Senators Booker and Paul proposed juvenile justice reform, including ending juvenile solitary confinement, that may create a more trauma-informed juvenile justice system.

Two first-term senators from opposite sides of the aisle introduced legislation Tuesday banning the use of juvenile solitary confinement in federal facilities, along with several other reforms that would impact juveniles offenders, The Washington Post reports.

New Jersey Democrat Cory Booker and Kentucky Republican Rand Paul, who sponsored The Record Expungement Designed to Enhance Employment (or REDEEM) Act, say it will cut government spending, reduce recidivism among adults and juveniles and increase public safety.

"The REDEEM Act will ensure that our tax dollars are being used in smarter, more productive ways," Booker said ina news release. "It will also establish much-needed sensible reforms that keep kids out of the adult correctional system, protect their privacy so a youthful mistake can remain a youthful mistake, and help make it less likely that low-level adult offenders reoffend."

The proposal encourages states to raise the age in which juveniles can be tried as adults to 18. States implementing this reform would be given preference when applying for federal community policing grants.

http://jjie.org/juvenile-justice-reforms-prominent-in-new-bill-by-u-s-senators-booker-and-paul/107252/