aecf-NoPlaceForKidsFullReport-2011

Conclusion: Embracing Better Policies, Programs, andPractices in Juvenile CorrectionsThe evidence presented in this report makesclear that, except in cases where juvenileoffenders have committed serious crimes andpose a clear and present danger to society,removing troubled and delinquent young peoplefrom their homes and families is expensiveand often unnecessary—with results no better(and often far worse) on average than community-basedsupervision and treatment. Likewise,the evidence makes clear that throwingeven serious youth offenders together in large,prison-like, and often-abusive institutions providesno public safety benefit, wastes taxpayers’money, and reduces the odds that the youngpeople will mature out of their delinquencyand become productive law-abiding citizens.Fortunately, we are seeing an encouragingshift away from juvenile incarceration inmany states. From 1997 to 2007, the totalpopulation of youth in correctional placementsnationwide declined 24 percent, andthe total in long-term secure correctionalfacilities dropped 41 percent. 144 Of the 45states reporting data on the number of youthin correctional custody in both 1997 and2007, 34 reduced their confinement rates.Eleven states lowered their confinement ratesby 40 percent or more during this decade, andanother 12 states lowered confinement by 20to 39 percent. 145Though no nationwide figures have beencompiled since 2007, the pace of juvenilede-incarceration seems only to have increased.An informal count conducted by the Annie E.Casey Foundation in August 2011 identified52 youth correctional facilities in 18 states,which have closed since the beginning of 2007.Several other states have closed units withinfacilities and reduced bed capacity withoutclosing entire facilities. A list of youth correctionsfacilities closed since 2007 can be foundat www.aecf.org/noplaceforkids.However, while this wave of facility closuresand bed reductions is important and longoverdue,it offers little reassurance for thefuture. In many states, the primary cause forclosures has been the short-term fiscal crisisfacing state governments. In other states,federal investigations or private class-actionlawsuits have been the driving force behindfacility closures. The common thread has beenthat most decisions to shut down facilities havebeen ad hoc and reactive. The closures havenot been based on any new consensus amongpolicy leaders or any new philosophic commitmentto reducing reliance on juvenile incarceration,and they have not been informed byany deep or evidence-based consideration ofhow states should best pursue the path towardreduced incarceration. In short, we are seeing a38