OPINION | If We Can Find Millions to Build Fences Around a Youth Jail, We Can Invest in Helping Youth Thrive

by Sarah Cusworth Walker, Ph.D., and Dr. Ben Danielson

Recent headlines about youth running away from a juvenile detention facility, and the fence currently under construction in response, have added fuel to an ongoing debate about our state's juvenile rehabilitation system — how it's working, if it's working, and what to do to improve it. As that dialogue plays out, some may be tempted to adopt measures that isolate and punish young people. But now is a time to engage in careful and responsible policymaking. Research shows that investments in earlier intervention, not expensive investment in capital projects, will make our communities safer and allow young people to provide meaningful accountability to victims and seek a fresh start for their own lives.

Some say youth aren't getting a clear enough message about harmful behavior. Calls for more punitive crackdowns, increased arrests, and more incarceration often accompany this opinion. But the research is clear: Jailing teenagers does not improve public safety or reduce their likelihood of recidivism.

It is costly, and risky, to detain youth in a local jail or longer-term state facility. Washington's youth-incarceration facilities are experiencing staffing challenges, and youth are being placed in increasingly dangerous circumstances. These types of conditions can lead to worse outcomes for youth after release, in addition to those youth not receiving constitutional entitlements, like basic education and adequate health care, while incarcerated.

Punitive approaches run contrary to the aims of the U.S. juvenile system. The intention of the founders of juvenile court was never to simply inflict punishment on kids. The system is meant first to reduce the likelihood youth will commit future offenses, and second to give youth accused of criminal offenses due process protections, like the right to legal representation.

Taxpayers should demand robust investments in the services that reduce offending. We need interventions and investments that give young people support to prevent offenses and incarceration in the first place.

Washington State has these resources. Gov. Jay Inslee's proposed budget includes $9 million to hire private security to patrol the perimeter of a juvenile rehabilitation center, while an $8 million fence for that same facility is under construction. Costly proposals like this remind us that millions of dollars can be found when needed, so similar urgency must be applied to the task of investing in real solutions. $17 million could rapidly build infrastructure across the state for providing families and youth employment training, mental health and substance treatment, and accountability programs that build civic responsibility while keeping youth from needing more costly legal interventions and services. It could certainly more than amply fund proposals on the table this legislative session to reduce youth incarceration and expand resources for family reconciliation services, court diversions, youth development, and more.

On top of critiques about the youth carceral system being disastrously expensive, we also just fundamentally believe children should not be incarcerated. To get there, we must partner state funding and policy with local expertise and implementation. Investing in positive opportunities will ultimately lead to fewer detention and jail beds. If we are focusing only on building justice infrastructure rather than on developmental opportunities, we are acknowledging that we are bad at justice policy. We can be better.

The South Seattle Emerald is committed to holding space for a variety of viewpoints within our community, with the understanding that differing perspectives do not negate mutual respect amongst community members.

The opinions, beliefs, and viewpoints expressed by the contributors on this website do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs, and viewpoints of the Emerald or official policies of the Emerald.

Sarah Cusworth Walker, Ph.D., directs the CoLab for Community and Behavioral Health Policy at the University of Washington.

Dr. Ben Danielson is a pediatrician who continues to promote the well-being of young people by catalyzing efforts to end youth incarceration.

Protesters in downtown Seattle in 2018 opposed to the building of a new youth jail. Photo by catusbones via Flickr (under a Creative Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0 license).