FUSION, a media network launched by ABC and Univision, is announcing today a national effort to raise awareness about the need to reform the juvenile justice system. At a Washington, D.C., event with U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), the network will preview a documentary it will broadcast at 8 p.m. Sunday called, “Prison Kids: A Conversation About Juvenile Justice and The Need to End Solitary Confinement.”
The U.S. has more than 54,000 children in juvenile detention and spends $8 billion annually to keep them housed, FUSION says. The network contends that holding youth in solitary confinement can result in “traumatic episodes that trigger lifelong psychological disorders that impact them long after detention.” The documentary will tell the stories of youths both in and out of the juvenile justice system and will discuss an effort by the network and partner organizations to work for reform, including a ban on juvenile solitary confinement.