Across the Country, Youth Prisons Are Closing. This State Is Building More. by Paige Pfleger, WPLN/Nashville Public Radio, and Aliyya Swaby, ProPublica Co-published with WPLN/Nashville Public Radio September 25, 2026, 5:00 am

Across the Country, Youth Prisons Are Closing. This State Is Building More. Tennessee officials say they need more high-security facilities for kids who commit crimes. Experts say this approach flies in the face of crime data and research that shows youth prisons are not rehabilitative. by Paige Pfleger, WPLN/Nashville Public Radio, and Aliyya Swaby, ProPublica Co-published with WPLN/Nashville Public Radio September 25, 2026, 5:00 am https://www.propublica.org/article/juvenile-crime-decrease-youth-prisons-tennessee-construction?utm_source=sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=majorinvestigations&utm_content=river