Professionals tackle the issue of juveniles in solitary

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NUVO on 09/30/2015 by Mary Kuhlman

gr-48340-1-1Experts attending a conference in Phoenix, Arizona this week are saying “no more solitary confinement for kids.” The harm it causes, including deaths, is too great according to advocates at the Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI) 2015 Inter-Site Conference.

JDAI programs are in place in 19 Indiana counties, with the goal of keeping kids out of secured facilities. Casey Foundation Juvenile Justice Strategy Group director Nate Balis says the program came about after decades of documented abuse in juvenile detention centers, and disparities regarding which kids were being locked up.