Thanks to changes by Camille Cain, executive director of the Texas Juvenile Justice Department, children housed in youth justice facilities now get proper sleep and healthy snacks throughout the day. In addition to promoting healthy child development, "These changes also set the stage for future initiatives aimed at helping youth learn to regulate their own emotions, responses and behaviors," Cain said in a press release.

It's a shame the state's 17-year-old youth involved in the justice system won't have the chance to benefit from Cain's new initiatives.

Under Texas law, all 17-year-olds are tried as adults by default. In 2017, the Texas Legislature attempted to amend this arcane law, yet the measure ultimately failed, in part due to concerns that the state's beleaguered juvenile justice department would be unable to handle the additional caseload. In January 2018, Cain echoed these concerns, stating that increasing the age of criminal responsibility to 18 would lead to a demand for space and staffing to hold as many as 400 more youth and oversee an additional 20,000 youth on parole. Speaking to the Texas Juvenile Justice Department advisory council, Cain argued, "That would break us."

Yet Cain's recent strategic plan shows otherwise. During this "reset" period, the youth justice population has declined 14 percent, from 1,023 in December 2017 to 872 in April 2018. This population decline has been accompanied by a 54 percent reduction in the number of acts of violence and a 43 percent reduction in major rule violations when comparing statistics during that period. The juvenile justice department has also seen substantial reductions in the use of force during interactions with youth. These data points show substantial improvement in less than a year on the job.

Moreover, according to data from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, only slightly more than 50 youth aged 17 or younger were incarcerated in a state prison or jail as of Aug. 31, 2016, far fewer than the 400 Cain worried about accommodating. If the Texas Juvenile Justice Department continues to reduce the youth population held in secure care facilities, then facility space won't be the breaking point. The department is well on its way to creating a safer, more effective justice system that would certainly have the capacity to extend its benefits to slightly older youth.

Cain's "reform" phase would present even more positive opportunities for 17-year-olds. This is informed by the latest evidence-based research on trauma-informed care, promoting interactions with family and early planning for reentry by keeping youth closer to their communities.

Instead of benefiting from these changes, however, a group of "youthful offenders," a term used to describe those held in adult prisons while under the age of 18, are moving into a former death row wing.

Juveniles make their way to between buildings at the Gainesville State School in Gainesville, Texas on Feb. 26, 2018. (Vernon Bryant / Staff Photographer)

These youth aren't the only ones paying an unfair price. The Texas economy suffers when it loses out on future employees, employers and tax dollars as a result of incarcerating 17-year-olds as adults and then releasing them with the associated mark of an adult criminal record. Research shows, for example, that a felony record can reduce the probability of job callback or offer by as much as 50 percent, with even larger detrimental impacts on persons of color. Even an arrest record, which does not necessarily indicate guilt, can hurt a person's chance of finding employment.

Public safety is also negatively impacted when "youthful offenders" return to Texas communities more likely to commit crime. A 2015 report by the Texas House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence noted national research demonstrating that youth transferred to the adult criminal justice system displayed a 34 percent increase in felony re-arrest rates compared to their peers in the youth justice system.

In light of all this, if Cain truly wishes to be successful in the final "refocus" phase of her strategic plan, perhaps it's time to refocus the attention on all youth and do what's best for the Texas economy, public safety, and the 17-year-olds who deserve a chance to benefit from the system that was built for them.

Emily Mooney is a justice policy associate at R Street Institute.

Nila Bala is a criminal justice senior fellow at R Street Institute.

They wrote this column for The Dallas Morning News.

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