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04-10-2007
Voices Testimony on the Juvenile Justice Initiative
Testimony on the Juvenile Justice Initiative
Before the House Finance & Appropriations Committee
Transportation and Justice Subcommittee
April 10, 2007
Presented by Yvonne C. Hunnicutt, Policy Associate
Voices for Ohio’s Children
Good afternoon, Chairman Patton and members of the Transportation and Justice Sub-Committee. I thank you for your time and appreciate the opportunity to speak with you. My name is Yvonne C. Hunnicutt and I am the Policy Associate for Voices for Ohio’s Children and the primary facilitator of the Juvenile Justice Initiative workgroup.
Voices for Ohio's Children is a non-partisan group of public, not-for-profit and private sector organizations and individuals who share a mutual concern about improving the well-being of our community’s children and their families. Through a collaborative effort and a collective voice, Voices promotes improvements in the well being of our community's children and their families. Consequently, our Juvenile Justice Initiative workgroup is a broad-based group of individuals and organizations from Ohio to grow an informed, collective, community voice to advocate for transformation of Ohio’s juvenile justice system. We recognize that a sound juvenile justice policy agenda rests upon an understanding of adolescent development and incorporates the following best practice standards:- Increasing the range of effective community-based alternatives to institutionalization;
- Addressing the challenges of youth with special needs and meaningfully engaging families and youth in their care:
- Improving access to legal advocates to ensure effective representation in the system, and;
- Ensuring that all youth, regardless of race or income, have equal opportunities for treatment and care.
My testimony today is on behalf of the Juvenile Justice Initiative.
Expansion of RECLAIM
We support the increased funding for the RECLAIM County Subsidy included in the Executive Budget and recommend, however, that this Committee consider an even greater increase in the RECLAIM funding.
Youth who go through RECLAIM-funded community-based programs are proven to be significantly less likely to recidivate than youth sent to state institutions. According to the University of Cincinnati, Evaluation of Ohio’s RECLAIM Funded Programs, Community Correctional Facilities, and DYS Facilities (8/05), the lower risk youth served by community-based RECLAIM programs have lower recidivism rates (based on adjudication data) than the lower risk youth who are sent to DYS. For moderate risk groups, youth served by RECLAIM programs and Community Based Corrections Facilities had significantly lower recidivism (18% and 16% respectively) than did the moderate risk youth discharged or released from ODYS facilities (25% and 30% respectively).
There are, however, some ways that the delivery of RECLAIM programs can and should be improved. According to the evaluation cited above, youth served by county RECLAIM programs were 77% Caucasian, while only 46% of youth released from DYS facilities were Caucasian. Youth of color are being under-served by county-level RECLAIM programs and over-represented in DYS.
Additionally, far too many children with behavioral health issues end up in the juvenile justice system. Statewide, six pilot projects are working to divert children with behavioral health issues from the juvenile justice system (these pilot projects are funded through the Department of Mental Health through the ABC or Access to Better Care Initiative). But more can and should be done to ensure that these children receive appropriate treatment locally for their behavioral health problems.
Many of the community-based RECLAIM programs are proven to work and have demonstrated lower recidivism rates, but they are not reaching some of the youth most in need. We respectfully ask the Committee to consider investing more state dollars in the proven, effective, community-based programs funded through RECLAIM, with a requirement that counties that receive the additional funding use it to target services to youth of color and those with behavioral health problems.
Additionally, we suggest that funds be placed in DYS’s budget for the purpose of providing Parent Advocates to families whose children are returning home from a DYS institution or place additional funds in ODMH’s budget (line item 335-404) in order to expand the program to serve this population.
Increasing Parental Involvement
For youth who are incarcerated, staying connected with family is an essential part of a child’s rehabilitation. Currently, however, families are charged exorbitant collect phone call rates when their children call them from a DYS facility. Families report financially crippling phone bills costing thousands of dollars, just for staying in touch with their incarcerated children. If we’re truly interested in rehabilitating these children and want to ensure successful transitions home upon their release that will benefit the well-being of the whole community, we should be encouraging them to stay connected with their families.
The state receives a 49.5% commission from the collect phone calls made from DYS institutions. Families – many of whom are already struggling financially – are facing collect phone call bills that are twice as expensive as they should be, so that the state can receive the 49.5% commission.
According to the report from the Youth Call Out Phone System Task Force, appointed by DYS Director Stickrath, the department receives approximately $500,000 annually from this telephone commission. That money goes into DYS’s Industrial and Entertainment Fund, which is used for items such as youth wages, recreation, postage stamps, school supplies and college entrance tests.
Although the expenditures of the Industrial and Entertainment Fund are worthy and must be continued, the Juvenile Justice Initiative believes that they should not be funded by outrageously high collect phone call rates that place an undue financial burden on families and that act to terminate communication between youth and their families.
Therefore, we respectfully ask this Committee to add $500,000 to DYS’s Industrial and Entertainment Fund, with the understanding that the department will immediately discontinue the 49.5% commission it receives from collect phone calls.
Conclusion
In closing, children who are involved in the juvenile justice system are more likely to be rehabilitated and less likely to re-offend if they receive treatment in smaller, community-based facilities and if they are able to maintain and strengthen their family ties during the time they are incarcerated. That is why the Juvenile Justice Initiative has focused on these two issues today: increased funding for RECLAIM and the elimination of the collect phone call surcharge. We believe these are more than expenditures – they are investments in the future of Ohio’s youth. The State of Ohio will ultimately save money and lives if we invest today in what has been proven to effectively rehabilitate children in the juvenile justice system.
Chairman Patton, members of the Committee, I thank you for your time and the opportunity to speak on behalf of our youth and I welcome any questions you may have.
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