Juvenile justice comes with a hefty price. New York state is spending $200,000 a year on each juvenile offender according to USA Today (May 18, 2010). 75% of those released from custody in New York state are rearrested within three years, compared to Missouri which has a two year recidivism rate of 10%.
The juvenile incarceration rate has dropped from 108,802 in 2000 to 81,000 in 2008 as the crime rate decreased, but in 2006 almost 19,000 juveniles were housed in prisons that had a capacity over 150 beds. Large juvenile prisons are the antithesis of the Missouri model. Previous standards for juvenile incarceration were large facilities, boot camps or “scared straight” programs, which were often far from home for most of those incarcerated. The programs employed isolation and physical restraint as correctional tools.
Missouri’s juvenile centers are built closer to where many of its detainees live. Instead of isolation from others, Missouri offers nonstop group programs. The buildings are small, and counseling from both professionals and peers is intense. Several states and Washington, DC have followed the methods used in Missouri in order to lower their recidivism rate. A federal law suit spurred the change in incarceration programs.
The New Beginnings Youth Development Center is Washington , DC’s attempt to
follow Missouri’s lead. Small residential buildings house several of the Capitol’s worse offenders, who are now experiencing innovative programs that keep them constructively engaged . New Beginnings has received national attention with its Guns to Roses art program in which the program’s participants used 28 guns that the police had melted down to create striking sculptures .
The New Beginnings Center encourages participants to navigate a six level program.. Each participant must complete each level before going on to another. The completion of the final level will culminate in release from the Center. Each level offers instruction in areas of positive behavior, such as obeying rules, completing educational classes, attending assigned programs, and accepting increased responsibilities.
Despite its progress in many areas, some are not ready to embrace the Missouri Method.
Citing the 25% recidivism rate of New Beginnings graduates in an eleven month period, detractors have already dubbed the method a failure. Back when juvenile crime was at its height large juvenile prisons were built, and staff was hired to run them. There is a fear by those who were hired that closing down large juvenile prisons would mean job losses and economic hardship for them, and that promoting rehabilitation over incarceration will cost more for the retraining of correctional officers,. Some staff believe that higher education levels will be needed to remain in their jobs, or to be hired.
Source: USA Today
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