Juvenile Justice An Overview for New Legislators

Transcription

1 Juvenile Justice An Overview for New Legislators Track 1: Introduction to issues, panelists Newly elected legislators are likely to have many questions about the juvenile justice system and their role as a state legislator. Even returning members who are new to juvenile justice issues have questions about how policy and practice come together. In this audio program, a group of experienced state lawmakers discuss comprehensive juvenile justice and the process of crafting and moving related legislation. This discussion is moderated by Mary Fairchild, an NCSL expert on juvenile justice and youth-at-risk issues in NCSL s Children and Families Program. She has more than 20 years experience working with state legislatures on children s, criminal justice and legislative management issues. She holds a master s degree in social work, and a bachelor s degree in political science. Legislator participants: Representative Toby Goodman of Arlington, Texas, is serving his sixth term as a Republican in the Texas House of Representatives. He chairs the House Committee on Juvenile Justice and Family Issues, and has been instrumental in juvenile justice reform legislation in the state. Representative Goodman is vicechair of NCSL s Assembly on State Issues and has been a chair of NCSL s Committee on Children, Families and Health. He is a family law attorney. Representative Mike Lawlor is in his seventh term as a Democratic member of the Connecticut House of Representatives. He represents the 99th district, which comprises East Haven and Short Beach. He chairs the Joint Judiciary Committee, and was a principal author of juvenile justice reform legislation in Representative Lawlor currently is chair of NCSL s Law and Justice Committee. An attorney, he has been a prosecutor with the Office of the State s Attorney in Connecticut. Senator Lyle Hillyard has represented Senate District 25 in northern Utah since Before that, he served two terms in the Utah House. A Republican, he has been Senate president, majority leader, and serves on committees including Judiciary, Human Services, Legislative Management and Executive Appropriations. Senator Hillyard has been a leader in review and reform of juvenile justice in Utah. An attorney, he is president of the law firm Hillyard, Anderson and Olsen. Representative Shirley Krug has served in the Wisconsin Assembly since Since 1999 she has been the minority leader for the Assembly Democrats. Currently, she serves on the Committee on Assembly Organization, the Joint Legislative Council, Joint Committee on Legislation Organization and the Committee on Rules. She has been principally involved in legislation in her state to address child abuse and neglect, children in need of protection, mental health and victims rights. She also has been an adjunct professor of economics.

2 Track 2: What has been the context for juvenile justice reform in states, and how has a comprehensive framework been used? High profile crimes prompt public and legislative attention to juvenile crime and justice. Often, review and reforms take place amid tension between rehabilitative and punitive responses to juvenile crime. Major reform of juvenile justice takes time; there are no quick fixes. The federal Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention had an important role in designing a comprehensive framework for juvenile justice. Comprehensive juvenile justice is both a continuum and a strategy. It starts with preven tion in childhood and includes early intervention and accountability when juveniles first offend. A comprehensive strategy includes a range of sanctions from least to most restrictive, depending on the offender and the offense. Corrections options for the most serious offenders, including after care, are part of the comprehensive model. In Utah, assessment of each young offender, early intervention and graduated sanctions became key components of a reform package. Achieving a seamless system of juvenile justice often means making long-term investments in prevention programs and identifying at-risk youths at, or even before, birth. Graduated sanctions are imposed when a young person first offends, followed by progressively tougher sanctions if he or she continues to offend. In Texas, a statutory, sevenstep system holds offenders accountable and reduces disparate handling of juveniles. Interbranch, public-private and agency collaboration often is necessary for juvenile justice reform.. Legislatures can facilitate such collaboration by establishing a structure that brings players together. C OMPREHENSIVE JUVENILE JUSTICE Juvenile Conduct Problem Behavior Non-Criminal Misbehavior Delinquency Serious, Chronic, Violent Offending Early Childhood & Family Services Prevention for Youth-at-Risk Immediate Intervention Graduated Sanctions Juvenile Corrections After Care Systematic Responses

