Experts say that putting a child into solitary confinement can result in psychological, emotional and physical harm. But in several Nebraska detention centers they still use isolation as a form of punishment. The local chapter of the ACLU in Nebraska has issued a report that documents that kids are being put into isolation for a variety of offenses, some a small as having too many books.
Mahita Gajanan writes, Isolation practices include putting a child alone in a cell for several hours or days, restricting contact with family members, limiting access to reading and writing materials and providing limited educational programming, recreation, drug treatment or mental health services, the report found.
Even the notorious New York City’s Rikers Island jail has banned the use of solitary confinement in offenders younger than 21 years of age.
