Reforming youth corrections

Pronouncements by the Schwarzenegger administration about its intention to solve the perennial crisis in California's youth corrections system are a welcome change. By taking on this challenge, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will confront opposition rooted in the hallway politics of Sacramento and those vested in the system. Too bad the administration's proposals will fail because they leave the system intact and provide no strategy or resources for the sweeping structural changes necessary to achieve reform. The report released earlier this month by the state Inspector General's Office showing the California Youth Authority's failure to follow through on even minimal reforms over the past three years portends what is to come.

Reforming youth corrections in California requires abolishing the large youth authority institutions and shifting to smaller, regional facilities. The youth authority's eight large institutions that house between 400 and 1,200 youths are relics from a previous century and represent a long discredited approach to youth corrections. California is among the last states to adhere to large congregate institutions where youths reside for an average of 36 months in large dormitory-style living units, each housing up to 80 youths. Although these living units have long been recognized as breeding grounds for violence, anger and despair, the governor's plan released earlier this month rejects any suggestions for their permanent closure. The tragic legacy of this system is the reinforcement of criminal propensities and recidivism rates that reach 90 percent. Rehabilitation cannot occur in an environment where violence and exploitation are viewed as necessary for survival. Reducing violence in correctional facilities requires small living units where youths feel safe and prison gangs cannot flourish. Other states such as Missouri, Pennsylvania and Texas have adopted such an approach and are now seen as national models.

The state has three options for reconstituting its juvenile-justice system:

Convert county juvenile halls. The California Youth Authority houses 3,500 youths from throughout California. In recent years, many counties have added more than 3,000 excess juvenile hall beds as a result of incentive monies from the state and federal government. Because of declining youth crime rates, there is now a glut of empty detention beds that could quickly be converted to long-term use. Many of these new detention facilities have modern designs where no more than 30 wards can be housed in single-room living units. These smaller living units, where wards can be properly supervised and protected, provide a superior alternative to CYA confinement. The state would lease the facilities from county probation departments, generating revenue for the counties.
Redesign ranches and camps. County ranches and camps are run by probation departments and serve as the last alternative to juvenile prison for many youths. These facilities have long suffered from inadequate funding and limited treatment options. To upgrade these facilities for use by the CYA , counties or the state could issue bonds and then support their ongoing operations with money reallocated from closed CYA facilities. The bonds could then be paid off through the sale of the old CYA properties. To ensure that the new facilities are used for the same population committed to the CYA, legislation will be required to extend county jurisdiction up to age 21 or 25 for specific offenses.
Contract with private agencies. Private sector agencies can attract private investment for facility construction at a time when state and county governments are financially strapped. Privately contracted facilities are also easier to hold accountable in the event of a scandal by cancelling a contract or imposing penalties than is a large publicly administered institutional system like California's.

The governor should be lauded for acknowledging the crisis in California's youth corrections system, however, no substantive change can occur if the present system is left intact. While correctional administrators have long accepted a preference for smaller facilities, California's youth correctional crisis results from the historic failure of the state's political leadership. If Gov. Schwarzenegger is to fulfil his promise of truly reforming youth corrections, he must be willing to confront the entrenched bureaucracies that will oppose substantive change.

Daniel Macallair
January 17, 2005

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/chronicle/a/2005/01/17/EDG74AQMG11.DTL

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