Juvenile Justice Committee
February 2003

The juvenile system is founded on the concept that youth are different from adults. Juvenile courts were established to provide youth a chance to make a better choice than delinquency. More than simply providing another chance, juvenile justice professionals work to enable youth to make the kinds of decisions that will ensure a better future for themselves and their communities. (J. Wilson., Ohio Juvenile Justice Delinquency Program).

There remains a fine balance between the need for criminal due process safeguards and maintaining the beneficial aspects of the juvenile system. Current concerns about drug abuse, violence and fear of a superpredator have led to changes in Ohio’s law.

BACKGROUND

Ohio’s Juvenile Justice System is a Home Rules system giving cities and counties a great deal of autonomy: consequently, services vary from location to locations. Some Juvenile Divisions are under Probate or Domestic Relations Courts, and some under the Court of Common Pleas. Nine Ohio counties, including Hamilton County, have separate Juvenile Justice divisions of their Courts of Common Pleas.

Ohio’s administration of juvenile justice was significantly reformed in 1994-1996. Major components include:

RECLAIM (Reasoned and Equitable Community and Local Alternatives to the Incarceration of Minors) provides grants to counties to finance local community-based facilities and programs that serve first-time, non-violent offenders. The financial incentives provided by the RECLAIM program allow the state to meet its goals of:

1. decreasing the number of youth sent to DYS (Department of Youth Services) and thereby reduce overcrowding in the state institutions; and,

2. increasing the number of community-based options available to the local courts. Counties can use the money to create new programs to treat less serious felony offenders in their communities while retaining the option of sentencing serious, violent offenders to DYS institutions to ensure public safety.

Ohio First (OF) and Children First (CF) funds programs emphasizing prevention and early intervention activities so as to minimize the need for more costly efforts later; and

Allowing a violent juvenile to be tried as an adult and creating a mandatory bindover to adult court.

Recent changes in the law include:

1. Lowering the age of commitment to a DYS facility from 12 yrs. to 10 yrs.

2. Blended Sentencing, where a youth can receive both a juvenile and an adult sentence for some serious offenses.

3. Jury trials for Juvenile Court.

4. Mandatory transfer to the adult court for some serious offenses.

5. Curtailing judicial discretion.

6. Using detention facilities as a sentencing option.

7. Defining truancy as delinquency in some cases and permitting criminal charges to be brought against a parent or guardian.

8. Holding juvenile sex offenders accountable for their actions and providing treatment to reduce the likelihood of repeating.

9. Requiring registration of sexual offenders and notification of the community.

Hillcrest Training School is located on 88 acres in Springfield Township and provides 142 correctional/treatment beds for adjudicated, male adolescents placed there by the Court. The program provides both residential and aftercare service to males between 12 and 17 years of age who have committed felony offenses.

The boys are housed in 12 cottages of 11-12 inmates each, 6-7 staff members are on duty 24 hours a day. In addition to the cottages and Administration Building, there is a Charter School, gym with swimming pool, New Trail, where the boys learn cooperation and trust through outdoor activities, a large cafeteria and a chapel (non-denominational with attendance voluntary staffed by volunteer clergy). Staff includes well-trained and licensed counselors, social workers, teachers, psychologists, nurses, other professionals and volunteers who have been screened.

Upon intake each juvenile is evaluated for psychological and medical status, educational level, suicide risk, ADHD, history of abuse, and other relevant factors. Polygraphs are used especially with sex offenders, and are repeated at intervals. Youths are then placed in an appropriate cottage. Residents are divided into three groups by the type of offense, non-violent offenders, substance abusers and sex offenders. Like offenders are housed together.

The boys’ days are very structured between school, group and individual therapy sessions and group activities. Restitution is often a part of the juvenile’s sentence and a work program is provided that includes ground maintenance, cafeteria jobs, community service and supervised off-grounds work experience. Parental participation includes Sunday visits, parent nights, home visits by staff, family counseling, education, and support groups.

The average stay at Hillcrest is 7 months. Youths enter an aftercare program six weeks prior to going home and remain in it for eight months. Sex offenders generally stay up to 14 months and remain in the aftercare program for a longer time.

