Mike Wynn

@MikeWynn_CJ

FRANKFORT, Ky. – Troubled children who skip school or run away from home will receive diversion programs rather than jail time under sweeping reforms that take effect next year in Kentucky.

The state has ranked high nationally in recent years for incarcerating children on "status offenses," infractions that aren't considered crimes for adults such as truancy, running away or uncontrollable behavior.

Youth jail admissions on status offenses totaled around 1,125 in Kentucky last year. But lawmakers, officials and advocacy groups behind the reforms say they intend to curtail those numbers by keeping juveniles at home, in the classroom and out of the criminal pipeline.

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They also are moving away from incarcerating children for minor crimes — all at a projected savings of $24 million for the state over the next five years.

"This could be the most fundamental reform for kids in Kentucky since 1990 with the Kentucky Education Reform Act," said Terry Brooks, executive director of Kentucky Youth Advocates, a statewide child advocacy organization. "I think it is that deep and that broad."

Senate Judiciary Chairman Whitney Westerfield, R-Hopkinsville, said it will mark a "sea change" in the state's approach to juvenile justice.

"For some kids, you need to have a softer touch," he said. "Instead of just locking them up and putting them in that environment, perhaps what they need is a mentor."

The shift results from Senate Bill 200, a measure sponsored by Westerfield and based on a two-year review of state policies. It passed with bipartisan support in the final days of the 2014 General Assembly.

When the bill takes effect in the summer of 2015, it will expand the role of court-designated workers and create a review process to oversee cases in the juvenile system.

The goal is to develop an individualized diversion plan that will steer status offenders into community services, where they can get help with the underlying troubles causing their behavior.

Experts say offenses are frequently related to emotional problems, poverty, substance abuse or turmoil at home.

Other provisions in the bill restrict courts from committing juveniles to state custody for misdemeanors and class D felonies unless there are charges involving deadly weapons or sexual offenses, or the child has a criminal history.

The bill also reduces the amount of time low-level offenders can spend in out-of-home placement, depending on the severity of the offense and the child's criminal history.

Supporters say the changes will help concentrate the state's most expensive resources on the most high-risk youths.

"From a policy standpoint, it's a win-win," said House Judiciary Chairman John Tilley, D-Hopkinsville.

Seeking better outcomes

Kentucky has cut the number of detention bookings on status offenses around 50 percent in the past six years, down from a peak of 2,270 in 2007.

Much of the decline has resulted from efforts by judges and community officials to find alternatives to incarceration.

Yet, many lawmakers and advocates have remained critical of jailing low-level offenders, arguing that it diverts money from more serious crimes and leads to worse outcomes for children.

Both Westerfield and Tilley sought to eliminate all use of secure detention for status offenders, but this year's legislation stopped short of removing that option to build support in the legislature.

The bill is instead will prevent jailing status offenders in all but the most difficult cases, when children refuse efforts at intervention.

School administrators have fought to preserve jail as a last resort, arguing that it provides a "hammer" for children with the worst behavior problems.

Legislators who opposed the reform also called it soft on juvenile crime and charged that temporary detention is often the best way to reunite families and protect children from further harm.

The bill "holds juveniles less accountable for their actions," said Sen. John Schickel, R-Union. "It undermines parental authority. And, it undermines the authority of locally elected officials, county attorneys and judges, and delegates some of that authority to unelected bureaucrats out of Frankfort."

Westerfield and Tilley argue that the diversion process ultimately forces parents to become more involved, rather than leaving a child's supervision to teachers or the court system.

"The bill does all the things that (Schickel) says it should do," Westerfield said. "This bill strengthens families. It brings parents in and more involved than they are today. It holds them more accountable for doing their job."

Brooks, meanwhile, contends the bill has essentially eliminated the jail option for status offenses because he doubts that officials who oversee an child's diversion plan would resort to incarceration.

'Untold savings'

According to the PEW Charitable Trusts — which helped craft this year's legislation — a number of states, including Texas, have enacted similar reforms in recent years.

A PEW analysis of Texas' overhaul found that it contributed to large drops in juvenile detention while saving money and improving public safety.

Between 2007 and 2011, jail admissions there fell 59 percent, the state saved more than $50 million annually and juvenile arrests declined 27 percent, PEW reported.

Jake Horowitz, state policy director for PEW's Public Safety Performance Project, said the juvenile commitment rate to out-of-home facilities also dropped 48 percent across the nation between 1997 and 2011, which mirrored a parallel decline in juvenile arrests for violent crimes.

States have recognized "the high cost and poor return on placing lower-risk youth in state-run, out-of-home facilities," he said. "The research here is quite clear that putting kids in these out-of-home facilities does not lower the likelihood of their re-offending."

In Kentucky's case, about half of the juvenile justice department's $102.6 million budget was spent on secure and non-secure residential facilities last year, with the average bed costing $100,000 annually. About 13 percent of children in detention were status offenders.

The Department for Community Based Services also spends $6 million a year on out-of-home placements for status offenders.

Officials project that the reforms eventually will cut the out-of-home population about 30 percent and set the stage for closing detention facilities or reducing capacity.

Westerfield also argues that "untold savings" will result from diverting children off the criminal path.

"We are putting them in there with the worst possible influences, and for a lot of kids, for things they are not ultimately responsible for," he said.

Moving toward implementation

The reform includes provisions to create an oversight council of legislators, officials and others to monitor implementation, and it calls on the state to improve data collection and better track juvenile recidivism.

Chief district judges are also tasked with appointing a 15-member response team to advise court-designated workers. And the bill creates a fiscal incentive program for communities to beef up services for juveniles.

J. Michael Brown, secretary of the Kentucky Justice and Public Safety Cabinet, said one challenge is making sure youths have adequate community services to treat substance abuse, emotional problems and other issues.

Offenders who receive those services in detention centers may need to complete the balance of their treatment in outside programs if serving shorter sentences, he predicted. Still, Brown said, Kentucky is taking a "big step in the right direction."

"These paradigm shifts are difficult," he said. "The first thing you have to recognize is that we have to do something differentially, and I think that's what Senate Bill 200 does."

Reporter Mike Wynn can be reached at (502) 875-5136. Follow him on Twitter at @MikeWynn_CJ.

REFORM HIGHLIGHTS

• Most status offenders, who commit infractions such as running away or skipping school, will be steered into diversion programs.

• Courts are restricted from committing many juveniles on low-level crimes, depending on their criminal history and the seriousness of the offense. The length of time a child can remain in state custody will be limited based on those factors.

• Court designated workers will work with youth offenders on individual diversion plans and interventions.

• Judicial districts will establish response teams to reviewcases and oversee the process with the court designated worker.

• Communities can receive fiscal incentives for improving local services for juveniles.

• The state must increase data collection and reporting to gauge the effectiveness of programs and track recidivism.