Public Policy Associates, Inc. President Dr. Paul Elam called on Michigan leaders to take prompt action to reform the juvenile justice system so that vulnerable children have a better chance to thrive and become productive adults.
Dr. Elam laid out his approach in a column for the Center for Michigan’s Bridge Magazine. He noted that six years after Governor Rick Snyder laid out his vision for restructuring the system, few changes have transpired.
“Thousands of Michigan’s most vulnerable youth continue to enter an outdated and unequal juvenile justice system,” Dr. Elam wrote. Youth are treated differently in different counties, statewide data are incomplete, and Michigan is one of only five states left in the country that automatically prosecutes all 17-year-olds as adults, he said.
The article highlights the groups that are already in place to push for the necessary reforms.
Dr. Elam is a leading expert on juvenile justice and criminal justice. He currently works with the Governor’s Committee on Juvenile Justice, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, and local jurisdictions to ensure that justice-involved youth are treated fairly and equitably. He played a key role in the development and implementation of the Michigan Prisoner ReEntry Initiative and continues to work on reentry issues across the country.
To find out more about PPA’s work in juvenile justice, contact Dr. Elam at 517-485-4477 or pelam@publicpolicy.com.