Supreme Court ruling opens door for juvenile justice reform

Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court wisely ruled that children who have not committed murder can no longer be imprisoned for life without the chance for parole. Georgia was listed as one of the states where this practice had been allowed. In our state’s criminal justice system today, children as young as 13 can be treated as adults.

But children aren’t adults — and our courts shouldn’t treat them that way. Research shows that brain development takes place in stages and isn’t fully complete in adolescence and that the brain continues to develop until our early to mid-twenties. That means behaviors can change and there is hope for rehabilitation.

Children are indeed different from adults. While they must be accountable and appropriately punished for serious crimes, they can benefit from professional interventions and opportunities for healthy development — the very principles that led to the establishment of the juvenile court and juvenile justice system in the first place.

The court’s ruling represents an important step in reforming juvenile justice laws. We shouldn’t stop there — and there’s hope that in Georgia, we won’t.

Efforts are under way involving a large number of individuals and organizations across the state to reform Georgia’s existing juvenile laws.

With bipartisan support, the Child Protection and Public Safety Act was introduced in 2009, has been the subject of six public hearings and will be reintroduced in the 2011 legislative session.

This sweeping legislation will help thousands of children and families across Georgia and is the product of years of study and collaboration by the State Bar of Georgia, Georgia’s child advocacy community, juvenile courts, agencies, universities and other child welfare and juvenile justice professionals.

It will enhance public safety, help abused and neglected children transition from foster care to successful adulthood; prohibit using juvenile jails and prisons for children who haven’t committed a crime; promote accountability in juvenile court proceedings, and protect millions of dollars in federal funding by ensuring compliance with federal laws related to abused, neglected and other at-risk children.

The court’s decision reminds us that punishment for crime should be graduated and proportionate to the offense, and it explicitly recognizes that children are different from adults. As in early childhood, adolescence is a time when important growth and development take place.

Just as we now understand the importance of investing in children through age 5, we must also invest in them during their teen years. We can hold children accountable for their actions and at the same time help them develop the competencies needed to be productive citizens.

When the goal of the juvenile justice system is rehabilitation, we hold out hope for our children and our state.

Beth Locker is policy director of VOICES for Georgia’s Children, which supports research, communication and advocacy for children and family issues.