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Nebraska routinely holds children in solitary confinement, report finds
Source: The Guardian
Nebraska routinely holds children in solitary confinement, report finds
Mahita Gajanan in New York
Wednesday 6 January 2016 19.44 GMT
Solitary confinement is a commonplace experience for children held in Nebraska juvenile detention facilities, a report has shown, with minors routinely detained in isolation for days, weeks, even months at a time.
To varying degrees, in each of the state’s nine juvenile facilities children are placed in solitary confinement for “relatively minor offenses” such as keeping too many books, according to the report compiled by the state’s American Civil Liberties Union chapter. Other infractions triggering the “overused” practice included talking back to staff members or refusing to follow directions.
The ACLU Nebraska spokesperson said they had heard reports of children as young as 12 being put into solitary confinement, although this was not confirmed by any of the facilities themselves.
“The youth placed in solitary confinement are often in need of support – not a cage,” Danielle Conrad, executive director of ACLU Nebraska, said in a statement. “The experts agree – what Nebraska is doing is harmful to youth and does nothing to improve public safety.”
Isolation practices include putting a child alone in a cell for several hours or days, restricting contact with family members, limiting access to reading and writing materials and providing limited educational programming, recreation, drug treatment or mental health services, the report found.
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Mahita Gajanan in New York
Wednesday 6 January 2016 19.44 GMT
Solitary confinement is a commonplace experience for children held in Nebraska juvenile detention facilities, a report has shown, with minors routinely detained in isolation for days, weeks, even months at a time.
To varying degrees, in each of the state’s nine juvenile facilities children are placed in solitary confinement for “relatively minor offenses” such as keeping too many books, according to the report compiled by the state’s American Civil Liberties Union chapter. Other infractions triggering the “overused” practice included talking back to staff members or refusing to follow directions.
The ACLU Nebraska spokesperson said they had heard reports of children as young as 12 being put into solitary confinement, although this was not confirmed by any of the facilities themselves.
“The youth placed in solitary confinement are often in need of support – not a cage,” Danielle Conrad, executive director of ACLU Nebraska, said in a statement. “The experts agree – what Nebraska is doing is harmful to youth and does nothing to improve public safety.”
Isolation practices include putting a child alone in a cell for several hours or days, restricting contact with family members, limiting access to reading and writing materials and providing limited educational programming, recreation, drug treatment or mental health services, the report found.
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Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/jan/06/nebraska-children-solitary-confinement-detention-report
