America’s Cradle to Prison Pipeline
“In the fourth grade, the sorting begins in earnest between those children in the pipeline to college and those heading in the direction of prison. Children begin to understand in about the third grade whether they are part of the American mainstream or part of another, more marginal world.”
(CDF Cradle to Prison Pipeline Report, p.136)
It is imperative for us to understand the driving forces behind the incarceration of the young people we serve. The Children’s Defense Fund report “America’s Cradle to Prison Pipeline” provides a concise analysis of the various and intersecting influences that lead young people into the juvenile justice system.
Chapters 3 – 7 of the report address the primary contributing factors in the School to Prison Pipeline.
