Raising the age was not enough: Why New York's RTA legislation needs to be amended to better rehabilitate the adolescents and reduce the abuse within the juvenile justice system

With demands for criminal justice reform in the state of New York, the Raise the Age Legislation was passed in 2017, which changed the age that an individual can be found guilty of a felony and incarcerated in a corrections facility from 16 to 18. While this was a step in the right direction, far too many children and teens are being detained in secure facilities and are not receiving treatment that they need, and are being further subjected to trauma at the hands of the criminal justice system.