The facility is accredited by both the American Correctional Association, and the NCCHC. In addition, Hillcrest operates under the full compliance with DYS standards and is also an Ohio Department of Mental Health provider. In 2001 it was selected as facility of the year by the Correctional Accreditation Association of Ohio for its professionalism and role modeling.

Passages is a residential treatment program for delinquent girls. It has two components; a 90-day program for chronic status and misdemeanant offenders, and a 180-day program for felony offenders. Located in Talbert House, there is room for up to twenty-four girls at a time. Like Hillcrest the intake process evaluates the girls medically and psychologically. Hillcrest School provides the teachers and curriculum for the residents schooling. Counselors are available during the day with a staff of three at night. Using a gender-sensitive approach, the program utilizes techniques to address issues of personal/family relationships, accountability, victimization and substance abuse. Passages also offers intensive outpatient and aftercare services for residents.

The Bridge is a demonstration project for youth in Butler, Clermont, Hamilton and Warren counties who cross both the Juvenile Justice and Mental Health systems. Talbert House, the lead provider organization, opened the residential site in October 2000. This secure facility combines a strong behavioral management milieu, cognitive-behavioral groups and interventions with sophisticated child and adolescent psychiatric expertise to address the needs of this population, characterized by severe mental issues as well as a history of aggressive behavior.

FUNDING

In Hamilton County, current figures show the

Juvenile Court system received approximately:

• $34,100,000 from County General Funds;

• $5,300,000 from RECLAIM Ohio; and,

• $500,000 from federal incentive grants.

The federal grants fund some of the Community Courts, while others are done voluntarily by the Juvenile Court. RECLAIM grants are allocated on a formula considering population and the number of juveniles treated locally who would otherwise have been sent to DYS.

NEED FOR ALTERNATIVE EDUCATIONAL SERVICES FOR CHILDREN WHO DO NOT PERFORM SUCCESSFULLY IN THE TRADITIONAL PUBLIC SCHOOL SETTING

The Governor’s "2002 Ohio Juvenile Justice Needs Assessment" recommends the development of better methods of identifying at-risk youth at earlier ages. The school is one, if not the, primary core social institution in the community. School has the ability to identify learning problems very early in the child's life. The National Institutes of Health reports that approximately 15 percent of the U.S. population is affected by a learning difference, and these differences impede the ability to thrive in traditional classroom settings. Even with the special education programs offered in public schools, success is limited: the drop-out rate for students with learning disabilities is 35 percent; and despite the fact that many students with learning disabilities are above average in intelligence, only two percent who graduate from high school attend a four-year college. Further, studies show that learning-disabled teens account for over half the adolescents in treatment for substance abuse. (National Longitudinal Transition Study)

Current law permits children to be expelled without referral to another school. Alternative education in alternative settings is not now widely available for youth who are disruptive and unsuccessful learners in the traditional setting. Data shows that these youth, without an opportunity to experience a different learning approach based on their individual needs and in which they can progress at their own pace, often find their way to the juvenile or adult correctional system. Ohio’s Department of Education has not funded a system of education that meets the needs of all learners. School districts in Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, Arizona, and Kentucky provide these educational services.

RESTORATIVE vs RETRIBUTIVE SYSTEM OF JUVENILE JUSTICE

Restorative justice is a victim-centered response to crime that provides opportunities for those most directly affected by crime - the victim, the offender, their families, and representatives of the community - to be directly involved in responding to the harm caused by the crime. Restorative justice is based upon values which emphasize the importance of providing opportunities for more active involvement in the process of: offering support and assistance to crime victims; holding offenders directly accountable to the people and communities they have violated; restoring the emotional and material losses of victims (to the degree possible); providing a range of opportunities for dialogue and problem solving among interested crime victims, offenders, families, and other support persons; offering offenders opportunities for competency development and reintegration into productive community life; and strengthening public safety through community building.

