Senators Booker, Paul Introduce REDEEM Act, Bipartisan Legislation to Improve Lives of Youth Involved With the Juvenile Justice System

It’s a simple fact that kids make mistakes. Think back to what you did during your own adolescence: would you do the same today?

Unfortunately, when kids’ mistakes result in involvement with the justice system, the consequences can last for a lifetime. Juvenile records can throw up roadblocks to employment, housing, and higher education, substantially diminishing opportunities for young people to become productive members of their communities. At the same time, conditions such as solitary confinement and involvement in the adult criminal justice system can traumatize youth and make it even harder for them to succeed once they return home.    

New bi-partisan legislation introduced this week by Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Rand Paul (R-Ky) aims to provide these youth some relief. Named the Record Expungement Designed to Enhance Employment, or “REDEEM” Act, this federal legislation calls for much stronger protections of juvenile records that will help youth across the country keep their past truly in the past. The best ways to protect youth from the harmful effects of juvenile system involvement is to both seal AND expunge their records; ensure that youth are protected from harmful conditions; and ensure that youth are treated in the juvenile rather than the adult system whenever possible.

The Act also calls for an end to the abusive use of solitary confinement of juveniles, and provides incentives to states to raise the age for trying youth as adults to 18.       

The REDEEM Act would require the following for youth in the federal system, and incentivize it for youth in state juvenile justice systems:   

For sealing (which means that the youth’s record is closed to the public, and only available to law enforcement in very limited circumstances, or by a court order):

• Automatic sealing of juvenile records for all youth who have committed nonviolent offenses and have had no subsequent juvenile or criminal justice involvement after three years after the date on which the young person is released from placement, probation or court supervision.
• Youth can also petition to have their records sealed before this three year period is up, and youth who become eligible to have their records sealed before age 18 will be notified by the court of their eligibility. They can then file a petition at no cost to immediately begin the sealing process

For expungement (which means the youth’s record is completely physically destroyed and no longer available to anyone):

• Automatic expungement of juvenile records at age 18 for youth who have committed nonviolent offenses before age 15.
• Youth who are arrested for an offense and never charged for that offense, or against whom a case is dismissed are also eligible for automatic expungement.
• Youth who committed nonviolent offenses after age 15 can file a petition for free to expunge their record.

In addition to these protections, the REDEEM Act:

• Incentivizes states to raise the age at which youth can be tried as adults to 18; and
• All but eliminates the use of solitary confinement for youth in federal juvenile facilities, and incentivizes states to comply with the same standards.

The act proposes to ban solitary confinement for “discipline, punishment, retaliation, staffing shortages, administrative convenience, or any reason other than as a temporary response to behavior that poses a serious and immediate risk of physical harm to the juvenile or others” at the facility. “Temporary” is defined as no longer than three hours in solitary. Strong federal leadership rejecting the use of solitary confinement as the default behavior management tool for incarcerated youth is  desperately needed, as Juvenile Law Center recently settled in a case in which a youth spent as long as seven months in solitary confinement.  

Juvenile Law Center strongly supports the REDEEM Act, and applauds Senators Booker and Paul for their dedication to improving the lives of youth across the country.