Brownback wrong in handling young offenders
Lewis DiuguidKansas Gov. Sam Brownback is making a wrong move in combining the Juvenile Justice Authority with the state Department of Corrections.
The move is to promote safety and better management. However, it sends a signal that locking up young offenders takes priority over rehabilitating them.
The move follows two critical legislative audits showing a need to drop “a failed social services approach” to handling young offenders, The Associated Press reports.
If the rehabilitative programs for youths aren’t working the state should concentrate on fixing them instead of incarcerating kids like hardened criminals. The Department of Corrections houses about 9,400 adult offenders, the Juvenile Justice Authority has 1,500 young offenders.
The state shouldn’t make such a clear track for kids to feed into the prison system.
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