Ready for Raise the Age?

When Raise the Age legislation was passed by the state last year, it mandated that all 16- and 17-year-olds be moved from Rikers Island and into “specialized” juvenile facilities by October 2018. At a City Hall rally on April 18, advocates said the use of DOC officers will prolong what they decried as the “culture of violence” at Rikers and “transfer the problems from one facility to the next.”

“Raise the Age has given us the opportunity to finally get it right,” said Rob Deleón, Associate Vice President of Programs of the Fortune Society, which provides services such as education and employment assistance to incarcerated individuals. “Our mayor must rethink this approach and hire caring, trained youth development center professionals to care for our youth.”