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Larissa Salazar grew up in Wyoming, and when she was in eighth grade, she got in a fight on a school bus. That snowballed into her spending 16 months in a state juvenile facility.\xa0

Reporter Tennessee Watson follows Larissa\u2019s experience in the juvenile justice system in Wyoming, which locks up kids at one of the highest rates in the nation. Larissa\u2019s mom says that instead of helping her daughter, the system made things worse.

Then Watson explores why Wyoming is clinging to its \u201cget tough\u201d approach to juvenile justice, even as many other states are moving away from punishing kids \u2013 especially for low-level or nonviolent offenses. Research shows that locking kids up doesn\u2019t change their behavior and often creates a new set of problems.\xa0

We end with Watson visiting South Dakota, a state that in the past few years has changed how it deals with kids who get in trouble. South Dakota\u2019s juvenile justice system recognizes that kids who are incarcerated are more likely to get in trouble again, whereas kids who are held accountable and receive support close to home are not.

This show originally aired March 20, 2021.