A bill that would largely exclude California youth under the age of 12 from prosecution is now headed to the desk of Gov. Jerry Brown (D) after passing out of both chambers of the state legislature.
Senate Bill 439 would direct counties to seek alternatives to the juvenile justice system for children 11 and younger.
State Senator Holly Mitchell (D), a co-sponsor of the legislation, hopes that the state could use a new pot of state money aimed at diverting young people from the justice system or lean on other systems to address the unmet needs of young children who end up in the justice system.
[For more on this story by Jeremy Loudenback, go to https://chronicleofsocialchang...ds-to-governor/32094]
Comments (0)