Posted: Sunday, August 24, 2008 12:00 am
Star-Tribune Editorial Board
A better way to treat juveniles in the justice system exists, but Wyoming needs to have the political will to implement it - and soon.
Our state's leadership on this issue has been severely lacking for years. It's time for people involved in juvenile justice to put aside their jurisdictional squabbles and do what's right for our youth.
"We have a lot of kids at risk," former 5th Judicial District Judge Gary Hartman, a special adviser to Gov. Dave Freudenthal on juvenile justice issues, told us.
The state's system isn't working, and it hasn't for a long time. More than 80 percent of juvenile cases are processed in adult courts. According to a recent Kids Count report, Wyoming has the nation's second-highest rate of locking up juveniles. Hartman said a Wyoming youth is eight times more likely to be jailed than a youth in Vermont. That's a very disturbing statistic.
"I think everybody understands now … jail is not good for kids. Unless there is a threat to the community or themselves, they shouldn't be there," said Tony Lewis, director of the Department of Family Services.
So what's the reason for such a high rate of incarceration? Beth Evans, Wyoming's juvenile justice program coordinator, recently completed another in a decades-long series of studies officials have done on the state's inadequate system.
"When it comes right down to it, Wyoming doesn't really know why juveniles are locked up," Evans said. "Our lack of a systematic way of collecting data makes it very difficult to accurately develop a profile of juvenile offenses and reasons for detention."
The most frustrating thing about the system is that we already know what needs to be done to improve it. In her recent report, Evans again details what officials have for years said Wyoming needs:
* A single court that has jurisdiction over all juveniles.
* A central intake system for screening juvenile cases.
* Consistent state support of community-based intervention programs.
* Improved data collection, reporting, and information sharing.
Hartman said there are a lot of players involved, including mental health workers, educators, social workers, law enforcement, county attorneys, and judges.
"It's difficult to get them all behind one piece of legislation," Hartman said. Difficult, but necessary.
He said one of the main problems with the current system is the lack of a single point of entry. A youth who gets into trouble may be referred by law enforcement to the municipal court, circuit court, or to the county attorney's office.
Some progress is being made. Hartman said the Department of Family Services plans in October to begin using a better assessment tool that was first tried in Oregon. A youth who enters the juvenile justice system will be pre-screened to determine if he or she is at high risk. If so, a full screening will be completed to determine where the youth should be placed.
The Legislature made one improvement earlier this year, when it passed a bill that allows communities to set up joint powers boards to support juvenile services. It provided $2 million for communities to offer services and assist juveniles. The state departments of Health, Education and Family Services are now writing regulations so communities can apply for the funds.
Members of the Governor's Juvenile Justice Advisory Council are working on ways to improve the system, including getting the state to comply with federal regulations on sight-and-sound separation between youth and adults in jail. That would enable Wyoming to get more federal funding for its juvenile justice programs.
The governor's office is leading the way, but this issue also needs legislative leadership. It may be difficult to reach a consensus about what needs to be done with the juvenile justice system, and not every stakeholder will likely be happy with the results. But it is far past time to move beyond the "study" phase and start taking meaningful action to provide a fair and uniform statewide system.