Specific examples of restorative justice include: crime repair crews, victim intervention programs, family group conferencing, victim offender mediation and dialogue, peacemaking circles, victim panels,that speak to offenders, sentencing circles, community reparative boards before which offenders appear, offender competency development programs, victim empathy classes for offenders, victim directed and citizen involved community service by the offender, community-based support groups for crime victims, and, community-based support groups for offenders.

Research has found restorative justice programs to have high levels of victim and offender satisfaction with the process and outcome, greater likelihood of successful restitution completion by the offender, reduced fear among victims, and reduced frequency and severity of further criminal behavior.

Restorative justice policies and programs are known to be developing in more than 45 states, including a growing number of state and county justice systems that are undergoing major systemic change. Restorative justice is also developing in many other parts of the world, including numerous European countries, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. (Mark S. Umbreit, Ph.D., University of Minnesota)

RESTORATIVE JUSTICE IN PRACTICE

Since 1997 Indianapolis has experimented with a program of restorative justice with youthful first-time offenders. The three principles on which the experiment is based are:

• Victim restoration;

• Offender accountability; and,

• Offender reintegration into the community.

The focus on victims is key. After the youth has been arrested, a restorative justice coordinator arranges a conference involving the violator, the victim and their families and supporters. A specially trained police officer facilitates at the conference, which gives the victim an opportunity to confront the perpetrator, explain how he or she was harmed and ask questions of the offender. The goal is to arrive at a reparation agreement under which the offender takes certain actions to set things straight with both the victim and the wider community. Typical agreements include contrition, service to the victim and community service. Shame and even conscience are major factors.

The experiment involved first time offenders- age 14 and younger, excluding those who have committed serious violent crimes. The control group remained in the traditional court system. During the first two years of the experiment involving 230 youth, the restorative justice program was judged to have met the needs of victims much better than the conventional system, as well as significantly reducing the rearrests of young offenders.Over 90 percent of victims say they were satisfied with the process compared to 68 percent who say they were satisfied with the standard court procedures.

For first time offenders, conferences also worked better than the typical dismissal, diversion or slap on the wrist rendered by the traditional juvenile system. Over 80% of the youths who had attended the restorative conference, reached an agreement and fulfilled all its terms, compared to a 58 percent completion rate in the control group of the standard court system. The rearrest rate for offenders from restorative justice conferences was 25-45 percent less than for offenders from the control group (regular juvenile court). Based on this result, the city of Indianapolis is now expanding the project to young second-time offenders.

(Summarized from Restorative Justice, American Style, Brief 353, dated 3/15/01 National Center for Policy Analysis www. ncpa.org/pub/ba/ba353)

NEED FOR GENDER-SPECIFIC SERVICES THAT OFFER AN OPPORTUNITY FOR DIFFERENT TREATMENT MODALITIES FOR GIRLS

In recent years, the increasing number of girls involved in the justice system has become a troubling trend. Although juvenile crime rates overall have decreased since 1994, the number and percentage of girls in the justice system have increased, making girls the fastest growing segment of the juvenile justice population (American Bar Association, 2001). In 1994, 670,000 females were arrested accounting for 27% of all juvenile arrests (Child Welfare League, 2001).

Among many risk factors, a history of violent victimization is one of the most prevalent characteristics of female offenders (Acoca & Austin, 1996). According to a study conducted by the National Council on Crime and Delinquency in 1998, 92% of the 200 female offenders interviewed had been emotionally, physically, or sexually abused (Acoca and Dedel, 1998). "Victimization is the first step along females’ pathways into the juvenile justice system," a fact that is critical for understanding why girls commit offenses. Furthermore, a significant number of girls are joining gangs as a refuge from victimization at home, other family problems, and poverty. Girls are also closing the gender gap with males in the use of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs.

A survey by Acoca (1999) showed that the majority of juvenile female offenders were charged with less serious offenses such as property, drug, and status offenses than with violent offenses like murder and assault. In addition, most assault charges made for girls were the result of nonserious, mutual combat situations with parents.

The relatively small number of girls arrested for serious offenses, such as robbery, homicide, and weapon offenses, committed these crimes almost exclusively within the context of their relationships with co-defendants. Frequently girls followed the lead of male offenders or were involved in female-only or mixed-gender groups (including gangs) in committing their offenses. In addition, the availability of weapons increased girls’ involvement with serious crime. (LEAA Task Force Report, 1998).

