A recent report by the W. Haywood Burns Institute indicates that while California’s current corrections policies appear to be race-neutral, data shows that many young people of color are being incarcerated at higher rates than white youth for non-criminal acts rather than being treated for mental health and behavioral health needs.     The report, titled “Non-Judicial Drivers into the Juvenile Justice System for Youth of Color” , highlights multiple studies that point to the same conclusion:

The Burns Institute highlights the “non-judicial drivers” that result in high rates of incarceration among youth of color.  An example of a non-judicial driver is school referrals for disorderly conduct accounting for 40 percent of annual juvenile arrests in California. The authors also highlight cases where low-risk youth with high mental health needs are placed in long-term detention with no treatment of the underlying trauma that is contributing to their delinquent behavior.

In their data analysis, the Burns Institute found that white youth are more likely to be diverted away from formal court processing than youth of color.  Similar racial disparities exist with deeper involvement for youth of color in the California justice system.  From the report:

The report concludes that, “The racial and ethnic inequities present in our current justice system create the perception that incarceration is the most appropriate option for black and brown people with high needs, such as mental illness, but low risk for public safety.”   Burns Institute finds that incarceration is increasingly being used as an “instrument of social control” and makes a negligible impact on changing delinquent behaviors.  Rather, incarcerating juveniles is regularly found to increase harm, “piles trauma on top of trauma” for youth offenders, increases the chances for re-arrest upon release, and is enormously expensive to California taxpayers.  

The Burns Institute calls for a variety of changes in California’s juvenile justice systems ranging from retraining staff for trauma-informed interventions, taking family history into account when determining rehabilitation resources, developing culturally competent programming, and enhancing the use of community alternatives to incarceration for those youth with high needs but who pose a moderate risk to public safety.  CJCJ recognizes these are all important components of a 21st century juvenile justice system .

This report sheds light on an uncomfortable topic in discussions about California’s justice system: Not only are California’s youth experiencing “justice by geography” as CJCJ’s extensive studies have found, but also “justice by skin color”. 

Alameda County’s Chief Probation Officer David Muhammad demonstrates innovative and determined leadership through his new approach to serving juvenile justice involved youth.  He employs a youth development framework that views youthful offenders not simply as a “bundle of needs and problems”, but rather as individuals with real resiliency and strengths that can be incorporated into their plan for rehabilitation and reentry.  In his recent keynote address at the California Wellness Foundation’s 2011 Conference on Violence Prevention, Chief Muhammad discussed nine principles for reform that his department has begun implementing.  Their overarching goals are reducing recidivism rates, increasing public safety, and improving the long-term outcomes for youth under county supervision.  

Chief Muhammad made a compelling case that developing the right staff culture, with the right commitment to young people, is as important as introducing the right practices based on data and research.  He clearly has an understanding of youthful offenders as whole people and values the positive role that families and communities play in rehabilitation.  The following are highlights from his nine principles:

Trauma-Informed Interventions
Chief Muhammad articulates that “hurt people, hurt people” and proposes that many of the delinquent behaviors committed by young people come from their deep experiences of trauma.  He asks, “If we ignore the trauma and just try to correct the delinquent behavior, will we ever see true rehabilitation?”  He is redirecting his department to develop interventions that are “trauma-informed” by training his staff in how to identify trauma and connect youth to the appropriate services.

Risk-Assessments Combined with Need-Assessments
Alameda County has begun conducting “needs assessments” in addition to “risk assessments” so that lower-risk youth do not consume excess staff resources and encounter excessive contact with the criminal justice system that can do more harm than good.  High-risk youth in Alameda County develop collaborative “individual achievement plans” with their probation.  Individualized approaches and interventions have shown improved results in safety and rehabilitation.

Community-Based Alternatives
Alameda County recently opened their first evening reporting center that provides youth with connections to community-based services.  This center allows youth to be at home and to report in everyday after school, maintaining positive contacts with family.  It serves as a geographical hub for probation officers to connect youth to adequate resources.  The state has recognized this innovation and has awarded Alameda County a grant to open two more evening reporting centers in the coming year.

Clear Policies for Sanctions
Chief Muhammad argues for “graduated sanctions” where there are clear outlines for staff to provide consequences for negative behavior.  A fellow Chief Probation Officer told him that too many juveniles are violated for “poo-poo”, which stands for pissed off probation officers.  Staff and youth under supervision need clear policies of when to violate.  The department is working with the Burns Institute in developing these policies for Alameda County.

California needs more probation chiefs who willing to innovate, to embrace the importance of data-driven approaches and best practices, and to lead their counties in building juvenile justice systems for the 21st century.

Congratulations to Executive Director Daniel Macallair, who has been awarded the California Wellness Foundation Sabbatical Program Award for 2011!  This leadership support program is now in its ninth year and aims to provide an opportunity for rejuvenation and promote the health of valuable leaders in the nonprofit health and human services sector.

"I look forward to spending three months finishing my book on the Calfornia juvenile justice system."

~ CJCJ Executive Director Daniel Macallair

Mr. Macallair is speaking today at the TCWF Conference on Violence Prevention, Friday, November 18, 2011 at 11 am, alongside David Muhammad, Alameda County Chief Probation Officer, and Marjorie Rist, Yolo County Chief Probation Officer, on a panel entitled, California Corrections Realignment: Impacts & Opportunities.  The panel will be moderated by James Bell, Founder and Executive Director of the W. Haywood Burns Institute.

California Correctional Crisis wrote an excellent blog discussing juvenile curfews yesterday, recommending that before introducing juvenile curfews we should know more about juvenile crime rates.   The blog post highlights several articles including recent op-eds by CJCJ’s Senior Research Fellow Mike Males and Communications Specialist Selena Teji, and a study by Patrick Kline that suggests curfews are effective overall at reducing crime for juveniles below curfew age. 

As Mike Males points out however, “this study only included cities that implemented curfews and failed to account for national trends showing much larger crime declines among younger teens than among those older teens subject to curfews, including in cities without curfews.  For example, both property and violent crime rates fell steeply in the 1990s and 2000s among youths in San Francisco, which didn’t have a curfew.”  He argues that curfews are a waste of police resources, and that the presence of teenagers actually makes the streets safer.  Listen to his latest video blog for more insights into teen curfews.

~ CJCJ Senior Research Fellow, Mike Males, Ph.D.