Juvenile Justice Reform 101

Up until this time, I have been posting articles and information concerning Juvenile Justice Reform.  For the next few weeks (or how ever long it takes), I want to focus on educating everyone on the issues surrounding juvenile reform policy.  Juvenile Justice Reform 101.  It has occurred to me, and to my advocate friends, that most people are not informed on the issues at all.  They have false information stuck in their heads, they do not see how this has anything to do with them or they simply did not realize that there was a need for their voice.

That is where I want to begin.  If we want to impact our society, schools, neighborhoods, communities, state or our nation, we have to choose to pay attention and get involved.  That is easy for me to say because I have a cause (actually 2) that involve me and my family on a personal level.  That causes me to pay attention and to get involved.  It is the only hope we, as a family, have for the future. 

There is a larger picture that has become painfully clear to me.  While the issues that I advocate for personally involve my children and of course the rest of our family as a result, I was shocked and horrified to find out how many families, like us, are facing the same issues.  Once I realized how many families were facing the same issues that I was facing, I began to see the impact that these issues had on our community and our city.  Then, as my vision opened further, I saw the impact it had on my state and the nation.  With this realization came the knowledge and understanding that the issues I advocate for impact every family in the United States!  Every single family in this country is impacted in some way by these issues and I will show you how.

I advocate for two major issues.  The first being Juvenile Justice and Prison Reform.  The second issue I advocate for is Disability Education and Habilitation Reform.  Now I want you to follow me closely on this and I assure you, you will never look at politics and your community the same.

There is a connection between the two issues that I advocate for.  They both deal with young people with disadvantages.  They both deal with young people who’s needs are not being met by programs, rehabilitation or habilitation.  They are both young people groups that most people view as “someone else’s problem”.  They are both the future hope of our country, for the way we take care of the least, the poor and the needy, directly reflects on how well we are taking care of our population in general! AND it will determine the health, strength and stability of the next generation in our nation!

Now, for those of you that think in purely financial terms, let me present you with some thoughts to ponder.  At any time during the year 150,000 juveniles are being held in adult prison facilities.  At an average cost of $25,000.00 per juvenile, that costs you $3,750,000.  per year.  You are housing 150,000 juveniles in a facility that is violent, coercive and demeaning, where they are held in hopelessness, anger and fear.  Let’s call it the University of Despair because for the same cost, you could be paying to educate these young people, creating a future hope for them and for your community, state and nation.  Since juvenile rehabilitation programs are all but extinct in most areas, because we have taken a tough on crime and zero tolerance stand and because we did not take into account that this meant we were declaring war on our own children, the states in our country have taken to housing juvenile offenders in adult prison facilities.  What do you think they are encountering there?  Do you think we are teaching them a lesson or are we cementing a life of dependency on us?  You see, if we do not take the opportunity when they are juveniles to rehabilitate and educate them, we may very well end up caring for them in prison for the majority of their lives.  That financial burden will be ours and our children’s! 

Now here is another thought.  We can either pay for rehabilitation and education, which costs significantly less than incarceration OR we can continue to build prisons.  The money we pour into prison facilities takes away from the money we COULD be spending on education, disability programs, health care, elder care or keeping up with road repair and parks programs.  We could be spending the money on things to better our communities and better the lives of those living in the communities at the same time.

As adults, parents, members of our society, we are responsible for creating the environment that produces juvenile delinquency.  We cannot hide from that fact.  We are the adults and are responsible for the care of ALL children.  We can let the sociologists and psychologists continue to ponder the questions “Why is this happening?”  We need to begin by asking “What do we need to do to change the outcome?”

My daughter is almost 24 years old.  She was diagnosed with autism at the time when intervention programs were being “tested”.  She was not even diagnosed until she was 6 because the awareness movement for autism was still  forthcoming.  When they wanted to continue testing (medically) and putting her through the trauma of clinics, I asked the professionals if this would provide a cure?  They said no.  I told them that I thought our efforts would be best placed on her development.  “Let’s take what we have and make her the best she can be.” 

We have a large population of young people that are failing, sick, dying and lost.  Let us commit ourselves to take them where they are and help them become the best they can be.  For all of our sakes. 

Where do we start?  With education.  That is the next issue I will tackle.  Does “No Child Left Behind” work?  Or has it caused the gap between races, economic advantage and invention vs academics to widen?   

To be continued…..

This entry was posted on 24. July 2008 at 11:09 and is filed under Prison Reform Advocates. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.

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