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NewsGroup seeks to reduce number of minorities in juvenile justice systemSeptember 7, 2007Broward Times BY ALEXIS CAPUTO Concerned citizens, activists and parents gathered this week to find ways of steering young people away from the juvenile justice system. The BluePrint Commission of the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice came to Fort Lauderdale on Wednesday during a tour of six cities in the state to help find solutions for the overrepresentation of minorities in the system. The commission is holding a series of public hearings - including Wednesday's meeting in an auditorium at Holy Cross Hospital - to address the issues. The commission was created in response to key concerns such as repeat juvenile offenders, the overrepresentation of minority youth and the alarming growth of girls in the juvenile justice population. "I want to provide services, recommendations and programs which offer services to help and rescue the youth," said Frank Brogan, the commission's president and chairman. "They do not need to be incarcerated." Brogan said he is eager to implement changes in the juvenile justice system. But he is also cautious about making sure the right set of practices and initiatives are in place first so that the changes do not cause more harm than good for young people in the system. Brogan suggested that more youth could be kept out of the system by focusing on crime trends, detention data, screening tools, services and alternatives to detention. Brogan enlisted the help of people who have been touched by the juvenile justice system, also. "Parents of youth who have penetrated the justice system, advocates, activists, and reformed people do well in the challenge of helping, saving and securing the future of our youth, particularly since they are from different backgrounds," he said, adding that one current member on the commission was formerly a youth in the system and is now an advocate for reform. Brogan said his particular focus is on the alarmingly disproportionate share of African-American youth and the increasing numbers of girls in the system. Statistics show nearly 7 out of 10 youth in secure confinement are minority juveniles, a rate more than double their percentage in the youth population at large. Florida has one of the highest percentages of African-American juveniles in every stage of the juvenile justice system. While African-American youth make up 22 percent of Florida's youth population, they constitute 39 percent of youth arrested, 47 percent of youth held in secure detention, 40 percent of youth placed on probation, 50 percent of youth committed for delinquency, 57 percent of youth transferred to adult court and 73 percent of youth in Florida's prisons, according to the commission. Brogan said a greater emphasis should be placed on preventive measures such as treatment for mental health issues, drug and alcohol use and abuse, dysfunction in the family, a shifting education system, an 80 percent illiteracy or functional illiteracy rate, economic disparities and a criminal justice system with its own faults. He suggested that adults in the community partner with young people outside of their homes. The average citizen can help as well by asking how he or she could be of service, he said. Ultimately, the youth who enter the juvenile justice system should never return if adults have successfully influenced their lives in a positive way, Brogan said. |
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