Monday Map: Abuse in Juvenile Jails

Today's map, from the Syracuse Post-Standard and the AP, breaks down nearly 13,000 claims of abuse in juvenile detention centers across the U.S. between 2004 and 2007. Only 10% of these claims are substantiated, and surely false claims are common. But I would guess that unsubstantiated true claims are fairly common, as well. Rather than reading too much into false claims, however, I'm just looking at state-by-state claims. And it's no surprise that Texas and New York are in the 600+ category.

Just today, the U.S. Department of Justice released a report finding that the routine use of force at four New York juvenile detention centers was a violation of the constitutional rights of the children imprisoned there. New York's juvenile facilities have been under fire for years, as abuse reports has grown steadily and have not been addressed quickly enough. A 2006 report from Human Rights Watch examined two facilities for girls in New York and found that girls were being restrained and isolated far too often and were denied access to mental health and educational services they needed.

In Texas, Scott Henson has done incredible work at his blog Grits for Breakfast over the last few years chronicling problems in Texas' juvenile courts and detention facilities and offering lots of suggestions for reform (including alternatives to incarceration like teen drug courts).

The way to reduce abuse in juvenile facilities is not through increased oversight or a federal takeover of a state system (as is being threatened in NY).I think the path to safe juvenile corrections facilities mirrors the reforms I advocate for the adult system - a move from punishment to rehabilitation.

We can improve treatment of juvenile prisoners by reducing the number of children we send to these facilities (drug offenders and first-time offenders should be offered alternatives to incarceration) and then offering services and treatment to those we have no choice but  to imprison. Warehousing children who have made mistakes only leads to unruly facilities, overwhelmed staffs and, sadly, adult criminals.

(Hat tip to Lauren Geller for help with this post.)