Juvenile Justice in NY

Daniel Stephens, PGY-2 8/16/11

Background Until 19th Century Children were detained and

treated just like adults. They were housed with adults. Courts->Detention Centers-> Rehab

>30 years ago congress forms the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention

In 2005, the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Roper v. Simmons outlawed the juvenile death penalty 11

Overview Definitions and terms Scope of the problem New York Pediatric concerns & Action Steps Questions

Juvenile vs. Criminal Justice SystemsJuvenile Youth are

developmentally different than adults

Limit Public Access Hearing not a trial Preventative detention Sentencing options

after-school activities, mentoring, and tutoring, as well as drop-out, gang, and

substance abuse prevention.

Criminal Rehabilitation isn’t the

goal, Deterrence is. Public Record Trials are supposed to

be based on legal fact All Defendants have a

right to a trial Sentencing varies on

severity of offense and criminal history

Terms Status offenses-deemed offenses when

committed by juveniles, due to their age at the time of the activity. (EtOH, curfew, truancy, etc.) 13

Juvenile Delinquent- a person between the ages of 7 and 16 who commits an act which would be a crime if that person were an adult. 13

Juvenile Offender- a person of age 13, 14 or 15 who commits more serious or violent acts, and may be prosecuted as an adult 13

Juvenile Crime On average, juveniles were involved in one-

quarter of all serious violent victimizations (not including murder) committed annually over the last 25 years. 5

Juvenile violent crime is at its lowest level since 1987, and fell 30% between 1994 and 1998. 6

Less than half of serious violent crimes by juveniles are reported to law enforcement. 5

Juvenile Arrests

In 2003, there were an estimated 2.2 million arrests of youth in the United States. Only 5% of these were for violent crimes. 2

Overall, juveniles accounted for 16% percent of all violent crime arrests and 32% of all property crime arrests in 1999. They accounted for 54% of all arson arrests, 42% of vandalism arrests, 31% of larceny-theft arrests, and 33% of burglary arrests. 5

Juvenile Court Cases Of the roughly 2 million delinquency cases heard,

~2000 those were for criminal homicide, ~6,500 for forcible rape, ~70,000 for aggravated assault and > 180,000 were for drug related offenses. 7

Juvenile Correctional Facilities In 2003, 96,655 youth were held in residential

placement. 23% (22,356) of these were detained for violent offenses and 77% (74,600) for nonviolent offenses. 2

Black juveniles are held in residential custody in the United States at twice the rate for Hispanics and five times the rates for whites. 11

Of juvenile offenders living in residential placement facilities 40% of the offenders are black and 37.5 % are white, 18.5% are Hispanic, and the majority (86.5%) are male. 11

$$$$

After adjusting for inflation, federal expenditures increased 71%, state expenditures increased 62%, and local expenditures increased 39% between 1990 and 2000.  3

$$$$ Since FY 2002, federal $$ in programs that prevent and

reduce delinquency 50%.1

Over that same period, federal $$ on policing, prosecution and incarceration has by more than 60%1

“I didn’t like how you had to put your hands behind your back, and how they’d restrain you. I was four months pregnant, and this [staff member] slammed me up against the wall. I could’ve miscarried! He knew I was pregnant because I had purple laces. I was in mudroom standing with my hands in a diamond.” 1 – Dana G., 16, held in a unit at Tyron Girls Center in Johnstown, NY

What?

What? The risk of violent death among youth who

have been previously incarcerated is 76-fold greater than in the general population. 9

#’s

-The highest rate of homicide is among 18-24yo. -14-17 isn’t as relatively safe as it used to be. 8

Why? Parents, Kids, Teachers, Policymakers, Law

Enforcement, Pediatricians, Taxpayers, even the private sector all have a stake

New York State The New York State Office of Children and Family

Services (OCFS) is the state agency responsible for the incarceration or placement of juveniles (children under age 16 at the time of arrest)14

Juveniles may be transferred to an adult prison at age 16 at the discretion of a judge or at age 18 at the discretion of OCFS. At age 21, a youth is automatically transferred to the Department of Correctional Services (DOCS) to serve the rest of his or her time in adult prison. 14

New York State Although most of the children confined in

OCFS facilities are from New York City, the majority of these facilities are located outside of New York City. 14

New York City accounted for 60% of youth in OCFS custody in 2007. Only 5 of the 26 OCFS residential youth facilities are located in the five boroughs of New York City. 14

New York StateIt costs approximately $210,000 a year to incarcerate a child in a secure OCFS facility. 16

The average annual cost per pupil in a New York City public high school is $15,371. 16

Nearly 78% of the OCFS population was identified as needing treatment for substance abuse in 2007. 15

In 2009, nearly 48% percent of youth confined in OCFS facilities were identified as in need of special education. 15

Over 55% of youth in OCFS facilities have been screened as needing mental health services. 15

New York State What does $210,000 get?

A 2008 OCFS recidivism study found that by age 28, 89% of boys and 81% of girls were rearrested;

71% of boys and 32% of girls spent time in adult jail or

prison. 17

New York State: 2 reports August 2009, the federal Department of Justice investigated four OCFS-

operated juvenile prisons. It found

routine incidents of physical abuse and excessive use of force

lack of staff accountability

inadequate mental health services.

