Campaign for the Fair Sentencing of Youth

The inaugural Survivors' Retreat was a powerful reminder of the importance of community care in our movement.

Together, we showed how the divides caused by violence, harm, loss, and pain can be healed, and how our collective sense of community can be restored.

Between these powerful circles, we shared meals, took time for reflection, and found joy in healing activities, a karaoke night, and gathering by the fire pit. Many people arrived feeling depleted but left feeling “filled up.”

Our time together was centered on the "circle process," an intentional dialogue rooted in indigenous practices where every person is heard with dignity and respect. Together in circle, we built trust, shared our stories, and listened.

Last month, we hosted our first-ever Survivors' Retreat, a gathering dedicated to individuals who have lost loved ones or been directly impacted by youth violence.

Over 30 new and long-time members of our community came together, forging a bond over just a few days.

Please email aali@cfsy.org if you are interested in learning more. Please note this is an unpaid, volunteer position.

The CFSY is seeking a purpose-driven individual to join our Board of Directors! We welcome candidates with professional experience in finance, accounting, or auditing who are committed to advancing justice and second chances.

Incarcerated as a child, reentering as an adult: The unique reentry experiences and needs of juvenile lifers Following the 2016 Supreme Court decision mandating the resentencing of individuals sentenced to mandatory life without parole as children, over 1000 …

Read the study in the Journal of Criminal Justice here: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

This research is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit and a powerful reminder that community is essential for healing. We are incredibly proud of our ICAN members and their unwavering commitment to one another and to creating a better world.

This is the heart of our Incarcerated Children's Advocacy Network (ICAN). ICAN provides a vital community for formerly life-sentenced children to connect, support one another, and collectively advocate for change.

Yet, amidst these obstacles, the study found a beacon of hope and strength: the "profound and positive effects of maintaining bonds" with peers who have similar lived experiences.

A powerful new study in the Journal of Criminal Justice, "Incarcerated as a child, reentering as an adult," details the immense challenges life-sentenced children face upon release, from navigating a world transformed by technology to rebuilding family relationships and more.

To the teen who killed my brother | Baltimore Brew Twenty-five years after Lenny Kling’s death, his sister reflects on grief, accountability and redemption in Baltimore’s justice system and how her career path – as a public defender, then city prosecu...

After losing her brother to youth violence, Becky Kling Feldman embarked on a journey through grief, outrage, accountability, and finally, peace. 25 years later, she had a message for the individual responsible for her brother's death: "I'm rooting for you." baltimorebrew.com/2025/09/08/t...

Our coalition met with 30+ congressional offices this week to defend IRAA, a proven second-chance law for youth in DC.

This isn't a partisan fight. IRAA is based on GOP-led reforms & makes our communities SAFER.

Take action now: representjustice.quorum.us/campaign/iraa/

Last week, our Legal & Policy team we're in Detroit for the Second Look Network Conference and in Lansing to meet with state legislators. They had the opportunity to host an ICAN & NFN gathering, creating a space to connect, share updates, and look at the work ahead in Michigan.

URGENT: A House bill repealing DC's successful youth sentencing reforms has passed committee and awaits a full vote. Now, a companion bill has been filed in the Senate.

We need your help. Tell your Senator to vote NO and protect redemption. representjustice.quorum.us/campaign/iraa/

When Tough Talk Fails: D.C.’s Crime Bills Won’t Deliver Safety - R Street Institute President Donald J. Trump has intensified efforts to clean up Washington, D.C., which he describes as overrun with “violent gangs and bloodthirsty criminals, roving mobs of wild youth, drugged out man...

www.rstreet.org/commentary/w...

R Street outlines evidence that trying and sentencing children as adults would increase costs without increasing public safety. Across the political spectrum, groups are urging Congress to vote no on current proposals to reverse progress in DC.

Our partners at the Youth Art & Self-empowerment Project (YASP), have released a groundbreaking report about Philadelphia's first ever youth-focused restorative justice diversion program. Discover how healing, accountability, and redemption can transform lives: www.yasproject.com/art/healing-...

Now that H.R. 5242 has passed out of the House Oversight Committee, IRAA continues to be at risk of being appealed. We need your help - tell your representative to protect second chances for kids in DC and vote no on H.R. 5242: representjustice.quorum.us/campaign/iraa

Make the calls today!

Tell Congress: Protect Second Chances for Children in DC! Contact your legislator today!

We need your help. Tell Congress to stand for redemption, second chances, and proven public safety solutions by voting NO on any measure that would repeal IRAA: representjustice.quorum.us/campaign/iraa/

🚨 URGENT 🚨

HAPPENING TODAY: This morning, Wednesday 9/10, the U.S. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee will decide the future of DC's Incarceration Reduction Amendment Act (IRAA) and other life-changing second chance laws.

The Incarceration Reduction Amendment Act is good policy
Research shows that teens are more reward sensitive, more impulsive, more influenced by peers, less able to regulate their emotions & are capable of change
Please vote no on the repeal
#NoChildBornBad
@thecfsy.bsky.social
@pelosi.house.gov

Tell Congress: Protect Second Chances for Children in DC! Contact your legislator today!

We need your voice NOW. Call, Email, and Tweet your Representative and the Chair of the House Oversight Committee in less than 30 seconds and urge them to protect these vital youth justice reform! Together, we can stop this rollback: representjustice.quorum.us/campaign/iraa/

ACTION ALERT! ⚠️ Tomorrow morning, the U.S. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee will decide the future of Washington, DC’s second chance laws, including the Incarceration Reduction Amendment Act (IRAA), which has been lifesaving for many on a road to redemption.

Today, Angel declares that he is "proud to stand with my brothers and sisters in ICAN as living proof of what second chances look like, echoing the words of Eddie Ellis: “Change is possible.”

He credits the support of CFSY for helping him find his way home and for giving him the opportunity to stand alongside ICAN to provide hope to those still behind bars and ensure that children do not have to endure the same horrors that those of us mislabeled as Superpredators did.

Returning home after more than two decades, he emerged a different person—not because of prison, but despite it. "Every day, every year, home helps me to move away from the things I saw behind those walls."

My life was over before it truly even began, and I wrestled with pain, regret, anger, and the refusal to believe that this was the end of my story.” Despite the harshness and finality of his sentence, Angel held onto hope, often the only thing he had.