The 3
articles I looked at discuss juvenile justice reforms that are being proposed
by Governor Earl Ray Tomblin in West Virginia. The state government will be
joining with the Pew Charitable Trust to make these reforms happen. The
researchers with the Trust will review the state's current processes and assess
what needs to be changed. This will not cost the state anything, the Trust is
paying for it. The Governor said that this juvenile review will be comparable
to the Justice Reinvestment Act which occurred in West Virginia's adult prison
system. After that research occurred and some programs were put in place the
adult prison population has decreased by around 1,000 in the past year.
Between
1997 and 2011 West Virginia had the largest percentage increase out of any
state in youth confinements. Reports showed that in 2012, truancy was the cause
for 40% of juveniles in court and the majority of them ended up in juvenile
facilities.
Governor
Tomblin's proposal is focused on keeping kids in school. He says
“Truancy, a lot of times, is just a symptom when what’s really happening is
trying to figure out what’s that trigger point for that child."
He is proposing a $4.5 million plan which includes initiatives to keep
children in the classroom and out of the courtroom. His idea is to place
truancy diversion specialists in each county. These diversion specialists will
provide early intervention services using a two step process in which community
based alternatives are expanded and youth reporting centers to provide in-home
programs rather than out of home placements are added. He has also proposed new investments for
mental health programs, family therapies, and substance abuse recovery
services.
Governor Tomblin says “They (judges) need to know what services are
available so they could get the help in the community and get some kind of
guidance before they end up putting the juvenile in one of our secure
facilities.” He believes that the money the state will save in keeping
low-status offenders out of facilities can be used to create community programs
to help foster youth and communities and prevent juveniles from being in the
system.
http://wvmetronews.com/2015/02/02/governors-juvenile-justice-proposals-are-aimed-at-early-intervention/
http://wvmetronews.com/2014/12/11/tomblin-confident-truancy-reduction-will-keep-more-kids-out-of-juvenile-justice-system/
http://wvmetronews.com/2014/06/18/states-juvenile-justice-system-under-landmark-review/
This is some real revolutionary thinking. I've never understood a punishment that, in a lot of ways, mimics the act being punished. The idea of removing a child from their school as a punishment for them not attending said school is asinine, and I'm glad the governor sees it as counterproductive. This sort of change needs to be applied to the justice system across the board. I did a little work at my previous internship on a program that provides counseling and career services to fathers who have failed to pay their child support, which operated alongside the courts, in order to actually solve the problem, i.e., get the father employed and paying child support, rather than in jail doing nothing. That program and this proposal seem analogous in a lot of ways. They both seem to eschew punishment of a symptom in support of wanting to seek out and correct the cause said symptom.
ReplyDeleteI strongly support Governor Tomblin's proposal. Truancy is a symptom of a much larger problem, and children should never be punished for their problems. They need to be treated. It is inspiring to read that about a solution-focused, strengths-based politician who wants to help youth rather than punish them. Thank you for sharing this with our class.
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