The Legal Aid Society is pressing for the passage of a new bill that would raise the minimum-age requirement of juvenile delinquency from 7 to 12, aiming to steer children under that age towards county-based social services. According to data from the NYS Division of Criminal Justice Services, in 2018 100% of children prosecuted in NYC in this age range were children of color, reports the Juvenile Justice Information Exchange.

“Amid the nation’s moment of reckoning around racism and the disparate treatment of Black and brown communities, New York must take action to protect our most vulnerable children and ensure that they are treated as children and not unjustly funneled into the prison pipelines that have historically ravaged communities of color,” said Dawne Mitchell in a statement. She is attorney-in-charge of the juvenile rights practice at The Legal Aid Society. “We urge the governor and state legislature to stand up for children and ensure equal justice for all youth across New York.”