine or fee.
People who have their suspensions removed under the new law will not have to pay the state fees to get their licenses back. Blocks on vehicle registrations related to these suspensions will also be dropped.
The Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles and the courts have until May 9 to lift the driver’s license suspensions.
State officials don’t have an estimate of how many active suspensions will be wiped away. Lawmakers estimated the bill would help hundreds of thousands of Ohio drivers. Advocates who pushed for the changes estimated as many as 600,000 Ohio drivers had debt-related suspensions involving unpaid fines and fees.
The BMV is dealing with one wrinkle in the process: Local court orders sent to the state don’t always give a specific reason for a suspension. That means the bureau has to reach out to local courts to request the reason for the suspensions, spokesperson Lindsey Bohrer told The Marshall Project – Cleveland. Local courts will have to tell the state which of those suspensions should be removed.
Courts can still issue an arrest warrant or summons if a person fails to show up to court or sign a guilty plea waiver and pay fines and fees for a minor traffic charge. But first, the court has to issue a new citation and then wait for 30 days before it can suspend a driver’s license.
I have a driver’s license suspension. How do I know if it will be removed?
There are many reasons a person’s driver’s license can be suspended. This new law eliminates suspensions for people unable to pay fines and fees.
The BMV will mail letters to drivers with details of any suspensions being removed.
In cases where BMV records might have an old address, drivers can update with a current address online.
Drivers can also:
- Look up their unofficial driving record online.
- Call 614-752-7600 or 844-644-6268 to have the information mailed.
- Contact the local court where a license was suspended.
Once my suspension is removed, how do I get my license back?
Letters mailed by the state will include the steps drivers need to follow to restore their licenses. For suspensions removed by the new law, the normal fees to reinstate a license should not be charged. If a license is suspended and has expired for more than six months, they may have to retake the driver’s test.
If a person has additional suspensions for reasons not covered under the new law, such as a DUI, the letter should list which suspensions are being removed and which ones remain.
I’m already on a payment plan to reinstate my license. Should I keep sending money?
Do not stop making payments until you get a notice from the BMV. If you fail to pay, your license could go back under suspension. After the law takes effect, the fees related to debt-related suspensions should be automatically removed within 30 days.
If you are paying reinstatement fees related to multiple types of suspensions, your balance may be lowered to remove some fees.
What’s a registration block and will those be dropped?
Local courts can block a driver’s ability to update a vehicle registration and get license plate stickers. Under the new law, courts will no longer be able to do that when a driver fails to pay fines or fees. Blocks on vehicle registrations related to those reasons will also be dropped.
I have an old suspension for not responding to a “proof of insurance letter.” Does this new law cover that?
In 2019, Ohio did away with a state program that sent letters to random drivers requesting proof of insurance or financial responsibility. Drivers who didn’t respond faced license suspensions. None of those suspensions are active, state officials said. If a driver is still paying fees to get a license reinstated based on one of those suspensions, those fees should be removed.
Licenses can still be suspended if a person has an accident or gets pulled over and does not have insurance.
What else does the new law change?
Starting April 9, when the law takes effect:
- Courts will no longer suspend driver’s licenses for drug abuse, which is a minor offense, unless the person is also convicted of making or selling drugs, and they used a vehicle as part of that crime.
- Driver’s licenses will no longer be denied or suspended if a student is truant, meaning they miss a significant amount of school.
- People who have suspensions for not paying child support can ask local courts for driving privileges by filing a motion.
- The “lookback” period for penalties for driving with no vehicle insurance or proof of financial responsibility (sometimes called an SR-22) will change from five years to one year. What’s not clear is whether people currently in the longer lookback period will have that requirement dropped.
- The state will no longer block the ability to register a vehicle when a driver lacks insurance.
Rachel Dissell and The Marshall Project wrote this article for Signal Cleveland. This story was produced in association with Media in the Public Interest and funded in part by the George Gund Foundation.
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Imagine being locked in a cell for 23 hours a day, under constant artificial light, with no human contact for months or even years. It is the reality for thousands of incarcerated people across the U.S. and new research confirmed the damage extends far beyond psychological trauma.
Michaela Romero, neural systems and behavior researcher at the University of Washington, is studying the effects using an unexpected subject: bumblebees. Her work reveals how solitary confinement biologically alters the brain and body, with particularly urgent implications for states such as Mississippi where extreme isolation remains standard practice. Romero's research, conducted in the ZYWang Lab, replicated prison-like solitary conditions with bumblebee colonies.
She said the findings are alarming.
"Twice as many bees died in isolated housing as opposed to group housings," Romero reported. "I had two treatments. One set of bees were completely alone in their cells and then other ones were in groups of four, under all of the same conditions. The ones in isolated housing died twice as much as the group housing."
Romero's research adds to growing evidence prolonged isolation may cause genetic and neurological harm, potentially increasing risks of aggression, depression, and premature death.
Mississippi's Parchman Farm, already under federal scrutiny for extreme isolation, denied medical care and 24-hour lighting, now faces new questions as the study suggested such conditions could inflict lasting damage.
Romero's study exposed troubling contradictions in treatment standards which would violate ethical guidelines for laboratory animals.
"I have to provide day and night lighting to octopuses," Romero pointed out. "If I did not, they would take them away immediately, yet they are not having a problem with the fact that humans in solitary confinement in our state are exposed to 24-hour light and have for decades."
For Romero, the research is personal. Her fiancé, Trevor Hendrix, has endured years in Washington's solitary confinement under conditions which would be illegal for lab animals. Her findings revealed solitary confinement is not just punishment but systemic harm with lasting consequences.
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April is National Second Chance Month but across West Virginia, resources to help people leaving prison find gainful employment are dwindling.
According to data from the Prison Policy Initiative, out of more than 50,000 people in 2010, 33% found no employment in the four years following release.
Patience Lewis-Walker, deputy executive director of the Center for Employment Opportunities, in the South Mountain Plains Region, said the benefits of employment programs far outweigh the costs.
"We are able to also change communities, change this intergenerational cycle of poverty and incarceration, and really make longer-term impacts across our nation," Lewis-Walker explained.
The Mountain State releases around 37,000 men and nearly 13,000 women from its prisons and jails each year, according to the Prison Policy Initiative. Nationwide, more than half million people are released from state and federal prison each year.
Walker added entry-level, on-the-job learning programs can stabilize families and grow the local workforce.
"As they're matriculating through our program, they then begin to learn other skills and have more opportunities to really create more advancement and more of a career pathway," Walker outlined.
Without housing, it is difficult for individuals to obtain employment. According to federal data, at least one-quarter of returning individuals leave jails and prisons without a stable living situation. Research showed people who were previously incarcerated are around 10 times more likely to experience homelessness than the general population.
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