Week 5 discussion: Needs to be complete in 12 hours

October 2015 53

The turn from incarceration of young people to diversion programs is long overdue in Michigan. The state has pri- oritized trying adolescents as adults, sending many young people to state prison where they are put on a path to a ca- reers of crime, unable to access needed educational ser vices and employment opportunities after their release.

The sheer cost is staggering, with per-person spending on prison far higher than that allot- ted for schools, universities, or virtually any other public service.

Gov. Snyder is correct in pointing to the savings that can

Diverting Young Offenders from Prison

is ‘Smart Justice’

BY JENNIFER KELLMAN FRITZ From Bridge Magazine

Jennifer Kellman Fritz is an associate professor in the School of Social Work at Eastern Michigan University. She is project director of the Adolescent Diversion Project, which pairs EMU students with court-connected youth in Washtenaw County.Condensed, with per- mission, from Bridge Magazine, May 28, 2015. Read the article in its entirety at www.bridgemi.com.

come from diversion programs that keep first offenders out of prison and connect them to needed services. This is particu- larly true of adolescent offend- ers, who are young enough to be set on a better path through life, if they are helped through programming, mentors, and ac- cess to social work and mental health services.

Good kids can do Bad things

Poverty. Child abuse. Ne- glect. Addiction. Mental illness. Illiteracy. Community violence. Racism. Homelessness.

These are but a few examples of the problems frequently faced by youth who break the law. These kids are not “bad seeds.”

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Too often, their unlawful actions are a reflection of a life plagued by social, economic, and famil- ial problems far beyond their control.

Research has shown that the adolescent brain is still evolving and is not yet well calibrated for making good decisions, even under good circumstances. But for the adolescent who lives with trauma and tragedy, good decision-making may seem an unreachable goal. When the adolescent has been denied safety, security, love, and nur- turance, brain development can be altered. This means that these young people may be particularly vulnerable to poor decision-making. These bad decisions can haunt them for the rest of their lives.

Our legal system does not re- flect our understanding of ado- lescent brain development. In the present legal environment, young people can be arrested for many reasons, and without intervention this early involve- ment with the criminal justice system can mark the beginning of a lifetime defined by recidi- vism. Without help, these youth plummet into a negative spiral, unable to pull themselves out. This is especially true in lower- income neighborhoods, where there are more opportunities

for young people to get into trouble, and fewer resources to address their problems and those of their family.

stopping the downward spiral

To reach out to these strug- gling youth, the Eastern Michi- gan University Adolescent Di- version Program (ADP) began in the fall of 2011 as a collaborative project between the Washtenaw Juvenile Court and the univer- sity’s School of Social Work. The primary goal of the program is to reduce the number of youth who enter the juvenile justice system or fall prey to the under- currents of the school-to-prison pipeline.

Ironically, even though juve- nile crime rates have decreased across the nation, the number of young people involved with the juvenile court system con- tinues to be high—particularly for youth of color in low-income neighborhoods. And though the mantra that “justice is blind” permeates police departments and courtrooms, the reality remains that the youth most likely to be funneled through traditional punitive systems and placed in locked facilities are young offenders who, ac- cording to the Annie E. Casey Foundation, “come dispropor-

‘smart Justice’

October 2015 55

tionately from impoverished single-parent homes located in disinvested neighborhoods and have high rates of learning dis- abilities and mental health and substance-abuse problems.”

Justice does discriminate. In addition to race and class, other factors make adolescents more vulnerable to entering the justice system. Youth with be- havioral and mental health dis- orders are also disproportion- ately over-represented among juvenile offenders. According to Reclaiming Futures, which helps youth dealing with drug, alcohol, and criminal problems, the overall juvenile mental ill- ness incident rate ranges be- tween 9-21%. However, juvenile offenders have an incidence rate of between 50-60%. With- out intervention, they are often confined to juvenile facilities before moving on to a lifetime of school dropout, adult unem- ployability, homelessness, and adult prison.

Opening Possibilities The ADP has documented

success in helping first-time offenders avoid further police contact, with 93% of participants meeting this goal. The program depends countless people who are passionate about helping youth turn their lives around.

The ADP recruits undergrad- uate social work student interns to serve as mentors and con- nects troubled youth with badly needed educational, health, mental-health, and social ser- vice resources. Currently, 15-18 youth receive an average of 12 hours of mentorship per week for 13 weeks each year. The pro- gram endorses the belief that one person can make a world of difference in the life of a young person in need.

Though the goal is to reduce recidivism and create safer communities, there are other benefits. The mentoring com- ponent is far-reaching and goes well beyond focusing on the youth’s criminal offense. Men- tors are trained to understand that a constellation of complex variables play a key role in a youth’s first offense, and men- tors use these factors in devel- oping unique action plans.

For some young people, par- ticipating in the program means finally having an adult believe in them. For others, participating brings a glimpse into the pos- sibility of attending college. For others, the program means that they have the chance to eat in a restaurant for the first time in their lives. For all, the program means that needs get met and new possibilities are created. n

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