In December 2009, Former Governor Paterson’s Task Force on

Transforming the Juvenile Justice System released its report. It’s not just the 4 facilities.

New York City The neighborhoods with the highest rates

of juvenile detention are the neighborhoods with the highest levels of poverty, poor housing and under-performing schools. 18

In 2009, 93% of youth entering secure detention facilities were juvenile delinquents or admitted on other charges; only 7% were juvenile offenders. 18

New York City In FY2009, 49.4 % of the youth released

from DJJ facilities were readmitted to detention in the same year, a .9 % increase from the previous year

New York City-Reforms 2010 Mayor Bloomberg announced, the

merger of DJJ into the Administration for Children’s Services 19

The merger would allow NYC to offer more in-home, community-based therapeutic services to youth who do not pose a risk to public safety. DJJ was renamed the Division of Youth and Family Justice. 19

New York City-reforms 2007, NYC created a scientifically validated risk

assessment instrument (RAI) and partnered with several non-profit organizations to implement a continuum of community-based alternatives to detention for court-involved youth. 20

Comparable programs around the country cost between $2,500 and $15,000 per youth per year 20

Recent data suggest that 65% of youth admitted to detention score low- or medium-risk and should not have been detained 20

Role of Pediatrics AAP paper suggests 46% of youth entering

correctional facilities with medical problems. (Asthma, HTN, acne, diabetes)

7% rate of TB 90% prevalence of Dental Caries or

missing, fractured or infected teeth Increased risk for STI’s, Drug abuse,

Unintended pregnancy, HIV, Psychiatric d/o 9

Role of Pediatrics Injury requiring treatment occurs at rates

of up to 60% for young men and 35% for young women while incarcerated.

Recommendations: Comprehensive care Establishment of a Medical Home* Advocate for adequate facilities. (10% of youth

nationally housed in adult facilities) Advocate on Local and State levels for needs of

youth in detention

Action Steps NYC Department of Education (DOE) operates Passages

Academy, a full time educational program that tailors its curriculum to the needs of youth in detention.

The Resident Advocacy Program (RAP) advocates for the rights of detained youth. (2 reverends, a retired judge and a social worker.) Soon an MD?

E-mail the commissioner. John B. Mattingly directly from the ACS homepage. (I send one per month)

Become a MENTOR!! (PREVENTION) LANG, BBBS, MPNY, MUSA BBBS study, pair vs waiting list = half as likely to try illicit

drugs, and a third less likely to hit someone.

Sources 1) Justice Policy Institute. (May 2009). The Costs of Confinement: Why Good Juvenile Justice Policies Make

Good Fiscal Sense. 2) U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Juvenile Offenders

and Victims: 2006 National Report (Washington D.C., U.S. Department of Justice, 2006) 3) Bureau of Justice Statistics http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov key facts 4)

Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Patterns and Determinants of Criminal Justice Involvement Among Youth in Substance Abuse Treatment Programs. Godette DC, Mulatu MS, Leonard KJ, Randolph S, Williams N. J Correct Health Care. 2011 Aug 4.

5) Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, press release, November 1999. http://ojjdp.ncjrs.org/about/press/ojp991123.html

6) National Crime Victimization Survey, cited in Juvenile Offenders and Victims: 1999 National Report (OJJDP). http://ojjdp.ncjrs.org/ojstatbb/qa135.html

7) U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/ojjdp/231683.pdf

8) FBI, The Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) 9) Health Care for Children and Adolescents in the Juvenile Correctional Care System (April 2001)

Pediatrics Vol. 107 No4. AAP Committee on Adolescence 10) OJJDP, Juvenile Offenders and Victims, 1999 National Report p. 192-7 11) Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice http://www.cjcjorg/juvenile/justice/juvenile/justice/history/0 12) Strom KJ. Profile of State Prisoners under Age 18, 1985-97 (Fact Sheet), 2000, Washington DC,

Office of Justice Programs, US Dept of Justice. 13) Parent DG. Conditions of Confinement: Juvenile Detention and Corrections Facilities. Research

Summary. 1994, Washignton DC, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention 14) New York State Executive Budget Documents, 2007-08. www.state.ny.us

Sources cont. 15) “Selected Characteristics of Youth Entering and Leaving OCFS Custody Jan, 07-Mar. 07 or In Custody on

March 31, 2007 and the Same Periods Last Year 16) Data provided by the New York State Office of Children and Family Services

http://www.ocfs.state.ny.us/main/detention_reform/questions.asp 17) Long-Term Consequences of Delinquency: Child Maltreatment and Crime in Early Adulthood; Rebecca

Colman, Do Han Kim, Susan Mitchell-Herzfeld, Therese A. Shady; New York State Office of Children and Family Services; March 31, 2009.

18) “By the Numbers” Department of Juvenile Justice Website 2009 http://www.nyc.gov/html/djj/pdf/admi_detention_by_charge.pdf

19) NYC ACS website, http://www.nyc.gov/html/acs/html/yfj/youth_family_justice.shtml 20) Testimony of John Feinblatt, Criminal Justice Coordinator to the City Council of New York on the Family

Court Risk Assessment Instrument on September 25, 2009.

Questions? Comments? Reactions? …? Data we didn’t see? Opportunity for Advocacy, Research,

Volunteers