To Protect Our Children and Fight the Coronavirus, Release Youth from Juvenile Detention

Executive Summary

On April 2, the National Juvenile Defender Center likewise issued a statement on the urgent need to halt new detentions and release all youth who can safely return home to their families or caregivers.

In a national poll, we found broad bipartisan public support for releasing early some youth held in detention:

• Sixty percent of likely voters support releasing juveniles whose sentences end within the next six months, including fifty-four percent of Republicans.
• Fifty-eight percent of voters prefer early release to solitary confinement conditions imposed on juveniles during a pandemic, including fifty percent of Republicans.