Lobbying continues for passage of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act
The message is clear. More than 1,100 law-enforcement officials from police chiefs to prosecutors are pushing to keep juvenile offenders out of lockups and into family interventions with proven track records of helping troubled youths. One program they cite is Multisystemic Therapy, MST.
The officials were represented yesterday in front of Congress by Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, which is lobbying to get the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA) reauthorized. A Fight Crime report, “Never is Better, But Once is Enough,” calls the JJDPA a juvenile-justice "game-changer.” The report provides evidence that repeats offending could be reduced by 50 percent, with a saving of $9,000 and $27,000 per youth. Compare that to the average $88,000 a year for keeping a delinquent locked up.
The first vice president of the Texas Sheriffs Association, Dennis Wilson, has his reasons for backing the expanded use of community-based interventions.
"My deputies have arrested some individuals again and again for serious offenses from back when they were kids, and now we're arresting their children for crimes, as well. We don't want to see another generation threatening public safety at a huge cost to taxpayers. The interventions we're talking about today coach parents and hold them and their kids accountable for getting off the path to prison—and the research shows they can cut re-offending in half compared to locking kids up."
Close the school-to-prison pipeline
The JJDPA urges communities to place delinquents into interventions that get them off the school-to-prison pipeline and reserve lockups for those who are serious risks to the community. It also encourages tracking how well interventions perform in reducing repeat offending.
Enfield, N.H., Police Chief Richard Crate Jr. wants it known that "We're going to stay tough on crime, but we've also got to be smart on crime by directing our money and efforts toward responses that stop this revolving door of recidivism from one generation to the next."
"Never is Better, but Once is Enough" lists proven interventions, adding that most communities do not have the programs. Referring to MST, it says “Multisystemic Therapy (MST) provides parent-youth coaching for more serious offenders and also emphasizes ways for schools and community organizations to reinforce positive behaviors that steer youth away from crime. In one trial, a 22-year follow-up showed troubled youth who did not receive MST were three and a half times more likely to be arrested for a violent felony than those who did.”
It keeps coming back to pay some now, save a ton later. These law-enforcement officials certainly see the wisdom in that.
To read more about the long-term impact and cost-savings of MST, download this white paper. 
