Executive Summary

The CFSY is committed to centering the leadership of those who are directly impacted by extreme sentencing of children. Our Executive Director, Xavier McElrath-Bey, is formerly incarcerated and a co-founder of the Incarcerated Children’s Advocacy Network (ICAN). Currently, 12 of the CFSY’s 24 staff are directly impacted by the criminal legal system, including nine who are ICAN members (including our Executive Director and Deputy Director).

The CFSY works to empower hundreds of individuals sentenced to life without parole as children and their loved ones through our advocacy efforts nationwide. CFSY’s youth sentencing reform, implementation work after successful reform passage, and narrative change efforts are powered by our community’s regular engagement with the media, policymakers, parole board members, corporate leaders, judges, and prosecutors. By changing laws and narratives, over 1,100 people who were sentenced to life without parole for crimes committed under 18 have returned home. Due to our reforms and implementation work, hundreds more given “de facto” life sentences as children are also free. Upon their return home, individuals and families receive multifaceted support from the CFSY. Individuals are invited into ICAN, which provides social support and an invaluable community to help them thrive after incarceration. They also receive employment opportunities, tech literacy workshops, professional coaching, and direct assistance grants through our Community Prosperity Initiative – a national social justice strategy forged through partnerships with the corporate sector.

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