Juvenile Justice
The tragic death of a youth in a boot camp last month once again brings a grim spotlight on the inner workings of the Department of Juvenile Justice.
Juvenile Justice has moved the furthest in the privatization journey and made the least progress. The agency, like most social service agencies in the state, has been organized, reorganized, restructured, revamped and reengineered at every change in the state administration and at every media crisis.
Only the Department of Children and Families (DCF), which was once the home of Juvenile Justice when DCF was Health and Rehabilitation Services (HRS), has experienced more turmoil in the name of progress.
In the present era of more justice and less service, even the mission statement of Juvenile Justice proclaims that children are not their first priority: "Protect the public by reducing juvenile crime and delinquency in Florida."
Yes, the Department of Juvenile Justice does not exist to help the youth of Florida. By its own mission statement, it exists to protect the public. This is significant. If your first priority is not your clients, then the care and well-being of your clients takes a backseat to the public interest.
Recent headlines reveal that the health care and security of youths in residential care is in jeopardy. A youth dies after a beating; another dies complaining of stomach pains; a pregnant girl is delayed medical treatment until she gives birth; a youth is attacked by a fellow client who has been assigned to bathe him.
These types of incidents will continue to occur in part because they are not the first priority of the department.
The public safety was never in danger, so the department is obviously doing just what they say they are suppose to do. If children die or are abused while in the custody of the department, it is tragic, but predictable.
Removing Juvenile Justice from the old Department of HRS and creating a separate department was suppose to give the new department more autonomy, flexibility and accountability. It did, but it also changed from a service provider to a punishment provider.
Approximately 90 percent of all Juvenile Justice services are privatized. In the area of "Residential Corrections" there are 157 residential programs throughout the state, and 87 percent of them are under private contract. Twenty-three programs remain under state control and department administrators stress that these programs are needed so that the state can send in trained staff when the private programs get into trouble.
Over 70 percent of the youth in residential programs are being treated for mental health issues, and almost 50 percent have substance abuse needs. However, the treatment programs in the private facilities are a matter of concern.
The legislative oversight group, the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability (OPPAGA), recommended that the Department strengthen its program monitoring, provide more frequent monitoring and provide for withholding payments for providers who do not comply with their contracts. From 30 percent to 40 percent of the special needs and mental health programs provided by private contractors received a quality assurance rating of minimal or failed.
One of the significant factors in juvenile justice referrals is that youth are confined, not for a specified number of weeks or months, but until they satisfactorily complete their treatment program. If a program changes or closes, or if a youth is transferred to another program, the youth must start over.
With almost 90 percent of the programs in private provider hands, closings and transfers are not uncommon. Of the 152 residential programs in the Department's 2005 Program Accountability Report, 27 have closed in the past two years.
With costs for completion of these programs ranging from $5,000 to $165,000, why would the citizens of Florida want to support failing and ineffective programs? The number of closings alone is problematic. Not only are we putting all of the youth in these programs at risk, we are extending their treatment at significant cost and duplication of effort.
The providers claim that they cannot provide effective service because they cannot retain good staff. They cannot retain good staff because they pay low wages.
A 2005 Gainesville Sun article listed the average pay for employees in the private facilities as $8.36 per hour, or less than $18,000 per year. State employee salaries are significantly higher, plus their benefit packages are usually much better. Yet on average, the privatized programs cost more than the state operated programs.
Treating problem youth is not an easy job. It takes very dedicated staff with specific skills and training. Military personnel and corrections personnel also have difficult jobs that require specific skills, however, the jobs are not interchangeable. Privatizing social services does not save money, increase services or save lives.
Perhaps if the Department of Juvenile Justice changed its mission to "protecting youth" instead of "protecting the public," we would all benefit and fewer children would die.
