As the number of COVID-19 cases increases, governors are taking action to limit the spread of this disease, including coordinating with correctional leaders to prevent and limit the spread and risk to justice-involved populations. As an extension of the call NGA recently held for the Criminal Justice Policy Advisor (CJPA) network on state responses for adult correctional facilities, this memorandum summarizes promising practices and potential strategies that governors and state leaders may consider adopting to address the impact of COVID-19 in the juvenile justice system. Topics covered include releasing youth from juvenile facilities, limiting new admissions to facility, limiting in-person visitation and contact in community supervision, and continuing education and programming.
All NGA COVID-19 memos can be found here, or visit COVID-19: What You Need To Know for current information on actions States/Territories are taking to address the COVID-19 pandemic; as well as advocacy, policy, and guidance documents for protecting public health and the economy.
