This past October, New York saw the first phase of the new Raise the Age (RTA) legislation take effect, setting the age of criminal responsibility in this state at 17. The second phase takes effect this upcoming October, when the age of criminal responsibility will rise to 18. Implementation of the first phase of the new law was the product of a highly successful collaborative effort among numerous agencies and criminal justice stakeholders. Within the court system itself, judicial and nonjudicial administrators across the state were integral to the preparations for RTA implementation, with a focus on ensuring that core values—fairness, community safety, continuity of counsel and court of record, and speed of case movement—were preserved.

Previously, New York was one of only two remaining states (North Carolina being the other) to treat 16- and 17-year-olds as adults in the criminal justice system. Long overdue, this legislation (once fully implemented) removes cases involving most adolescents under the age of 18 charged with criminal conduct from the adult criminal court system and places them rightly with other youths in the Family Court system. Those adolescents accused of felonies who remain in the superior criminal court also may no longer be incarcerated in adult facilities and are instead placed in specialized juvenile detention facilities certified by the State Office of Children and Family Services, in conjunction with the State Commission of Correction. Significantly, adolescents and their families will benefit from rehabilitative and support resources not otherwise available in adult criminal court.