New ACLU-D.C. Youth Justice and Public Safety Report Recommends Proven Solutions That Address Root Causes of Crime

WASHINGTON – The American Civil Liberties Union of the District of Columbia (ACLU-D.C.) today issued a report that details how District leaders can implement proven solutions that build safety and security. Titled Building Safety Through Resources: A Better Path to Public Safety in D.C., the report recommends specific strategies and programs that D.C. lawmakers should implement to support families, youth, and people reentering communities after incarceration.

The report was released within a week of the D.C. Council voting to fund the nation’s first child tax credit (a key recommendation of the report) and amid the backdrop of the Trump administration extending orders for the D.C. National Guard to patrol D.C. streets through February 2026.

Building Safety Through Resources recommends that local D.C. leaders take a public safety approach centered on prevention and support, instead of over-relying on policing and jails. The report aggregates social science and neuroscientific research and pairs it with an analysis of effective programs in D.C. and around the country that take a preventive and holistic approach to public safety.

The report recommends that D.C. lawmakers:

1. Support families through a child tax credit and subsidized childcare because child poverty in the District of Columbia is higher than it is for the nation, at 17.1 percent versus 13.7 percent;
2. Support young people by increasing funding to youth programs that provide for their social and economic needs and that allow them to take safe and healthy risks;
3. Support people returning to our communities after reincarceration by increasing funding to holistic reentry programs that provide support and necessities including housing, mental health support, and employment training.

The report identifies promising programs and initiatives in the District of Columbia that need increased funding, including:

1. The DC Childcare Subsidy Program
2. Teen Council (DC Public Library)
3. Voices for a Second Chance

“The safest communities are the ones with the most resources, not the most police,” said Alicia Yass, Supervising Policy Counsel at ACLU-D.C. “To keep people in D.C. safe during this presidential administration and beyond, our local leaders need to invest in reaching people with the resources they need when they need them most.”

To read the full report, visit: https://www.acludc.org/publications/building-safety-through-resources/