A new report from the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice (CJCJ) entitled Juvenile Justice Realignment in 2012 provides support for Governor Brown’s realignment proposal and offers five policy recommendations that include a three-year process that allows counties time to design new services and infrastructure. At the end of three years, the state will no longer manage youth correctional institutions and the resources that used to sustain these facilities will be transferred to the counties. Shifting full responsibilities for juvenile justice services to the counties will spur innovation and produce substantial cost savings. Similar recommendations by the Legislative Analyst’s Office, Little Hoover Commission, and the Governor’s Office date back to 2008.
“Closing the remaining state run youth correctional facilities is long overdue. The state cannot afford to continue to operate a broken, expensive, and fragmented system. I fully support Governor Brown and his assertion that the future of juvenile justice rests at the county level where the best correctional services are delivered. It is time to build a 21st century juvenile justice system by shifting the needed resources to the counties.”
~ CJCJ Executive Director, Daniel Macallair
Read the full publication at $1Juvenile_Justice_Realignment_2012.pdf$4
If you would like more information about this topic, or to schedule an interview with CJCJ’s Executive Director, Daniel Macallair, please contact Selena Teji at (415) 621‑5661 x. 317 or by email at steji@cjcj.org.
See attached for full press release with a statement by the Little Hoover Commission, and excerpts from the Legislative Analyst’s Office and the Governor’s Office.