Fifty years ago this month, the landmark Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention Act was signed into law. At the time, there were roughly half a million children locked up in adult jails and prisons in this country.

 A report by the Children’s Defense Fund laid bare the reality: A 12-year-old girl had been incarcerated for stealing a handful of quarters from a washing machine. A 14-year-old boy spent 41 days behind bars, with no idea when a judge would hear his case. Another teen landed in county jail for arguing with his parents.

On Sept. 7, 1974, the federal government finally began to set standards. For the first time, minors could only be placed in adult facilities under limited circumstances. In those instances, they had to be housed out of sight and earshot of imprisoned adults. What’s more, children could not be locked up in adult jails for “status offenses” such as failing to attend school, running away or staying out past curfew.

“This is the first piece of legislation to reach my desk for action in the field of prevention and reduction of crime among our youth,” then-President Gerald Ford said in a signing statement. “Its passage by very strong majorities in both bodies of the Congress represents a continuation of our national commitment to reduce juvenile delinquency in the United States, to keep juveniles from entering the treadmill of the criminal process, and to guarantee procedural and Constitutional protection to juveniles under Federal jurisdiction.”

Since then, the law has been reauthorized and revised seven times. There are now far fewer children in adult detention centers — 2,000 today, according to federal data. States are now also required to track and attempt to correct racial disparities that result in harsher penalties for of Black and brown children at all stages of the justice system.

The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention hands out $65 million dollars a year to states to achieve these federal standards. Liz Ryan is the top administrator, heading an organization that serves as the point of contact for hundreds of local juvenile justice systems across U.S. states and territories.

Read the full article about the Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention Act by Jeremy Loudenback at The Imprint.