Although most female juvenile delinquents commit status offenses’ such as truancy, running away, drinking, and curfew violations, the justice system has historically detained and committed these girls rather than examining the roots of their problems and providing appropriate community-based services. In fact, in many instances of offense, girls may be responding in self-protection to life-threatening situations, such as escaping sexual and/or physical abuse in the home. Research indicates that girls are more likely to be incarcerated for status and minor offenses and are more likely to be kept incarcerated for longer periods of time than boys, which shows a gender bias in the juvenile justice system.

According to a 1998 study by the OJJDP, there are a relatively small number of programs targeting female juvenile offenders. Among the few programs that do exist, most are small, relatively disorganized, and lack adequate funding. In particular, intensive family-based programs (residential, school, and in-home) that provide health, psychiatric, substance abuse, and academic services specifically for girls are lacking.

At the community level, effective programs need to be developed that engage the girls’ families and are gender specific. These family-focused programs should intervene in cases of domestic violence. Gender specific programming, which is critical, means taking into consideration the development needs that are unique to young women. For example, in comparison with boys, girls are more strongly affected by relationships with others, have lower self-esteem, and have greater tendencies to become preoccupied with perfection, to stop excelling to avoid competition, and to become less outspoken to avoid being disliked. Gender-specific programs are necessary, because most current programs for girls are modeled after programs for males and do not sufficiently meet the unique developmental, physiological, and emotional needs of girls (American Bar Association, 2001). Studies indicate that law enforcement, judges, and child welfare professionals need to be trained to be familiar with the unique needs of girl offenders and their families.

The OJJDP also advocates the formation of early intervention programs for at-risk preadolescent girls between the ages of 8 and 11. A community-based, all-girls school setting that offers services such as family counseling, substance abuse prevention, specialized educational services (such as learning disabilities assessment), and mentoring services is recommended.

THE RIGHT OF JUVENILES TO EQUAL AND UNBIASED TREATMENT REGARDLESS OF RACE OR ETHNICITY

A prerequisite of an effective juvenile justice system is that every offender is treated as an individual and the services needed are provided without bias. Indications are that the system is not meeting this standard. The percentage of minority juveniles in confinement is more than double their representation in the general population, both nationally and in Ohio.

In Ohio, minority juveniles are more likely to be detained than white juveniles even though their offenses are no more serious than the offenses of white juveniles. Minority youth are more likely to be sent to the Ohio Department of Youth Services while white youth are committed to local facilities.

Data suggest that differences in delinquent behavior are insufficient to account for disparities in detention and confinement.

- Children are not adults and should not be held in adult jails.

Scientific studies have shown that major changes occur in the parts of the brain that regulate emotion and self-control in the teen years. These parts of the brain are vastly immature and restructure themselves throughout the teenage years. Transfer to the adult justice system increases criminality. Youth offenders transferred to criminal court are more likely to re-offend, be sexually assaulted, be attacked with a weapon or commit suicide.

- The purpose of the juvenile system is rehabilitation.

Rehabilitation means providing the treatment and services youth need to become productive law-abiding adults.

Studies recommend that communities develop local treatment facilities instead of relying on commitment to state facilities, invest in research-driven interventions that are evaluated and engage community partners. The Governor’s "2002 Ohio Juvenile Justice Needs Assessment" recommends implementing broadbased delinquency prevention programs in Ohio’s communities.

- Children’s legal rights, including expungement of records, should be enforced.

From its inception, the juvenile court was considered a civil - not a criminal - court. Thus children remained free of the stigma of a criminal conviction.

Children now have the right to have their juvenile records sealed or expunged except in certain cases: homicide and certain types of sexual offenses.

- State standards for detention facilities should be enforced.

Local detention facilities should conform to the standards of the Ohio DYS "Standards for Detention Centers" and the American Correctional Association "Standards for Juvenile Detention Facilities."

ADJUDICATED: A child that has been found guilty of a delinquency act(s).

