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America’s Addiction to
Juvenile Incarceration

youth are in secure confinement on any given day
1
have not committed serious or violent crimes
1 %
of youth are rearrested within two or three years of being released.
70 %
AFRICAN AMERICAN YOUTH ARE NEARLY 5X AS LIKELY TO END UP IN YOUTH PRISONS AS THEIR WHITE PEERS​
1 x

Basic Facts on State
of Juvenile Justice

Virtually Free AR image 3305
  • Many Americans are misinformed or unaware that crime committed by youth is down by half over the last two decades.
  • Even with progress, the system is still failing kids. On any given day, about 50,000 youth are in secure confinement, but 62% of them have not committed serious or violent crimes.
  • We know that sending kids to youth prisons does not rehabilitate them when 70% to 80% of youth are rearrested within two or three years of being released.
  • Our system advantages white youth and is unfair to black and brown youth. African-American youth are nearly five times as likely to end up in youth correctional facilities as their white peers.
  • Youth prisons don’t work. They have high costs and negative outcomes. There is a better way.
  • Change is possible and we can do better.  Closing youth prisons allows for investment in more effective community-based alternatives to incarceration.
*From the Annie E. Casey Foundation, 2020

Join the movement

Bring the film and workshops to your school, community, or staff.

Expand and deepen the way you talk about juvenile justice, racism, education, and the power of the arts in your community, school, or organization with a private viewing of Virtually Free, along with a workshop facilitated by the filmmakers. The 40-minute film is appropriate for grades 7 and higher and can be used to facilitate conversations with colleagues, students, and families. 

Fill out our HOST A WORKSHOP FORM and we will contact you right away with details and pricing.

Host a Workshop

Additional Resources

We’ve also put together a list of some additional resources where you can learn more about youth incarceration and the criminal justice system of the US.  These can be great companion pieces to Virtually Free screenings and workshops.  This is just a start – let us know if you have a recommendation to add!

BOOKS

  • The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness (2010) by Michelle Alexander
  • Locking Up Our Own: Crime and Punishment in Black America (2017) by James Foreman, Jr.
  • Pushout: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools (2015) by Monique W. Morris

MOVIES

  • Just Mercy (2019)
  • 13th (2016)
  • Tre Maison Dasan (2018)
  • The Central Park Five (2012)
  • Kids For Cash (2013)
  • After Innocence (2005)

OTHER PUBLICATIONS & WEBSITES

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