2020 Events

Raise the Age Connecticut: What a difference ten years makes.

Monday, February 10, 2020

Legislative Office Building Room 1A, 300 Capitol Avenue, Hartford

Press Conference celebrating ten years of success from Raise the Age legislation. You will hear what Connecticut feared and the FACTS of what happened.   A study done in 2003 – 2004 estimated the cost of Raise the Age at $84 million.  That did not occur. Adding 16’s and 17’s into the juvenile system will increase their caseload by 60%. That did not occur.  Adding 16- and 17’s will approximately double juvenile cases for local police and many departments will have to add or modify facilities to meet added demand. That did not occur.  These facts and more, and the personal stories of youth sparked action across the state.  “Connecticut has forged a new consensus for progressive change in juvenile justice, and it has transformed a previously wasteful, punitive, ineffective, and often abusive juvenile justice system into a national model.” – Connecticut Juvenile Justice Alliance

Speakers:

• Representative Toni Walker, Co-Chair, Juvenile Justice Policy and Oversight Committee
• Tenille Bonilla, Justice Advisor
• Abby Anderson, Executive Director, Connecticut Juvenile Justice Alliance
• Marcy Mistrett, Executive Director, Campaign for Youth Justice
• Michael Lawlor, Former Judiciary Committee Chairman, Former Under Secretary for Criminal Justice, Associate Professor of Criminal Justice, University of New Haven