New York Mandates New Differential Response Program For Justice-Involved Children Under Age 12

Starting December 29, 2022, a new New York State A new state law both changes the age of age of juvenile delinquency in New York from ages seven through 12 years (instead of the previous seven through 11 years), and requires the state’s local social services departments to set up a “differential response program” (DR) for children under age 12. The goal of DR is to avoid prosecution for this under-12 population.

The purpose of differential response (DR) is to remove the youngest children who exhibit and engage in problematic behavior from the juvenile justice system and respond . . .