APPEAL: Decision of the Juvenile Court may be appealed to the Court of Appeals where the ruling may be upheld or overturned.

ARRAIGNMENT: A hearing where the complaint is read, the purpose and possible consequences of the proceedings are explained, and the child is informed of his/her rights.

BINDOVER: Sent to the adult court system to be tried as an adult.

CHILD: Under Ohio law, a person under 18 years of age. Child, youth and juvenile are used interchangeably.

COMPREHENSIVE AND COORDINATED SYSTEM OF SERVICES: A system that:
1) ensures that services are consistent with the goals of preserving families and providing services in the least restrictive environment;
2) intervenes early with children at risk of developing emotional or behavioral problems;
3) increases interagency collaboration with the family; and
4) encourages public/private partnerships.

CONTINUUM OF CARE: A continuum of care includes the full range of services for a specified population from services in the home and community to services in a residential or institutional setting.

DELINQUENCY: An act that if committed by an adult would be called a crime.

DELINQUENT: A child who is found to have committed an act that would be considered a crime if committed by an adult.

DYS: Ohio Department of Youth Services. The department of state government that operates correctional institutions for children.

FELONY: A crime more serious than a misdemeanor. The level of the felony offense determines the minimum length of stay for youth committed to DYS.

GAULT DECISION: A major 1967 Supreme Court decision that mandates certain due-process rights not previously extended to juveniles. Courts are required to advise juveniles:
1) of the specific charges;
2) of the right to counsel;
3) of the right not to testify; and
4) of the right to cross-examine an accuser.

GENDER-SPECIFIC SERVICES: Designed to address needs unique to the gender of the individual.

GUARDIAN AD LITEM (GAL): Officers of the court who advocate for the best interest of the children involved in juvenile court proceedings. The GAL fulfills the multi-disciplinary role of investigator, advocate, facilitator, case monitor, and referral source for children and families in crisis.

HOUSE BILL 440: (1981 legislation): States that only felons may be committed to the DYS; status offenders and misdemeanants are the responsibility of the counties.

INTAKE HEARING: Held to determine whether a juvenile should be held in detention before an adjudication hearing. Detention is required to protect the person or property of others or those of the child, if the child is likely to run away or be removed from the court’s jurisdiction, or if the child has no parent or guardian to provide supervision and return him/her to court when required.

JUVENILE JUSTICE and DELINQUENCY PREVENTION ACT: 1974 federal law that provides funding for action and research in juvenile justice and delinquency. State eligibility for funding is contingent on assurance that juveniles are not held in institutions where they have regular contact with adult prisoners and that status offenders are not held in juvenile detention or correction facilities.

KENT DECISION: A 1966 Supreme Court decision that held that a juvenile must have safeguards in hearings to transfer a child’s case for trial as an adult; the right to counsel, counsel’s right to social case records; a judicial statement of the reasons for considering transfer of the case.

MAGISTRATE: An official empowered to conduct hearings; decisions are approved by the judge.

MISDEMEANOR: An adult criminal court term for criminal offenses less serious than felony offenses. Youth cannot be committed to DYS for misdemeanor offenses.

OJJDP: Ohio Juvenile Justice Delinquency Program

O.R.C.: Ohio Revised Code

RECLAIM OHIO: A funding strategy to reduce overcrowding in institutions by giving local governments the fiscal means and fiscal incentives to use alternative sanctions for non-chronic, low-level offenders

RESTORATIVE JUSTICE: The philosophy that crime is a violation of trust and relationships between the victim, the victimized community, and the offender. Priority is on repairing the damage done.

RETRIBUTIVE JUSTICE: The philosophy that a crime constitutes an action against the state, which exacts punishment.

SEALING OF A RECORD: On order of juvenile court, the removal of adjudication records to a separate file accessible only to the court. The child may petition to have court records sealed two years after the termination of proceedings. Exception: certain homicides and sexual offenses.

WINSHIP DECISION: 1970 Supreme Court decision - the allegations of the juvenile court petition must meet the same standard of proof as that used in adult criminal matters - proof beyond a reasonable doubt.