Children go to jail, for lack of options

I was particularly struck when I viewed my Boston Globe email alerts the other day and read an editorial called Children go to jail, for lack of options. I know that this might seem strange, since we are saturated daily by media articles and sound bites of youth violence and crimes on the streets. Last year, in fact, 5,400 children in our state were sent to jail after being charged with a crime.

But that’s not what surprised me. What I found quite alarming is that not a handful, not a dozen, but hundreds of our youth, who should be placed in the mental health and child welfare system are being sent to jail—for an average 25 days. Why? Because these systems don’t have the resources to take them. These are youth who have been charged with minor, nonviolent misdemeanors. They pose little or no risk of flight and are not considered a threat to our community. What does pose a threat, and a fairly hefty cost I should add, is what happens to these children afterwards. According to the article, national research shows that secure detention is a fairly accurate predictor of future criminal behavior. Not only does detention increase the presentation of mental illness, behavior problems and other educational difficulties, but studies show that children placed in jail are actually more angry, depressed and dysfunctional than before they were detained.

Where is the logic in all of this? Youth charged with minor crimes (such as bringing a small fingernail file to school, as cited in the editorial) are placed in the same detention facilities as those who have been charged with far worse, they are detained an average of 25 days before they are placed in alternative settings or returned to home, they often do not receive the appropriate mental health or child welfare services they need, and there is a greater chance that they will exhibit future criminal behavior.

I echo the author’s statement that we are failing our children if we are placing them in jail for lack of other options. If we see children as the true leaders of the future, we can’t afford not to support them. We must ensure that they receive the kind of services and supports they need to address their issues and set them on the path to a successful future. This isn’t just an issue about the youth cited in the editorial, or the 5,400 children detained last year. It’s an issue that affects that whole community—all of us—and one that requires our full attention and participation. By bringing together members of government, nonprofit, business, schools, the faith community and others, we can tackle issues like this and so many others that face our region’s youth. There is real power in numbers. If we all join together and work toward a common vision, we can make a difference and we all win.