,,iii  #aafth ,,congress  #ast ,session 
,s4 ,,res4 #cfc  ,,in ,,the ,,senate    
,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states  ,october  
#ag1 #bjai,mr4 ,schumer 7for ,ms4       
,harris7 submitted the following        
resolution2 which was referred to the   
,committee on the ,judiciary            
,,resolution  ,designating ,october     
#bjai as ,national ,youth ,justice      
,action ,month4  ,whereas the historical
 role of the juvenile court system is to
 rehabilitate and treat young offenders 
while holding them accountable and      
maintaining public safety1 and the      
juvenile court system is therefore      
better equipped to work with youth than 
the adult criminal justice system1 which
 is punitive in nature2 ,whereas youth  
are developmentally different from      
adults1 and those differences have      
been-- 7#a7 documented by research on   
the adolescent brain2 and  7#b7         
acknowledged by the ,supreme ,court of  
the ,united ,states1 ,state supreme     
courts1 and many ,state and ,federal    

laws that prohibit youth under the age  
of #ah from taking on major adult       
responsibilities such as voting1 jury   
duty1 and military service2  ,whereas   
youth who are placed under the          
commitment of the juvenile court system 
are able to access age-appropriate      
services and education and remain closer
 to their families1 which reduces the   
likelihood that those youth will commit 
offenses in the future2 ,whereas1 every 
year in the ,united ,states1 an         
estimated #gf1jjj youth are tried1      
sentenced1 or incarcerated as adults1   
and most of those youth are prosecuted  
for nonviolent offenses2 ,whereas most  
laws allowing the prosecution of youth  
as adults were enacted before the       
publication of research-based evidence  
by the ,centers for ,disease ,control   
and ,prevention and the ,office of      
,juvenile ,justice and ,delinquency     
,prevention of the ,department of       
,justice demonstrating that prosecuting 
youth in adult court actually decreases 

public safety as1 on average1 youth     
prosecuted in adult court are #cd       
percent more likely to commit future    
crimes than youth retained in the       
juvenile court system2 ,whereas youth of
 color1 youth with disabilities1 and    
youth with mental health issues are     
disproportionally represented at all    
stages of the criminal justice system2  
,whereas it is harmful to public safety 
and to young offenders to confine youth 
in adult jails or prisons where they are
 significantly more likely to be        
physically and sexually assaulted and   
often placed in solitary confinement2   
,whereas youth sentenced as adults      
receive an adult criminal record that   
hinders future education and employment 
opportunities2 ,whereas youth who       
receive extremely long sentences deserve
 an opportunity to demonstrate their    
potential to grow and change2 and       
,whereas1 in ,october1 people around the
 ,united ,states participate in ,youth  
,justice ,action ,month to increase     

public awareness of the issues facing   
youth transferred to the adult criminal 
justice system and to provide people    
across the ,united ,states with an      
opportunity to develop action-oriented  
events in their communities3 ,now1      
therefore1 be it  ,that the ,senate--   
7#a7 acknowledges that the collateral   
consequences normally applied in the    
adult criminal justice system should not
 automatically apply to youth arrested  
for crimes before the age of #ah2  7#b7 
designates ,october #bjai as ,national  
,youth ,justice ,action ,month2 and     
7#c7 recognizes and supports the goals  
and ideals of ,national ,youth ,justice 
,action ,month4