Compelling research finds that incarcerating or detaining young people is not necessary or effective. Rather, removing young people from their homes, schools, and communities, and placing them in institutions increases the likelihood that youth will return to the justice system and reduces young people's future success and wellbeing. Incarceration also exposes many youth to abuse. A recent report from The Sentencing Project (TSP) describes reforms that states and local justice systems can and should adopt to combat the overuse of incarceration and maximize the success of youth who are placed in alternative-to-incarceration programs. This episode's guest is that report's author, Richard Mendel, TSP's senior research fellow for youth justice.

The period immediately following release from prison is a time of intense vulnerability for far too many people who are otherwise ready to start rebuilding their lives. Without the ability to pay for necessities like housing and transportation, or to contribute to household expenses, people leaving prison struggle to reconnect with loved ones, comply with supervision requirements, and move forward with their lives. Immediate financial support upon release provides immediate stability for them and their families and can ultimately open multiple pathways to economic mobility. The Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO) has been leading state legislative campaigns to codify that support. Today’s two guests from CEO are Simone Price, director of organizing, and Alyssa Bradley, senior policy associate, who will speak about their successful campaign to “raise the gate” in California, and also their new campaign in New York.

The arrest of a parent can be traumatic for many children. The removal of a mother or father from a child’s life forces that child to confront emotional, social, and economic consequences that may trigger behavior problems, poor outcomes in school, and a disruption or severance of the relationship with the incarcerated parent that may persist even after the parent is released from prison. This episode's two guests are both leaders in prison family support and are here to discuss what needs to be done for the children as well as their loved ones and the caregivers who were taking care of them during the time their parents were in prison. They are Barbara Allan, founder of Prison Families Anonymous, co-founder of Prison Families Alliance, and author of the book "Doing Our Time On the Outside," who has spent over 55 years helping to heal families. Also Dr. Avon Hart-Johnson who is president and co-founder of DC Project Connect, a Washington, D.C. area-based organization that provides intervention and information resources to families affected by incarceration. She recently addressed the United Nations passionately advocating for the rights of preschool children of African descent in the U.S. who face criminalization and arrest in educational settings.