California turns toward rehabilitating juveniles

After decades of tough policies, America's most-populous state is poised to reverse direction in its approach to the incarceration of youth - from punishment to rehabilitation.

In the 1930s and 1940s, in particular, California was considered the country's premier model for returning young offenders to communities only after addressing the shortcomings that may have led to their prison terms - social and education skills, family patterns, mental health, gang participation, and vocational needs.

But dwindling funds and years of embracing a get-tough ethos moved the state into what critics called the "caged" model: one more intent on control, rebuke, and reprimand than on corrective measures.

Now with 70 percent of released offenders rearrested within three years - highlighting both the costs to society and declining life options for the imprisoned - the state is embracing a new approach. Goaded in part by a taxpayer lawsuit forcing them to address deficiencies, state leaders are releasing blueprints that they hope will stop the revolving door of juvenile offenders turning into adult criminals.

"We are not talking about hugging a thug ... we will still hold youth accountable for what they do, but we need to make an impact on the majority of offenders so they don't go out there and reoffend," says Walt Allen, director of the California Youth Authority (CYA), which runs the state's eight youth prison facilities, now housing about 3,288 people.

Sacramento's move mirrors a trend underway in several states. In Missouri, for instance, youth offenders are housed in small facilities and given intensive treatment, training, and education. Maryland and other states are looking to revamp their programs, too.

But the emerging California model would mark a move into rehabilitation on a scale not yet tried, state officials say. The hope is the system will help turn around one of the nation's most troubled juvenile-justice systems. Though funding for the initiative remains uncertain, the governor and state legislature are at least in agreement on philosophy: group therapy, self-discipline, and life-preparation programs are the antidote for recidivism - and cheaper in the long run.

As laid out in plans submitted in court documents last week, the CYA wants to move to smaller living units, increased staff-to-youth ratios, systematic assessment of juveniles, and individualized treatment. In addition, authorities want to change an environment that over the years has spilled into dangerous - and regular - fighting between wards and staff.

Paramount in that culture shift will be producing living conditions and rules that promote more appropriate behavior, reward the achievement of goals, and spell out sanctions for misbehaving. Such changes go beyond simple redefinitions of housing, staff, and the actual content of programs: They will try to shape the way prisoners interact - which might carry over to nonprison life.

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