Policy Reform, Youth Leadership & Organizing


Youth Justice & Opportunities Act

Every year, tens of thousands of youth ages 18 – 25 are arrested in New York. Under New York law, all young people are treated as adults beginning the day they turn 18 – facing adult prosecution, incarceration in adult jails and prisons, adult sentencing, and adult criminal records.  Because of racial bias across the criminal legal system, these consequences are harsher for Black, Latine, and other youth of color.

This goes against everything we know about youth development, namely that adolescence and early adulthood are times of incredible growth and opportunity, where young people need avenues to explore, take risks, and learn from mistakes.

This is why we are fighting for the Youth Justice & Opportunities Act, a bill that would transform New York’s youth justice system by expanding opportunities for alternatives to incarceration and immediate record sealing for young people up to age 26.  


IMG_5305.jpg

City Dreamers Advocacy Camp

Young people are experts on youth justice and know what needs to change.

Our City Dreamers Advocacy Camp trains the next generation of leaders by providing the tools, skills, and opportunities to advocates for ourselves and our communities. 

Since it began, more than 70 participants, including current and former Youth Represent clients, as well as young people referred by partner organizations, have matriculated through the program’s curriculum. This September, nine program participants, ages 18 to 25, started the 10-week training program designed to teach them how to advocate for changes to the criminal and juvenile legal systems. Through the program, youth develop the skills needed to spark conversation and mobilize their communities to address current issues and change policies in areas that resonate most with them. Several graduates are now leaders in our campaign to pass the Youth Justice and Opportunities Act.  


Stop Criminalization of Youth

Young people need resources to thrive and be safe, not criminalization and incarceration.  Youth Represent is a proud member of campaigns fighting for decarceration of youth and investment in young people and communities, including: 

  • Communities United for Police Reform, fighting for NYPD transparency and accountability and for budget justice in NYC.

  • Close Rikers, fighting to reduce the number of people entering New York City jails, defend the rights of incarcerated people, divest from the NYC Department of Correction and redistribute funds to communities. 

  • Right2Remain Silent, fighting to protect youth in police interrogations.

We also work with partner organizations around New York to pass and enforce laws like Clean Slate the Fair Chance Act that level the playing field for young people with records.


Raise the Age

Youth Represent was one of the lead organizations in the Raise the Age – NY campaign, which successfully advocated for landmark legislation in 2017 raising the age of adult criminal prosecution in New York to 18 and ending adult incarceration of 16- and 17-year-olds.  

Since Raise the Age was enacted, we have worked to defend it from rollbacks and to ensure its full implementation.  When the law went into effect, we partnered with the CUNY Public Science Project, Children’s Defense Fund-NY, and the Citizens’ Committee for Children of New York to create the Youth Justice Research Collaborative (YJRC).  YJRC used participatory action research to join experts with direct experience of youth prosecution and incarceration with academics and advocates to study the implementation of Raise the Age in New York City.  

Over the course of the project our research team observed hundreds of court appearances in the New York City Youth Parts and Family Courts, analyzed administrative data on Raise the Age, surveyed defenders, and held focus groups with young people.  To read our policy brief evaluating the first year of NY Raise the Age implementation, click HERE