Page 9 - If Not The Adult System,Then Where? Alternatives to Adult Incarceration For Youth Certified As Adults

Most youth sentenced as adults are home by the time they age out of adolescence: • 85% of youth sentenced as adults are home by the time they are 21 and • 95% by the time they are 25.20 • Forty-four states and D.C. serve youth up to age 21 in their juvenile justice system already. Youth who are committed to the adult system are 34% more likely to recidivate, and with more serious behavior, than youth who are in the juvenile justice system.21 Youth transfer and sentencing as adults falls heavily on youth of color25 n Black youth were 53.1% of youth transferred to adult systems for person offenses in 2015, despite the fact that black and white youth each made up approximately 40% of youth charged with person offenses.22 n Latino youth are 43% more likely to be transferred to the adult system than white youth and 40% more likely to be sent to adult prison.23 n Native youth are 1.5 times as likely as white youth to be transferred to adult court, and this number is increasing.24 n 43% of the girls waived to adult court in 2016 were girls of color.26 Alternatives to Adult Incarceration for Youth Charged as Adults 9