Cradle-to-Prison Pipeline
The Cradle-to-Prison (C2P) Pipeline embodies the cumulative impact of multiple factors—beginning before birth and persisting through childhood, adolescence, and the teen years—that disproportionately diverts youth from communities of color toward incarceration.
Mass incarceration and the cradle-to-prison pipeline are manifestations of structural racism and white supremacy. Public policy choices — including laws, funding priorities, and institutional policies — have created and sustained these problems. Intentional changes to law and policy can also dismantle them.
The Cradle-to-Prison Pipeline Research Team at Northeastern University conducted an expansive survey of childhood experiences of adults incarcerated in Massachusetts’ correctional facilities. Their research found that:
Nearly one-third of survey participants were removed from their homes as children, with higher rates among Latinx and Black participants.
Female and LGBTQ participants are more likely than straight male participants to have been removed from their homes as children.
Close to 40% of the survey participants were on an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) while in school.
Eighty percent of survey participants were suspended from school prior to their incarceration, with higher rates reported among Black participants.
Thirty-eight percent of survey participants were expelled while in school, with higher rates reported among Black participants.
Fifty percent of survey participants were arrested as juveniles under the age of 18, with higher rates reported among Black and Latinx participants.
Twenty-one percent of survey participants experienced a school-based arrest.