YSRP envisions a world where all children have the resources and support needed to grow into adulthood free from carceral systems.

WHY OUR WORK MATTERS

An overwhelming number of children and youth in the U.S. are tried as adults and sentenced to serve time in adult prisons. In Pennsylvania, a child as young as 10 years old can be prosecuted as an adult and be placed in an adult jail or prison.

This has harmful consequences for their health, their emotional well being, and their futures. It often means being sent far from their families and supporters. Being charged as an adult makes a child 34% more likely to end up back in the system upon release.

This system is reinforced and perpetuated by narratives and mindsets that say that Black and Brown children are inclined to criminal behavior, are not actually in need of the same protection and care as other children, and don’t deserve to be seen as young human beings whose brains are still developing.

Nationwide, 82% of youth tried as adults are children of color

In Philadelphia, that number is 95%

Black youth are sentenced to life without parole at a per capita rate that is 10 times that of White youth

Philadelphia has sentenced more children to life without the possibility of parole than any other city in the country, and has the most Juvenile Lifers in the world.

Our Approach

YSRP believes that every child is more than what a criminal docket or piece of paper says about them. There is so much more to the story – where they come from, their family life, their strengths and their hopes for the future.

Through legal advocacy, reentry support, programming, and policy change, we challenge the narratives and assumptions that allow children to be treated as adults in the criminal legal system. We tell fuller stories, advocate for fair and developmentally appropriate treatment, and connect individuals and families with opportunities for healing, growth, and community.

Our work is grounded in the belief that changing how we see and respond to young people can help transform the systems and communities around them—creating a future that recognizes the dignity and potential of every child.

Our Values

  • Justice

    We believe that the criminal justice system is rooted in a legacy of slavery and white supremacy, which causes deep harm. Our work is to redress that harm, to achieve racial justice by being anti-racist and building inclusivity.

  • Dignity

    We believe that all people deserve to be treated with dignity. Our work is centered in lifting up the humanity that long has been stripped from people who have contact with the criminal legal system, and their loved ones. We treat one another with respect.

  • Healing and Wellness

    We are committed to supporting each team member's self-determined vision of wellness and providing spaciousness that allows for people to heal.

  • Transformation

    We believe that people, especially young people, have the capacity to evolve. We believe that people who are most impacted by mass incarceration have the solutions to transform it.

  • Learning

    We cultivate a culture of self-reflection as an organization. We seek to grow, learn and challenge ourselves and our practices as advocates.

  • Integrity

    We believe in the integrity of our words and our actions. We practice transparency and accountability with our community and with each other.

  • Self-Determination

    We believe that client-partners have agency, and have the right to live full and self-determined lives. Our approach is individualized, including consideration of age, and a recognition of the power imbalance between advocates and client-partners. Our engagement lasts as long as each client-partner determines it should.

  • Client Partnership

    We reject the traditional client-service provider model. We acknowledge that the existing system does not fully value the voice of young people. Juvenile Lifers (collectively "client-partners") and their loved ones. Therefore, we partner with them to make their voices heard, without tokenism, and with a commitment to candor and directness. As actors in the legal system, we resist the notion that we are saviors or that we have all the answers; instead we strive to leverage our privilege and access (as attorneys, social workers, reentry professionals) to engage in partnership. We believe that our client-partners are experts in their own life experience.

  • Community-Building

    We believe that multiple systems attack our client-partners. Therefore, we work in coalition with our client-partners, their family members, lawyers, social workers, legislators, community organizers, and activists to build power with and among those who are most impacted by mass incarceration to dismantle the systems that interfere with the ability of people to lives full lives.