3 Legislation also can bring about evaluation of programs and services by establishing those requirements and providing funding. Doing so identifies the programs that work. Legislative performance audit agencies also review and report on programs. Lawmakers need to be cautious about drawing conclusions between crime rates and legislative acts. Track 3: Juvenile justice reform in the legislative environment New members should learn procedural rules as well as the personalities involved. It s important tobuild relationships. There is no substitute for expertise on an issue. Knowledge is credibility regardless of party differences. The best policy approaches sometimes carry the biggest price tags. A member developing and sponsoring such legislation must build support on the budget side, as well. Lawmakers need to be constructive members of the committees to which they are assigned. Legislative leaders and key court or agency officials should be involved in developing reforms. Their input and ownership are likely to be valuable. Building concensus is the crux of the legislative process. Bipartisanship, a good working relationship with the committee chair, and a willingness to listen to others can help move bills and deflect amendments. Agency and advocacy supporters can help demonstrate common interests and sell your bill. Persistence pays. Ambitious programs can start as pilots and new directions in policy can be crafted over several years. Your ultimate goal should be to serve the people of your state not your legislative batting average. Track 4: Building expertise, leadership on juvenile justice issues Getting the perspective of those who work with and for kids outside the statehouse is helpful. Probation officers, youth workers and teachers have good ideas. Solicit them. Constituent calls also are an opportunity to learn about the system. The cases brought to you often are illustrative of how the system works if you take the time to follow up on them. The financial implications of policy decisions on juvenile crime often are enormous. There are many categories of kids the juvenile justice system must address. Status offenders, such as truants, runaways and the like, require certain policy strategies; serious and violent offenders require others.

4 Legislative staff provide a valuable institutional memory. Staff and service agencies can be very useful to members as they learn about juvenile justice systems and policy. Legislative orientations for committee members sometimes include presentations by key agency and court officials. Arranging follow up meetings in your district and out in the field yields more useful information and insight. The media often paint a more sensational picture of juvenile crime and justice than actually exists. Leaders on these issues are prepared with information that helps leverage narrow coverage. Legislators can be proactive in providing the media with success stories. In many ways, juvenile detention centers are the dumping ground, representing the most complicated problems of our society. Visit yours for a dose of reality. Track 5: Emerging issues, suggested resources Emerging issues in juvenile justice include racial disparity in the system, particularly in confinement of youths. Mentally ill youths are becoming a larger proportion of juveniles in the system. Find out in your state how many kids are being prosecuted as adults. Also explore the outcome of sentences and recidivism rates in those cases. Exchange of ideas with other states helps legislators build knowledge and shape strategies for reform. NCSL and other national organizations provide such opportunities. Partisanship and the fast-paced pressure of the legislature means that the civility of the conversation is not always what it should be. The stories of children in the juvenile justice system can be heart-rending. It also can be gratifying to be involved in shifting policy and resources to help divert kids from a life of crime and to spare victims.

5 This program was recorded on Dec. 12, 2000, and produced in the spring of Produced by: Mary Fairchild for the National Conference of State Legislatures, Denver, Colo. Sound engineer/editor: Mike Marek, Terrapin Sound, Littleton, Colo. Copyright 2001 National Conference of State Legislatures. All rights reserved. Juvenile Justice: An Overview for New Legislators This product is supported by Grant No. 98-MU-MU-0003 from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. The NCSL project is overseen in Washington, D.C., by Emily Martin, director of Training and Technical Assistance, and Frank Porpotage, project monitor. Their continued support and assistance to NCSL and state legislatures is gratefully acknowledged. Opinions in this document are those of the participants in the audio program and do not necessarily represent official positions or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice or NCSL. To receive a copy of NCSL s publication, Comprehensive Juvenile Justice: A Legislator s Guide, 2nd Edition, call the Denver office at or visit To request information or assistance from the NCSL juvenile justice project, call or Mary Fairchild or Molly Burton in the Denver office at mary.fairchild@ncsl.org or molly.burton@ncsl.org