We are an advocacy organization that believes children do not belong in adult jails or prisons, and that people deserve to return home and live full lives with dignity.
The Problem
In Pennsylvania, kids as young as 10 years old can be prosecuted as adults, meaning that they face time in adult jails and prisons. 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.
Philadelphia has sentenced more children to life in prison without parole than any other in the country, and has the most Juvenile Lifers in the world.
The Solution
YSRP believes that a child is far more than what a criminal docket or piece of paper says he or she is. There is so much more to the story – where they come from, their family life, their strengths and their hopes for the future. We tell that story in courts to get kids’ cases transferred to the juvenile justice system, which is better equipped to address their educational, emotional and physical healthcare, and social development needs; and to ensure fair and appropriate resentencing for Juvenile Lifers. We partner with community organizations to refer youth, Juvenile Lifers and families to resources that can address their needs.
We are inspired by the belief that no person is all good or all bad, and that no child should be defined by the worst thing he or she has ever done. The experiences of the young people, Juvenile Lifers and their families with whom partner highlight the significant need for the services and supports YSRP was created to provide. Marcus, a 16 year-old boy tried as an adult said, “in criminal court, I felt like I was the smallest person in the room, with the biggest problem.” YSRP is driven by the goal of preventing additional children and families from surviving that same fate.