Raise the Age: Changing Youth Justice in NYC

Sponsored by the Center for New York City Affairs (http://newschool.edu/milano/nycaffairs) at the Milano School of International Affairs, Management and Urban Policy (http://newschool.edu/milano). New York is one of just two states in the country that automatically treats 16- and 17-year-olds as adults in the criminal justice system. In recent years, advocates and legislators—including the state’s chief judge—have pushed to raise the age of criminal responsibility to 18. Now, in the midst of a national scandal over the treatment of adolescents at the Rikers Island Jail, we convene the experts for a discussion of the movement to Raise the Age: How will the influx of adolescents impact the city’s newly reformed juvenile justice programs? How can the system ensure that 16- and 17-year-olds get their best shot at success?

A conversation with:

- Hon. Edwina Richardson-Mendelson, administrative judge, New York County Family Court

- Commissioner Ana Bermudez, NYC Department of Probation

- Sonja Okun, founder + executive director, exalt

- Soffiyah Elijah, executive director, Correctional Association of New York

Testimonials by:

- Kevin Williams, participant, exalt

- Charles Nunez, community advocate, Youth Represent

Moderated by: Abigail Kramer, associate editor, Center for New York City Affairs, The New School.