Show Details Compelling research finds that incarcerating or detaining young people is not necessary or effective. Rather, removing young people from their homes, schools, and communities, and placing them in institutions increases the likelihood that youth will return to the justice system and reduces young people's future success and wellbeing. Incarceration also exposes many youth to abuse. A recent report from The Sentencing Project (TSP) describes reforms that states and local justice systems can and should adopt to combat the overuse of incarceration and maximize the success of youth who are placed in alternative-to-incarceration programs. This episode's guest is that report's author, Richard Mendel, TSP's senior research fellow for youth justice.