System Not Working: Paterson Panel To Fix Juvenile Justice
By TOMMY HALLISSEY
Governor Paterson Sept. 10 announced the formation of a task force to examine ways to improve the state's juvenile justice program, which has come under fire recently over several incidents of violence, including one in which youths brutally beat a guard at a facility upstate.

The task force will look at ways to design a strategic blueprint for transforming the system, including examining alternatives to institutional placement, ways to assist children's re-entry into the community, and redefining the conditions of confinement for juveniles across the state. The state is considering using a more-therapeutic model to treat juveniles.

"It is imperative that our state seek alternatives to a costly system that is not serving New York's children, families and communities well," said Governor Paterson in a statement. "With 80 percent of the children in New York's custody released and re-arrested within three years, reform of New York's juvenile justice system will not only provide those children with necessary services for success, but will translate into safer communities across the state."

The task force will study ways to improve treatment for juveniles in the areas of mental health and substance abuse, as well as address the disproportionate number of minorities in the system. More than three-quarters of the 1,900 children in the system, which cost the state $200,000 each, are African-American or Latino.

John Jay College of Criminal Justice President Jeremy Travis will chair the panel, which is comprised of national, state and local experts in law enforcement, academia, government and community-based organizations. "I am confident that this task force will enable us to develop a more comprehensive and less punitive approach to the placement of juveniles involved in the juvenile justice system," he said.

Office of Children and Family Services Commissioner Gladys Carrion will oversee the task force, but the Vera Institute of Justice, a Manhattan non-profit, will handle the day-to-day business.

Brooklyn State Sen. Carl Kruger, chair of the Senate Social Services, Children and Families Committee, said, "It is clear that the current juvenile justice system isn't working, since more than 80 percent of the youth in the care and custody of OCFS re-offend after release within three years. I am pleased with Governor Paterson's willingness to examine our juvenile justice system in the hope of creating a balanced approach to juvenile delinquency — one that includes successful and cost-effective community-based solutions that addresses both the welfare of the child and the interests of protecting public safety."