FrozenInMinn
10-17-2004, 04:08 PM
October 17, 2004
Juvenile justice - Treatment, rehabilitation the goals
State Rep. George Flaggs and his Juvenile Justice Committee are on the
right track in proposing that the 2005 Legislature make major changes
in the way youth are treated in the criminal justice system, but his
plan needs adjustments.
At a John C. Stennis Institute of Government lunch in Jackson on
Tuesday, Flaggs, D-Vicksburg, outlined his bill to create a Department
of Juvenile Justice to oversee Oakley and Columbia training schools,
which are the subject of a federal lawsuit by the U.S. Justice
Department.
He wants to create the juvenile department to wrest control from the
Department of Human Services, which admittedly is a behemoth agency, so
greater oversight can be had.
The Justice Department filed suit last year alleging that the two
centers practiced widespread physical punishment with little or no
rehabilitative or educational value.
Brad Schlozman, deputy assistant attorney general in the civil rights
division, said the schools were "clearly the worst two we have seen in
probably 20 years in the Department of Justice, and that's saying
something."
Creating a new department, however, is not the way to go; a new
bureaucracy won't help, and there are cost considerations. It would be
better to incorporate mental health expertise, working with juvenile
judges, and a statewide juvenile justice system (which Flaggs also
supports).
The mental health component is crucial (and likely to stir more
lawsuits if unaddressed). A report by the U.S. House Government Reform
Committee in July found that in 33 states, including Mississippi,
mentally ill youths were held in detention centers with no charges
against them.
Flaggs does have excellent suggestions regarding local community
rehabilitation services, particularly using a $5 million bond program
to share state/local building costs.
The committee's plan, with a little tinkering on oversight, should
satisfy the Justice Department and, more important, better serve
juvenile justice and youth in this state.
Juvenile justice - Treatment, rehabilitation the goals
State Rep. George Flaggs and his Juvenile Justice Committee are on the
right track in proposing that the 2005 Legislature make major changes
in the way youth are treated in the criminal justice system, but his
plan needs adjustments.
At a John C. Stennis Institute of Government lunch in Jackson on
Tuesday, Flaggs, D-Vicksburg, outlined his bill to create a Department
of Juvenile Justice to oversee Oakley and Columbia training schools,
which are the subject of a federal lawsuit by the U.S. Justice
Department.
He wants to create the juvenile department to wrest control from the
Department of Human Services, which admittedly is a behemoth agency, so
greater oversight can be had.
The Justice Department filed suit last year alleging that the two
centers practiced widespread physical punishment with little or no
rehabilitative or educational value.
Brad Schlozman, deputy assistant attorney general in the civil rights
division, said the schools were "clearly the worst two we have seen in
probably 20 years in the Department of Justice, and that's saying
something."
Creating a new department, however, is not the way to go; a new
bureaucracy won't help, and there are cost considerations. It would be
better to incorporate mental health expertise, working with juvenile
judges, and a statewide juvenile justice system (which Flaggs also
supports).
The mental health component is crucial (and likely to stir more
lawsuits if unaddressed). A report by the U.S. House Government Reform
Committee in July found that in 33 states, including Mississippi,
mentally ill youths were held in detention centers with no charges
against them.
Flaggs does have excellent suggestions regarding local community
rehabilitation services, particularly using a $5 million bond program
to share state/local building costs.
The committee's plan, with a little tinkering on oversight, should
satisfy the Justice Department and, more important, better serve
juvenile justice and youth in this state.