"In the richest city in America, with a $116 billion budget, about 100 children are locked in city custody at youth detention centers without beds to sleep in or rooms of their own. They haven't been convicted of a crime-only accused-and under the law they are presumed innocent. Yet the inhumane conditions they endure make clear they are being treated as if they are beneath the law, while the city shows little appetite to fix it."
"At any given time, a third of young people in the custody of the Administration for Children's Services (ACS), New York City's child welfare agency that operates the youth detention facilities, has no assigned room. They sleep in classrooms, hallways, or visiting areas-spaces unfit for anyone, let alone vulnerable youth."
"very chaotic. It's a pretty dangerous space. It's very dirty. It's unpredictable. It's loud. There's absolutely no consistency. There's a lot going on. There's-my word would be chaotic at all times. It's unsafe. There's nothing normal or comfortable about it."
About 100 children are locked in New York City custody at youth detention centers without beds or individual rooms. These youth are accused but presumed innocent under the law, and are overwhelmingly low-income and from communities of color. At any given time, a third of youth in ACS custody have no assigned room and sleep in classrooms, hallways, or visiting areas on plastic cots or the floor, repeatedly moved at night and awakened early. Facilities are filthy, chaotic, infested with rodents, and lack consistency or safety. Overcrowding has increased stressors and violence. The city has immediate options to improve conditions.
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