What happens when we incarcerate young children?

Abstract

For children to grow and develop, they need to be nourished by the environment around them. As a society we are aware of this important idea and attempt to fill children's lives with engaging interactions, colorful toys, and novel experiences. Unfortunately, when children make contact with the legal system, this guiding principle often falls by the wayside. Placing children in detention removes nourishing, prosocial exposures from their environment and instead subjects them to negative peer influences and potentially traumatic experiences.