UPDATE: On May 25, 2021, Governor Lee signed this bill into law.
(Last updated January 2, 2022. The current status of this bill can be found here.)
SB 383/HB 1126, as amended, would limit the solitary confinement of juveniles by redefining “seclusion;” stating that seclusion cannot be used for discipline, punishment, administrative convenience, retaliation, staffing shortages, or any reason other than a temporary response to behavior that threatens immediate harm to a youth or others; and limiting its use to no more than two hours. This measure would apply to children in custody at juvenile detention facilities approved, certified, or licensed by the Department of Children’s Services.
Solitary confinement has devastating consequences for young people’s social and psychological development. For children exhibiting behavioral or mental health issues, solitary confinement can actually provoke or worsen these problems. Research shows that suicide rates for children in solitary confinement are far higher than for those held in general population. Solitary poses such dramatic risks of doing lasting harm to children that it simply cannot ever be justified.
TAKE ACTION: Please call your state senator and ask them to vote yes on SB 383/HB 1126.
If you don’t know who your state senator is, or need to find their contact information, visit “Find My Legislator.”
Sample Phone Script
Hello, my name is _____________. I am calling to ask you to vote yes on SB 383/HB 1126.
Isolating a child with practically no face-to-face interaction worsens behavioral and mental health issues and leads to increased suicide rates.
Solitary poses such dramatic risks of doing lasting harm to children that it simply cannot ever be justified.
Please limit the solitary confinement of juveniles by voting yes on SB 383/HB 1126.