Criminalizing Childhood: U.S. Justice System Fails Youth

The Independent Media Institute has released a four-part series titled 'Does Your Community Care About Children?', which examines how various U.S. systems—including juvenile justice, child labor, immigration enforcement, and foster care—fail to protect and often criminalize children, particularly those living in poverty. In North Carolina, children as young as six can be held criminally accountable, while in Rutherford County, Tennessee, elementary school students were arrested merely for witnessing a fight. In 2020, there were 424,300 arrests of minors, with Black, Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, and American Indian/Alaska Native youth facing arrest rates two to three times higher than their white counterparts. The Department of Labor recorded 736 child labor violations in fiscal year 2024. Additionally, migrant children endure abuse while in custody, and those in foster care typically experience three to four placements. The series calls for community involvement and alternatives to criminalization.