Chronicle of Social Change, A Complete Breakdown of America’s New Juvenile Justice Law

In 2018, President Trump signed into law the Juvenile Justice Reform Act of 2018. The new law is an update to the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA) that had not been reauthorized since 2002.

States that adhere to the four core requirements of the law will be rewarded through the grant program. The requirements include:

• Not locking up youth for committing status offenses, which includes crimes like truancy that would not be considered a crime for an adult.
• Removal of juvenile offenders from adult jails and prisons, with very limited exceptions.
• In those very limited exceptions, sight and sound separation of juveniles from adults in facilities.
• Making efforts to research, identify and address disproportional minority contact in the juvenile justice system.

Learn more about the Juvenile Justice Reform Act of 2018 and what it means for juvenile justice reform across the nation.