Twenty-one states – five this year alone – have reformed their approach to shackling juveniles in court through statute, court action, or policy changes. For more than a decade, a growing group of advocates, including the National Juvenile Defender Center, have been arguing against the routine shackling of juveniles, which they assert is not in line with the rehabilitative purpose of juvenile court. In 2015, Connecticut, Indiana, Nebraska, Nevada, Utah – all states in which the Foundation’s National Campaign to Reform State Juvenile Justice Systems is active – implemented reforms to reduce the automatic shackling of youth in court.
