In addition to Jamesburg and Hayes, the state also operates a third youth prison: the Juvenile Medium Security Facility.

Transforming New Jersey’s youth justice system is a multi-step and evolving process, with both short-term and long-term goals. Over time, we seek to transform the entire system, including assessing the Juvenile Medium Security Facility and the youth housed there to ensure alignment with national best practices.

In the short term, the campaign seeks to close Hayes, which houses only a handful of girls at a cost of millions of dollars a year, and Jamesburg, the largest facility for boys in the state. By closing these two facilities, and reinvesting these funds into community-based programs, we can create a framework that will allow us to transform what youth justice looks like for all of our state’s incarcerated youth.