Cover of Children of the State by Jeff Hobbs

Children of the state : survival and hope in the juvenile justice system. Hobbs, Jeff; New York : Scribner, [2023].

Jeff Hobbs uses the stories of several children and adults involved with the juvenile justice system to illustrate the challenges the system faces, and the small, but significant, improvements that are being made.

Hobbs says that children everywhere make mistakes and do dumb things. But as police officers and prosecutors make the decisions on who to arrest, who to charge, and whether to send them home with probation or send them to a juvenile facility, their decisions often are influenced by systemic racism, familial/community support and money. In other words, kids in middle class and upper-class families are less likely to be arrested in the first place, and have the resources to hire lawyers to demonstrate that the child in question will be supported if put on probation. Poor families can’t do that, and so their kids end up in juvenile facilities.

Hobbs features two different facilities – one in Delaware and one in San Francisco – and one intensive non-profit program in New York City. He chooses to focus primarily on two kids, Josiah and Ian, and several staff members at the three facilities. Through these lenses, you are introduced to the juvenile justice system in three different areas of the country. While there are differences in how different states treat juveniles and where they are incarcerated, there are similarities, including the mandate to educate and rehabilitate children so they are less likely to commit crimes in the future. The adults featured in his book struggle with this mandate as they struggle through the COVID-19 outbreak, and general budgetary issues that all governmental agencies deal with. The kids are trying to figure out how to survive the experience of juvenile hall and how they can change their trajectories, even a little, to stay out of the penal system.

Hobbs has written a very compelling book that focuses on the good being done in the area of juvenile justice, but also doesn’t shy away from sharing what still isn’t working well. Hobbs doesn’t try to offer answers or really even commentary on what happens, but simply reports the stories as it was told to him.

If you are interested in the justice system in the U.S., you will find this book fascinating and informative.

Mary Beth Adams is the Community Engagement Librarian for Alamance County Public Libraries. You can reach her at madams@alamancelibraries.org.