The Home News reports:
The state has approved funding to close the New Jersey Training School for Boys here, which is known as Jamesburg, and the Female Secure Care and Intake Facility in Bordentown, known as Hayes.
Gov. Chris Christie announced the reform of New Jersey’s juvenile justice system Monday with a $162 million bond to finance the closure of the two Civil War-era youth prisons. Two smaller state of the art juvenile rehabilitation centers will be built — one in Ewing, Mercer County, the other in Winslow Township, Camden County. The facilities will house between 40 and 72 youth offenders…
“Gov. Christie’s plan to close two of New Jersey’s failed youth prisons is one of the most significant youth justice reforms in 150 years,” said Ryan P. Haygood, president and CEO of the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice, which launched a campaign in June to close Jamesburg and Hayes.
On June 28, 2017, Jamesburg’s 150th anniversary, the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice and over 50 partner organizations launched “150 Years is Enough,” a campaign to close Jamesburg and Hayes and invest in the creation of a community-based system of care.
“We thank Gov. Christie, Attorney General Porrino and the entire administration for their leadership in declaring that 150 years of failed youth incarceration is enough and that it is time to fundamentally transform our broken youth justice system,” Haygood said.