© 2025 Connecticut Public

FCC Public Inspection Files:
WEDH · WEDN · WEDW · WEDY
WECS · WEDW-FM · WNPR · WPKT · WRLI-FM · WVOF
Public Files Contact · ATSC 3.0 FAQ
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Connecticut children should not be put in adult prisons, new report says

The Superior Court for Juvenile Matters and Detention Center is on Broad Street in Hartford.
Kelan Lyons
/
CTMirror
The Superior Court for Juvenile Matters and Detention Center is on Broad Street in Hartford.

The Connecticut Justice Alliance (CTJA), an advocacy organization dedicated to ending youth criminalization, released its first comprehensive report about how Connecticut treats children who are accused and convicted of a crime.

The State of Justice Report for 2023 and 2024, the first of its kind, highlights how the mental and physical wellbeing of Black and Brown children who have spent time in correctional facilities at a young age are affected.

The report focused primarily on the benefits of removing children under the age of 18 from adult prisons throughout the state.

Christina Quaranta, executive director of Connecticut Justice Alliance, said kids in the criminal justice system can spend a while in correctional facilities waiting for sentencing, which prevents them from having access to education and other rehabilitative programs.

“That's problematic in terms of, you're not able to actually access anything to help you move forward. So you're spending months a year plus incarcerated without access to something that's going to help you progress,” Quaranta said.

The Connecticut Justice Alliance believes kids should be placed in facilities closer to home to help them adjust back to normal life outside of the criminal justice system. The report suggests taking this approach can help stop the school to prison pipeline.

Quaranta said that Connecticut could do better when it comes to addressing the root cause of why kids and teenagers commit crimes.

“When children go back [to correctional facilities] a third, or fourth time, we really need to figure out what’s going on. Otherwise, we’re just going to remain in a cycle,” she said. “If we could take a step back and just look with a wider lens, take this issue as a public health issue and try to address it in that way, that’s what Connecticut needs to move forwards.”

The report addressed how much the state currently spends on incarcerating Connecticut’s youth. According to Connecticut Justice Alliance, these high costs highlight the need to shift towards resources that prioritize healing and rehabilitation rather than punishments.

Currently, Connecticut spends between $842.06 and $1,520.01 per day and per bed on youth detention.

“In facilities located in the Bridgeport and Hartford regions, the cost is as high as $1,347 per day, at an average stay of 184.92 days,” the report said.

“One of the lesser known facts about Connecticut when CTJA talks with people is that Connecticut arrests 10 year olds. CTJA will be pushing for the minimum age of arrest to be at least 12 years old, with a goal of 14 years old,” the report said.

Lesley Cosme Torres is an Education Reporter at Connecticut Public. She reports on education inequities across the state and also focuses on Connecticut's Hispanic and Latino residents, with a particular focus on the Puerto Rican community. Her coverage spans from LGBTQ+ discrimination in K-12 schools, book ban attempts across CT, student mental health concerns, and more. She reports out of Fairfield county and Hartford.

Fund the Facts

You just read trusted, local journalism that’s free for everyone, thanks to donors like you.

If that matters to you, now is the time to give. Join the 50,000+ members powering honest reporting and a more connected — and civil! — Connecticut.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT is an initiative from Connecticut Public, the state’s local NPR and PBS station, to elevate Latino stories and expand programming that uplifts and informs our Latino communities. Visit CTPublic.org/latino for more stories and resources. For updates, sign up for the SOMOS CONNECTICUT newsletter at ctpublic.org/newsletters.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

Fund the Facts

You just read trusted, local journalism that’s free for everyone, thanks to donors like you.

If that matters to you, now is the time to give. Join the 50,000+ members powering honest reporting and a more connected — and civil! — Connecticut.

Related Content
Connecticut Public’s journalism is made possible, in part by funding from Jeffrey Hoffman and Robert Jaeger.