WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) joined Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR), Kamala Harris (D-CA) and 13 of their colleagues in pressing the Trump Administration for answers regarding the health and safety of young people detained in juvenile facilities across the country. In a letter to Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) Administrator Caren Harp, the Senators requested the agency make public the measures it has taken to protect incarcerated youth from COVID-19, as well as the ways OJJDP is meeting its responsibility to safely provide the youth in its care opportunities for education, rehabilitation and development.
“COVID-19 thrives in juvenile detention facilities […] This reality substantially increases the risk of transmission for juvenile detainees and for the families to which they will be reunited and the staff assigned to supervise and educate them,” the Senators wrote. “As a result of the virus, young people are receiving fewer services while in confinement, continue to be isolated from family and community supports and may have limited access to education and other programming.”
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The senators requested a response from OJJDP Administrator Harp by June 12, 2020.
Duckworth, Wyden and Harris were joined by Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Bob Casey (D-PA), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Chris Coons (D-DE), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Ed Markey (D-MA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA).
A copy of the letter is available here.
