California stands out for its work in turning young lives around, according to a new report on youth prisons. The report recommends closing all youth prisons and reinvesting in other types of programs. Managing editor Tami Roleff has more…
The report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation shows youth correctional facilities are expensive and prone to abuse, and concludes they fail at reform. Patrick McCarthy of the Foundation says California juvenile justice reforms have reduced the number of youths in state custody from 10,000 in 1996 to fewer than 1,000 today.
“The last figures that I saw is that they had 700 in those facilities today because they provided incentives for the counties and the communities to take responsibility for their own children.”
The report notes that California also passed legislation to only admit youths that have committed serious offenses, enacted programs to increase prevention and closed eight of its 11 large youth corrections facilities.
Instead of locking up young people, McCarthy says the corrections culture should focus on rehabilitating them.
“We’ve got to build a juvenile justice system that’s based on the very simple principle of developing young people’s capacity, giving them opportunity,” he stresses. “Holding them accountable, of course, is also very important, but doing it in a way that provides them a path to get back on track.”
CALIFORNIA JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM BENEFITTING FROM REFORM
