Rethinking juvenile justice could save taxpayers money and improve outcomes for kids

GRAND ISLAND, Neb — Keeping troubled teens out of juvenile detention can be good for kids and taxpayers.

Now a local judge wants Hall County to see if they can improve on the juvenile justice system. Judge Al Corey invited state court officials to visit county commissioners.

Monica Miles-Steffens from the state juvenile services division said kids make mistakes but deserve the opportunity to grow up to be responsible citizens.

"We all know kids need second chances and sometimes third chances in order to make better decisions," she said.

Miles-Steffens told county commissioners it may be time for an examination.

"It's kind of like a checkup when we go to the doctor," she told the board of a potential assessment they could do.

In this case they would see if the county's juvenile justice system is healthy or not and specifically to try and keep kids from going to detention centers.

Miles-Steffens said the research shows sending low risk kids to detention may do more harm than good.

"Those youth end up having worse outcomings they drop out of school, higher use of substances, further penetration into juvenile justice system," she said.

Putting kids in detention has cost Hall County an average of $160,000 a year when looking at the past three years.

The counties that have been through a review known as the Juvenile Detention Alternative Initiative (JDAI) have cut those costs 60 percent.

"They've been able to reinvest those dollars and time and effort into community based alternatives which research shows that youth do better in our community than in our facilities," said Miles-Steffens.

Judge Al Corey asked the county to allow a JDAI assessment at no cost to the county.

He said, "We try to get as many stakeholders as we can whether from school system, law enforcement, I can see united way and community associations, in order to make sure every need we can have met is done,"

Hall County takes pride in its juvenile diversion program but Judge Corey wants to keep kids out of his courtroom as adults and an assessment may find other action steps.

"In order to improve ourselves which is always the most important thing for children in our community," he said.

Miles-Steffens said JDAI gives counties a framework and looks to reduce racial disparities and make sure every child has what they need to be successful.