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 1 Kids in Jail - A New Plan — Basic Story

When young people break the law they are put into a special kind of jail. These jails are for juveniles. Juveniles
are people who are young.
It can be very dangerous in these jails. Sometimes the juveniles hurt each other when they are there. Some of
the young people even kill themselves. Many adults want the violence in jail to stop.
A group of people think that there is a better way to help the juveniles in jail. They want to put small groups of
them in settings that are more like homes. They think that this will help the young people learn and stay safe.
When juveniles are in these special homes they can get help. Counselors can talk to them about crime and try to
teach them that it is bad. Hopefully this will help the young people make better choices when they leave.
Some states have already tried this plan. They say that it has worked. A group of people want to try it in
California.
Other people do not think that the homes are a good idea. They are worried that the violent juveniles will be let
go and that they will break the law again. These people want anyone who breaks the law to be punished and put
in jail.
One man that was in jail when he was young said that he learned bad things there. He was not taught how to
make good decisions. He said that he only learned how to become more violent. He does not think jails help
juveniles at all.
There are many young people in jail. Adults need to decide how best to help them. Most of the juveniles that are
put in jail will break the law again when they are let go. Some people think that by putting them in small group
homes it will help the kids become better people.

 2 Kids in Jail - A New Plan — Full Story

Highly-publicized violence and suicides in the California Youth Authority have resulted in lawsuits, legislative
hearings and now reform efforts. Now several experts are offering an alternative.
Those attending a daylong conference on juvenile justice reform in Sacramento on Tuesday heard about a
different approach with promising results for young offenders.
The CYA officials, parole workers and others who work with juvenile offenders were briefed on how Missouri,
Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania have had success with an approach that puts small groups of wards in a
home-like setting, then provides in-depth counseling.
Dr. Jerry Miller, a former director of youth corrections in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania, said the new system
offers better results and lower recidivism, yet costs no more than conventional incarceration. "We were able to
get the money and resources to the kids that were being sopped up in these large institutions that are really
designed to create crime," he said.
Miller explained that California currently spends $72,000 annually for each CYA ward, enough to easily fund
the new program. "You need the flexibility to move money around," he said. "Think of the $72,000 you have in
hand the minute the kid is sent away for a year. What would you do with it if it were your kid and he were in
trouble? You would not do what California is doing."
Miller told how he closed 10 large state institutions and replaced them with smaller group settings, a project that
required reorientation and retraining of workers. "We retrained staff that were in the institution and put them in
the community," he said. "They became halfway between a parole agent and a social worker in the community.
None of them had to deal with more than five or six kids in that role."
Former CYA ward Jason Treas underscored Miller's remarks, saying California's current system of juvenile
justice gives wards little in the way of rehabilitation. "The system never provided me nothing," he said.
He said the only thing wards learn in California's juvenile institutions is how to commit crimes. "You put him in
a environment where violence is condoned, where it's promoted, it's inspired, it's fostered, then he's going to
become a product of that environment," said Treas.
Crime victim advocates are unenthusiastic about the new approach, saying that violent offenders should be
punished when they commit horrific crimes. "Especially with the violent crimes," said Maggie Elvey of Crime
Victims United. "Somebody trying to rehabilitate the murderer, give him books and set him loose. [Meanwhile]
our lives have been ruined forever."
As part of a legal settlement, the CYA must have formulated the final part of its reform plan, which deals with
ward safety and welfare remediation, by November 30.
California houses 3,450 wards in its juvenile institutions. Another 248 are at fire camps and 3,755 are on parole.
Figures show about 70 percent of CYA wards re-offend after they are released.

 3 counselor

a special doctor who helps people with problems

 4 crime

something that is against the law

 5 jail

a place people are sent when they break the law

 6 juvenile

a young person

 7 punish

to make suffer for something that was done wrong

 8 safe

away from danger

 9 setting

the position or location of a person

 10 violence

an act that causes harm to person or thing

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