'Children of the State' examines the American juvenile justice system

https://www.npr.org/2023/01/25/ [login to see] /jeff-hobbs-children-of-the-state-examines-the-american-juvenile-justice-system
America persists in having the highest incarceration rates in the world. Juvenile justice, though, presents a somewhat brighter picture.

Author Jeff Hobbs', whose last work The Short Tragic Life of Robert Peace was published to acclaim, has written a new book examining America's juvenile justice system.

Children of the State: Stories of Survival and Hope in the Juvenile Justice System provides background on the evolution of America's juvenile justice system — but it is primarily about people, not statistics. Many of the statistics are grim and the outcomes depressing. America's penal system is overly punitive, infected by racism, and generally not geared toward rehabilitation, Hobbs writes.