DOJ Grants Failed To Protect Kids Behind Bars/ Madeline Boreham 4th period

There is a new bill that senate lawmakers would like to pass that would ensure the safety of young people in prison by not putting them in the same cell as adults .  Federal grant money would support this project. The issue is the money isn't going to the project, it is staying with the states and being used on other things.  Children who ran away from foster care  are being put in the same jail cell as adult criminals.  This isn't just happening in one state, it has been recorded in four other states. The juvenile justice system is said to be overlooked and that is why the states are getting away with taking this money. This year steps  are being taken to improve the justice system, and improve the conditions for the children.
We are creating an environment for these emotionally scared kids to become criminals. Instead of helping them, we are prepping them to just shuffle in and out of prison along with all the other adult offenders. It is highly inappropriate that abused foster children are being put in the same cell as an adult criminal. How can we expect them to return to the normal world with criminal influences?
Our country has always had an issue with the standards of prisons. Jill Semmerling is making a change just as Dorthea Dix  did with the Prison Reform   Jill Semmerling is leading today with this Act. I hope the action being taken this year will shed some light on what has being going on these past couple of years, and that there will be better facilities for the children.



This Article was written by Carrie Johnson for NPR to read the full article click the link below
http://www.npr.org/2015/01/19/377706693/whistleblowers-say-doj-grants-failed-to-protect-kids-behind-bars