Georgetown U to Train Corrections Staff in Limiting Juvenile Solitary

The Georgetown University Center for Juvenile Justice Reform announced plans to train this fall’s inaugural class of juvenile justice executives and rank-and-file detention facility staffers in protocols aimed at limiting the use of solitary confinement of youth, reports the Juvenile Justice Information Exchange. The training, which will be a part of a certificate program, will include working with representatives of nonprofit organizations and youth who have been system-involved and know first hand the experiences of being arrested, convicted, or paroled. The Center is also selecting five teams from juvenile agencies across the country for the inaugural class of trainees, with a second class to be selected in the summer of 2022.

Michael Umpierre, the center’s director, notes that the program hinges on a U.S. Department of Justice report, released in 2010, which concluded that one in three incarcerated youth said they spent time in solitary confinement. While more recent and comprehensive data has not been collected on youth in solitary since that report, advocates argue that the practice continues, leaving many with prolonged mental health effects. “[Youth] need to be connected to educational opportunities, opportunities for skills development, and relationship building,” Umpierre said. “If we’re isolating them, they will not get that.”