We produced a report evaluating the health and equity impacts of charging 17-year-olds in juvenile court rather than adult court in Michigan. We also mobilized public health to join the campaign to pass Raise the Age legislation in Michigan.
Progress Update: We Did It!
On October 31, 2019, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed legislation increasing the jurisdiction of juvenile court to age 18. Because of the efforts of organizers and impacted families, Michigan is finally off the short list of states with antiquated laws that allow 17-year-old young people to be automatically treated as adults for any offense. The law is set to take effect on October 1, 2021.
Overview
We partnered with juvenile justice reformers in Michigan to strategically bring a public health perspective into their campaign to pass Raise the Age legislation in Michigan.
All kids deserve the opportunity to lead healthy, productive lives. Yet Michigan puts kids at risk by being 1 of only 5 states that still automatically try 17-year-old arrestees as adults in criminal court. As a result, 17-year-olds in Michigan are subjected to a harsh criminal justice system that separates them from their families and limits their access to the services and education they need to rehabilitate.
In 2016, Michigan police made 7,215 arrests of 17-year-olds — more than 80% of these arrests were for nonviolent offenses, and more than half were considered misdemeanors. Though many of the kids involved in the criminal justice system have experienced extreme hardship, they are resilient and can turn their lives around. They deserve attention and treatment, not incarceration.
Project Information
Our work consisted of two parts:
- Our research report evaluated the health and equity impacts of charging 17-year-olds in juvenile court rather than adult court, to inform legislation under consideration in Michigan that would raise the age of juvenile court jurisdiction from 17 to 18 years of age.
- In partnership with Michigan juvenile justice reformers, public health practitioners, and community organizers, we mobilized health professionals as a constituency to advocate for passing Raise The Age legislation — with the goal of advancing criminal justice reforms that place health and wellbeing at their center.
As we continue our work toward a transformative vision of health equity and racial justice, we also continue to shift and evolve our own frameworks, language, and vision — especially with respect to our Health Instead of Punishment work. Because we know that to transform public health, we must be in a continuous process of transformation ourselves. Part of that process means reflecting on past work, and acknowledging shifts in our learning and language. Learn more about the evolution of our analysis and our current framework and thinking here.
This resource is representative of an earlier stage in our journey. The research, data, and learnings here hold strong, but the report may include past frameworks, specifically regarding racial justice and the criminal legal system.
View our latest work and framing here.
