A new task force created by lawmakers has begun reviewing the state's approach to juvenile justice, weighing options that include removing oversight of delinquent youth from the Department of Children's Services to creating a more uniform probation system.
The Juvenile Justice Realignment Task Force has until January to make recommendations to the legislature about how the state should treat the approximately 1,235 delinquent youth overseen by DCS without jeopardizing public safety.
Senate Majority Leader Mark Norris, a Collierville Republican who chairs the task force, noted that while Tennessee has made progress in reducing the number of incarcerated youth, the state still lags behind in other ways.
Tennessee has expelled more African-American students than any other Southern state and it ranks 9th worst in the nation for "disconnected youth" - young people between the ages of 16 and 24 who are neither in school or employed. Tennessee ranks 38th overall in children's welfare, according to the Annie E. Casey Foundation.
"As I've said before, that is not okay with me," Norris said. "This Task Force has an opportunity to make a marked change in those outcomes for our youth."
The task force includes representatives from the legislature, juvenile courts, DCS, mental health professionals and academics.
Tennessee is one of 11 states to operate its juvenile justice system under the umbrella of its child welfare agency, a step policy makers took in 1996. Proponents of keeping one state agency in charge of both delinquent youth and abused and neglected kids note that a majority of children who eventually get into trouble as teens had prior contact with DCS when they were younger, as victims or children in need.
Tennessee, like many states that operate juvenile justice programs either independently or under the umbrella of a state agency, is struggling to incorporate proven strategies to dealing with youth who get into trouble.
At their first meeting on Tuesday, task force member Dan Michael, the Shelby County Juvenile Court Judge, said he was frustrated at times with the state's approach to treating troubled teens, citing the rapid growth in the number of incarcerated adults and youth in the past 40 years.
"I don't think we're doing it right," Michael said. "If we're going to get this right in Tennessee, we need to be very deliberative in how we approach juvenile justice."
Many kids in Tennessee begin their entry into the juvenile justice system not by breaking the law or committing violent crimes, but by being truant then failing to comply with court orders to attend school.
"Truancy in our view is the gateway to what's been called the school-to-prison pipeline," said task force member Dean Rivkin, a University of Tennessee law professor. "It is very easy for kids to get into the juvenile system, but more difficult for them to get out."
Tennessee and other states have been moving away from locking up youth offenders at state secure facilities. and finding alternative placements in the community. Nationally, between 60 and 70 percent of all confined youth have mental health problems. And kids released from state facilities are 21 percent more likely to be arrested than kids who were diverted to other services.
The task force meets again September 12 in Legislative Plaza
Juvenile Justice Realignment Task Force Members
Senator Mark Norris
Senator Doug Overbey
Representative Karen Camper
Representative Mike Sparks
Leslie Collum, Assistant District Attorney –Rutherford County
Jason Crews, Executive Director - Middle TN Juvenile Detention Center & Wayne Halfway House
Barry Fain, Youth Services Officer – Juvenile Court, Jefferson County
Darci Halfman, Executive Director – Tennessee Alliance for Children and Families
Keeda Haynes, Assistant Public Defender – Nashville Public Defenders Office
Robert Hill, Executive Director Government Affairs – Shelby County Trustee’s Office
Dr. Mark Lipsey – Peabody Research Institute, Vanderbilt University
Sutton Mora-Hayes, Chief Operating Officer – Community Foundation of Greater Memphis
Judge Dan Michael – Shelby County Juvenile Court
Dean Rivkin, Esq. – Distinguished Professor, University of Tennessee College of Law
Ex Officio members:
Luke Ashley– Department of Finance & Administration
Dr. Jeff Feix – Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services
Commissioner Bonnie Hommrich – Department of Children’s Services
Judge Robert Lincoln – Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges
Susan Matson – Comptroller’s office
Linda O’Neal– Commission on Children and Youth
Deborah Taylor Tate – Administrative Office of the Courts
