Justice System Disregards Families of Youth Offenders, Report Says

A collaborative report from an alliance of grassroots organizations proclaims that families of juvenile offenders are part of the solution to youth crime, not the problem.

According to Justice for Families (J4F), the umbrella organization of a dozen community-based groups from across the United States, the juvenile justice system has been dysfunctional for decades, overwhelming judges, probation officers and social workers with "tremendous caseloads" and "inflexible rules." As a result, schools are over-policed, and the needs of kids and the concerns of their parents have been ignored or disparaged.

"In describing this reality." the September 2012 J4F report says, "the intention is not to shift blame from youth and their families to the professionals who work in juvenile justice systems, but to demonstrate how systemic policies and procedures shape outcomes as well as the possibilities for individual action,"

The J4F report, which relies on statistical analyses and survey responses from 1,039 families of youth offenders in more than 20 cities nationwide, says that much of what the mainstream media promotes as a critical rise in youth crime is rather "typical adolescent behavior—mischief, defiance, or ordinary schoolyard fights with no weapons or serious injury." But zero-tolerance policies nationwide have led not only to double the amount of school suspensions since the 1970s, but also a 38% increase in school-based law enforcement personnel between 1997 and 2007. In fact, two-thirds of kids age 12-15 go to schools where cops or security guards patrol the halls. And, not surprisingly, one-third of parents reported to J4F that their child's first arrest was at school.

In 2008, according to J4F, of the 348,000 kids incarcerated in pretrial detention centers, only 12% had been accused of a serious violent crime. Yet, in spite of an overall decline in serious youth crimes, the justice system is spending $5.7 billion per year incarcerating juveniles, often in youth prisons located in remote areas that hinder family visits with arbitrary rules.

"Programs like Scared Straight and other 'reality' TV shows about prisons promote the idea that locking up young people will scare them straight," the report says. "However, research demonstrates that detention has a profoundly negative impact on young people's mental health and well-being, employment and educational outcomes, and increases the likelihood of becoming more deeply involved in the justice system."

According to J4F's survey of families, judges and attorneys are doing a poor job of balancing the tough-on-crime rhetoric with thoughtful and competent outcomes in court. Just 18% of families report that judges and public defenders are helpful during the court process, and 80% of survey respondents say they were never asked by a judge what should happen to their children.

“Difficulties and a sense of disrespect toward the families during the court proceedings might be more tolerable,"' the report argues, "if lengthy sentences under court supervision and in youth prisons weren't so routine."

J4F offers a "blueprint" to transform the juvenile justice system that includes a call for greater inclusion for families when kids are on the verge of suspension at school, when kids have been placed under arrest, prior to and during court proceedings, and while they're incarcerated. The report also recommends that communities and schools decriminalize truancy and substance use and abuse among kids; stop labeling youth as criminals in gang databases; close "inherently abusive and dangerous youth prisons"; and that courts "eliminate financially burdensome fines" and other costs.

"This country faces a choice," the report concludes. "To continue on the path of community disinvestment and incarceration or to build on family strengths and invest in increasing safety over time. To continue to treat youth and families as objects of punishment and blame or to partner with youth and families in processes of community reconciliation.”

"Most Americans would agree that the latter is the better choice.”

Source: Justice for Families, “Families Unlocking Futures: Solutions to the Crisis in Juvenile Justice,'' September 2012

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