After meeting with top officials with New Jersey’s Juvenile Justice Commission and the Attorney General’s Office Monday, an American Civil Liberties Union leader said he is optimistic the state will act on the group’s call to limit solitary confinement for juveniles in state and county detention facilities. The meeting came as the ACLU and a coalition of religious, social services and children’s organizations filed a petition asking the state to change its rules on confining juvenile offenders. “I feel really encouraged by the meeting,” said Alex Shalom, policy counsel for the state ACLU.
