Fixing the Juvenile Justice System

New York State’s juvenile justice system is supposed to rehabilitate children who commit serious offences by removing them from the problems often inherent in their families and neighborhoods.  But the system does not work.  About 80 percent of those who enter the system return to it or go to prison within three years after their initial release.  That’s a recidivism rate worse than adult prisoners nationally.

When a government program is obviously not working, it ought to be corrected.  But all too often, the threat of political fallout prevents public officials from making necessary changes.  New York State’s juvenile justice system has been broken for some time.  Finally, something is being done to fix it.

New Programs

Governor Spitzer recently announced that the system of juvenile detention will be overhauled.  Several residential juvenile facilities – which are underutilized - will be closed.  More importantly, programs will be initiated for those in detention that emphasize education, job training, and mental health services.

Currently, there are about 2,000 children in the system, all under age 16 when they entered.  Eighty-six percent are Black or Latino youths; over 70 percent are from New York City.  Since almost all the facilities are upstate, most of these children are housed hundreds of miles from their homes. 

The New York State Office of Children & Family Services, which operates the system, reports that most of the children have mental health problems, learning disabilities, or substance or alcohol addictions.  They should be getting support services from the state.  Historically, however, they were simply warehoused until they could be released without correcting their problems or providing them with programs and services that could help them succeed in the larger society.

As it is currently operated, the juvenile justice system is expensive and inefficient.  The state spends hundreds of millions of dollars annually to fund it and gets little for the money.  Some of the residential facilities are more than half empty.  Ironically, one bright spot in this situation is that several localities have created programs of their own as alternatives to the system.  These alternative programs have produced a recidivism rate of only about 30 percent.
System is expensive
and inefficient
Gladys Carrion, Commissioner of the Office of Children & Family Services, has announced the closing of six juvenile facilities, as well as the merging and downsizing of others.  The state’s plan is to place children in community-based alternatives to incarceration which will be closer to their homes and families.  The changes in facilities and the new programs are designed to prepare these young people for a successful life after they leave the juvenile justice system.

Instituting programs in local communities that serve to prevent repeat offenses by youths have worked elsewhere.  The state of Ohio began a program called RECLAIM Ohio in 1994.  RECLAIM stands for Reasoned and Equitable Community and Local Alternatives to the Incarceration of Minors.

RECLAIM Ohio is a funding initiative which encourages juvenile courts to develop a range of community-based options to meet the needs of each juvenile offender.  Thanks to RECLAIM Ohio, more youths are being helped locally where families can participate more fully in their treatment.  Institutions are less crowded, and the Ohio Department of Youth Services is focusing its treatment and rehabilitative efforts on the more serious, repetitive, felony-level youths.

Minimizing Job Losses

There is another side to this story.  Closing facilities means lost jobs.  The state should be minimizing the economic impact of these facility closings on both their employees and the communities involved.  The state is assisting staff in finding similar or alternative positions at other state agencies or facilities.  It will also need to provide economic aid to communities that are losing jobs.  Several are small upstate localities that are heavily dependent on jobs at the facilities scheduled to be closed.  The Office of Children & Families plans to work with the state’s Department of Economic Development to minimize the economic impact on these towns.

Governor Spitzer and Commissioner Carrion are to be congratulated for taking on a tough and politically sensitive task by reorganizing the state’s juvenile justice system.  The closing of facilities will save the state $16 million annually. 

But these changes will do much more than save the state money.  An effective juvenile justice system will contribute to public safety, providing juvenile offenders with a real chance for success after they leave the system.  It will help to prevent many of them from “graduating” to the state’s prisons where – given the dismal history of adult incarceration in this country - they stand a good chance of becoming career criminals.

From the New York Amsterdam News
February 21 - 27, 2008