A subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee held a hearing yesterday entitled “Juvenile Justice Reform in the Modern Era.” They heard from juvenile justice officials in Georgia (Joe Vignati), Indiana (Devon McDonald), Liz Ryan of Youth First and Jim SaintGermain, a young man from Haiti who entered New York’s juvenile justice system and now oversees his own mentoring organization.
Only a few Republican members of the committee attended, but one of them, Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-Texas), asked the question of most probative value. Beyond the existing federal commitments to states under the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA), “what do you think the federal government should be doing to assist states to take action and innovate” in juvenile justice?
It didn’t really get answered by the panel. Vignati credited JJPDA funds with helping fuel Georgia’s reform, and then Ratcliffe turned to other questions. Here’s an answer to Ratcliffe’s question, based on Youth Services Insider‘s coverage of this hearing and recent policy talk.
The committee heard yesterday from two states where juvenile justice reform was led by Republican governors. At the heart of both reforms was an intentional effort to drive down the number of juvenile offenders who were incarcerated after assessments determined them to be low- or moderate-risk. Everything else done in the reform of Georgia’s and Indiana’s systems started with, and is made possible by, the savings from this action.
This is the point at which the feds can leverage a small amount of funds to incentivize reform in states: by offering some form of incentive grant for states to realign around a continuum with less incarceration and more community programming.
Both Georgia and Indiana were helped along, at least in part, by the ever-dwindling amount of federal funds tied to JJDPA compliance and by foundation support for the reforms. But a lot of states use the JJDPA funds for existing programs, and foundations can’t seed reform in every states.
This is the pitch that was carried to Washington late in the Obama administration by Vincent Schiraldi of the Harvard Kennedy School’s Program in Criminal Justice, who ran New York’s probation department and, before that, the D.C. juvenile justice system. With Annie E. Casey Foundation CEO Patrick McCarthy, he penned an argument in 2016 for the closure of all large juvenile justice facilities in the country.
In discussing the federal role in this after he and McCarthy held a discussion of the paper at the Justice Department, Schiraldi told YSI that he and other advocates would push the new administration to “start a fiscal incentive to reduce and then close youth facilities. Much in the way the ’94 crime bill gave money to build youth prisons.”
“A lot of states have taken a big budget hit,” Schiraldi told YSI back in October. “They have to start up community programs first, but they can’t do that and run the old facilities.”
For systems in that scenario, he said, “a small federal investment might do it.”
And if Congress ever wanted to go big on juvenile justice reform in the modern era, there’s always the Youth PROMISE Act, a bill authored and championed for years by former House Judiciary member Bobby Scott (D-Va.). This would allocate funds to communities affected by high rates of violent crime to first develop a plan to prevent youth violence, and then implement it and evaluate it. The legislation gives communities a wide berth to build the plan around a youth development framework.
Early iterations of this bill included billions of dollars. In recent years, Scott has worked to tack a very modest version of PROMISE to attempts to reauthorize the JJDPA.
Another bill on the table, authored by Judiciary member Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-Texas), would reauthorize the once-massive and now non-existent Juvenile Accountability Block Grant (JABG). That funding stream used to complement the JJDPA funds with money states could use to for everything from restorative justice and graduated sanctions to building juvenile facilities.
JABG used to be authorized at $350 million per year; the actual appropriation for it dwindled in recent years and then went away completely. Jackson-Lee’s bill would reauthorize it at $25 million a year.
By John Kelly
Written By Chronicle Of Social Change
If House Really Wants Role on Juvenile Justice Reform, It Has Options was originally published @ The Chronicle of Social Change and has been syndicated with permission.
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My 17-year old son, Brady Folkens, died while incarcerated in a South Dakota juvenile detention facility (Star Academy) on 21 December 2013, from a reaction to Minocycline, a potentially dangerous drug used to treat acne. South Dakota state authorities have blamed a virus although no autopsy evidence for a viral infection was ever found. No state authorities have reached out to me, or tried to contact me, since Brady died. When I received this email on July 8, 2017, from a former Star Academy person I realized their massive cover-up and deflection of responsibility also involved responsibility for four other juvenile deaths. I have redacted names to protect this person’s anonymity:
“The last time I interacted with Brady was the Wednesday prior to his death. I assist escorting youth from the YCC 1 Program down for the dinner meal. As I walked by the table Brady was sitting he greeted me. To my surprise, I almost didn’t recognize him at first. He didn’t look physically well at all. I asked him how he was feeling; Brady stated, ” I’m feeling pretty bad Mrs. XXXXXXXX.” For the little amount of time we could converse, it centered around his health and me asking if the staff/medical was doing anything for him. Immediately upon returning to the YCC 1 area, I approached my department Manager about my concern for Brady’s health and asked if the Administrative Staff would send him to the hospital for a realistic evaluation. My concern and request was dismissed with comments to the effect that: Brady’s been seen by STAR Nursing Staff and there appears to be no concerns on their part to send him to the hospital. I was off work the next [week. Sunday,] I got the word that Brady died. That Sunday was saddening and challenging day for me and another staff member.”
“To me, from the atmosphere throughout STAR Academy, it seemed only a handful of staff even cared or realized the gravity of the loss of Brady. We got notices of a grief loss team doing counseling sessions would be available for both staff and youth. The days and weeks following the loss of Brady, at the facility, appeared business as usual with no legitimate activity taking place concerning the death of a youth in STAR Academy custody. Every attempt I engaged to discuss the who, what and why concerning Brady’s death was met with looks of annoyance and resentment. I was eventually set up and then forced to resign approximately 15 months afterwards. Altogether five of us former employees who questioned Admin Staff about Brady resigned with prejudice. Unfortunately I’ve never crossed paths with the other four employees since leaving STAR Academy, which is unusual considering the rural region I live in where everyone sees if not knows everyone. Former STAR Staff I do occasionally run across usually treat me as someone to avoid resisting any conversation beyond a simple greeting.”
“I do know of the former Staff that did resign that at least two among them had knowledge that would be damning to STAR Administrative Staff. Don’t know if they still live in my area or the State.”
“I’ve told you all I can recall. Unfortunately Brady isn’t the only child I consider a victim of South Dakota Juvenile Corrections. I carry the memories of four other youth whom untimely deaths is a result of their treatment while in custody.”
This insider’s revealing recollection of a very ill Brady Folkens, the wanton disregard of his terminal condition by the Star Academy staff, and the deaths of four other youths in that facility, deserve further investigation.
Had Brady Folkens been appropriately treated, by simply stopping the dangerous Minocycline when he became obviously sick four days before he died, he would be alive today.
Dawn Van Ballegooyen (Brookings SD) and Lars Aanning MD (Yankton SD)….