Sue Tennant is a former state human resources manager and author of the book "The Fleecing of Florida, Privatization in the Shadows of the Sunshine State." She lives in Gainesville.
http://www.gainesville.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2006203260325&source=email
Juvenile Justice has moved the furthest in the privatization journey and made the least progress. The agency, like most social service agencies in the state, has been organized, reorganized, restructured, revamped and reengineered at every change in the state administration and at every media crisis.
Only the Department of Children and Families (DCF), which was once the home of Juvenile Justice when DCF was Health and Rehabilitation Services (HRS), has experienced more turmoil in the name of progress.
In the present era of more justice and less service, even the mission statement of Juvenile Justice proclaims that children are not their first priority: "Protect the public by reducing juvenile crime and delinquency in Florida."
Yes, the Department of Juvenile Justice does not exist to help the youth of Florida. By its own mission statement, it exists to protect the public. This is significant. If your first priority is not your clients, then the care and well-being of your clients takes a backseat to the public interest.
Recent headlines reveal that the health care and security of youths in residential care is in jeopardy. A youth dies after a beating; another dies complaining of stomach pains; a pregnant girl is delayed medical treatment until she gives birth; a youth is attacked by a fellow client who has been assigned to bathe him.
These types of incidents will continue to occur in part because they are not the first priority of the department.
The public safety was never in danger, so the department is obviously doing just what they say they are suppose to do. If children die or are abused while in the custody of the department, it is tragic, but predictable.
Removing Juvenile Justice from the old Department of HRS and creating a separate department was suppose to give the new department more autonomy, flexibility and accountability. It did, but it also changed from a service provider to a punishment provider.
Approximately 90 percent of all Juvenile Justice services are privatized. In the area of "Residential Corrections" there are 157 residential programs throughout the state, and 87 percent of them are under private contract. Twenty-three programs remain under state control and department administrators stress that these programs are needed so that the state can send in trained staff when the private programs get into trouble.
Over 70 percent of the youth in residential programs are being treated for mental health issues, and almost 50 percent have substance abuse needs. However, the treatment programs in the private facilities are a matter of concern.
The legislative oversight group, the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability (OPPAGA), recommended that the Department strengthen its program monitoring, provide more frequent monitoring and provide for withholding payments for providers who do not comply with their contracts. From 30 percent to 40 percent of the special needs and mental health programs provided by private contractors received a quality assurance rating of minimal or failed.
One of the significant factors in juvenile justice referrals is that youth are confined, not for a specified number of weeks or months, but until they satisfactorily complete their treatment program. If a program changes or closes, or if a youth is transferred to another program, the youth must start over.
With almost 90 percent of the programs in private provider hands, closings and transfers are not uncommon. Of the 152 residential programs in the Department's 2005 Program Accountability Report, 27 have closed in the past two years.
With costs for completion of these programs ranging from $5,000 to $165,000, why would the citizens of Florida want to support failing and ineffective programs? The number of closings alone is problematic. Not only are we putting all of the youth in these programs at risk, we are extending their treatment at significant cost and duplication of effort.
The providers claim that they cannot provide effective service because they cannot retain good staff. They cannot retain good staff because they pay low wages.
A 2005 Gainesville Sun article listed the average pay for employees in the private facilities as $8.36 per hour, or less than $18,000 per year. State employee salaries are significantly higher, plus their benefit packages are usually much better. Yet on average, the privatized programs cost more than the state operated programs.
Treating problem youth is not an easy job. It takes very dedicated staff with specific skills and training. Military personnel and corrections personnel also have difficult jobs that require specific skills, however, the jobs are not interchangeable. Privatizing social services does not save money, increase services or save lives.
Perhaps if the Department of Juvenile Justice changed its mission to "protecting youth" instead of "protecting the public," we would all benefit and fewer children would die.
Sue Tennant is a former state human resources manager and author of the book "The Fleecing of Florida, Privatization in the Shadows of the Sunshine State." She lives in Gainesville.
http://www.gainesville.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2006203260325&source=email
posted by R7 at 2:18 PM
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