CCA is delighted that the State of New York has raised the age! In doing so, we join 48 other states that recognize that young people are still growing and as such need developmentally appropriate ways to be held accountable. The legislation, passed by the Assembly and Senate over the weekend and signed by Governor Cuomo on Monday, raises the age of criminal responsibility from 16 to 18.

CCA is proud of having participated as a lead member of the Raise the Age NY campaign that has, for many years, championed the rights of children. We thank our colleagues from around the state for joining forces. We want to especially recognize the Upstate voices who loudly proclaimed that raising the age was an issue for children throughout the state.

We were honored to work with affiliates of the Gamaliel Network in mobilizing Upstate support for Raise the Age. The Alliance of Communities Transforming Syracuse (ACTS), the Rochester Alliance of Communities Transforming Society (Roc/ACTS), VOICE-Buffalo, and the Niagara Organizing Alliance for Hope (NOAH) each spearheaded powerful coalitions of faith leaders and other community members.

We of course thank those public officials who stood firm and passed this legislation. We must continue our advocacy to ensure that this new law is implemented in the spirit in which it is intended, and we must continue the struggle to ensure that all youth are treated in the juvenile justice system.

We are grateful to the Tow Foundation for their support of our work on Raise the Age.