Anyone who's watched the brilliant crime/cop series "The Wire" remembers former police brass Howard Colvin's involvement with a pilot program aimed at helping at-risk youth chart better futures for themselves. It seemed utterly futile at first, but at least one student managed to turn his life around.
The main lesson learned is that you gotta win them over while they're still relatively young, and even then it's an uphill battle. The series does a great job showing the enormous odds these kids are up against, shattering the myth of equal opportunity, as well as illustrating the revolving-door nature of prison.
Once they've gotten that far, they're already lost.
That's why the Illinois Dept. of Juvenile Justice was finally separated from adult corrections in 2006. Put these kids in the same room as hardened criminals and all you've done is unintentionally facilitate a crime-mentoring program.
The problem is, according to a scathing new report by the John Howard Association (PDF, John Howard Assoc. press release), the department was never properly funded and is severely understaffed as a result (similarly, the youth program in "The Wire" was cancelled for lack of funding).
The Illinois Youth Center in St. Charles, for example, has "dangerous beds ... and other hazards," according to the report, and several of the buildings are plagued by leaks and mold issues. A lack of staff results in at-risk kids being neglected just when they need guidance the most, the report also points out.
Another major criticism levied by the organization, which advocates prison reform, is the lack of a proper education as a result of being understaffed (Chicago Public Radio). Again, these kids are most in need of a way out of their situation.
- IYC St. Charles, 9/14/09, John Howard Association of Illinois Site Visit (PDF, full text of report)
- Illinois Youth Center St. Charles (Ill. Dept. of Corrections)
- Juvenile Justice: Background (FindLaw)
- Locate a Chicago Criminal Attorney (FindLaw)
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