Ohio should stop sending nonviolent first-time offenders and children under age 14 to the state's youth prisons and give juvenile court judges more discretion on how to handle kids caught with guns, a new report says.
The Juvenile Justice Working Group , headed by former youth prisons director Tom Stickrath, issued the report with 26 recommendations to Gov. Mike DeWine on Tuesday. Several recommendations would require lawmakers to act.
The recommendations come nine months after publication of an investigation by the Cincinnati Enquirer, Columbus Dispatch, Akron Beacon Journal, Canton Repository and other publications in the USA TODAY Network Ohio.
The newspapers' investigation found incarcerated children face violence and neglect, while guards remain overwhelmed, understaffed and in fear for their own safety . Four in 10 teens who leave the youth prisons end up returning to the youth system or entering Ohio's adult prisons.
Ohio operates youth prisons in Circleville, Massillon and Highland Hills for about 470 youths ages 12 to 21 found responsible for felony acts. Children aged 10 and 11 who are adjudicated delinquent are held in private facilities.
Ohio Department of Youth Services Director Amy Ast said there are less than a dozen 12- and 13-year-old kids incarcerated in the youth prisons and about 34 children are being held on low-level offenses.
Just weeks into the mission, the working group made an early recommendation that Ohio close its large youth prisons and replace them with smaller, closer-to-home facilities. Other states have moved in this direction, including California in 2023.
On Tuesday, the governor said the first of the three state youth prisons to close is Cuyahoga Hills Juvenile Correctional Facility in Highland Hills. It'll be replaced with four, 36-bed facilities. Nearly $290 million in state capital money has already been approved. DeWine plans to work with lawmakers for capital money to ultimately close the other two youth prisons and build eight more smaller lockups, for a total of 12.
Gov. Mike DeWine: Close Ohio's 3 youth prisons, build a dozen smaller facilities
The system faces two enormous challenges: acute staffing shortages and powerful gangs.
Kids in youth prisons often join gangs for their own protection. Gang members commit violent assaults and smuggle contraband into the prisons. The juvenile justice group recommended creating a gang coordinator position at the Ohio Department of Youth Services who would work with local law enforcement and the highway patrol. The department director said the coordinator has been hired.
The Ohio Department of Youth Services doesn't have enough guards, teachers or counselors to maintain security and deliver education and therapy to high-needs teens. Staff shortages lead to children being held behind locked doors, which later leads to more violence.
"We cannot over emphasize the negative impact that the current staffing crisis has on the juvenile justice system’s ability to safeguard staff and youth and to ensure effective habilitation throughout this state," the report said.
The report said Ohio should improve staff training, hiring and retention and establish employee wellness programs at each facility. The youth prison department should also partner with Ohio colleges and universities to build a staff talent pipeline.
Among the group's key recommendations are:
- Reduce the number of crimes for which teens are automatically sent to adult court , a process called bindover. Instead, give juvenile court judges more discretion to consider the facts of each case. In the last fiscal year, Ohio had 175 teens bound over to adult court, 111 of which were required under current law.
- Give juvenile court judges discretion over how much time teens should serve for having a gun when they commit crimes. Current law mandates sentence time.
- Build community correctional facilities, which are a step down from a youth prison, in Cuyahoga, Hamilton and Franklin counties. None of the existing 11 CCFs are in those three counties, which send the most teens to lockups. It's undecided which county will get the first new CCF.
- Assist local juvenile detention centers to become nationally accredited and certified under the national Prison Rape Elimination Act.
- Work with local mental health providers to augment services provided to children by prison and detention center staff.
Two decades ago, Ohio had about 2,000 children incarcerated in 10 youth prisons. The state shuttered prisons and shifted to providing services at the local level. The total number of children adjudicated on felony charges has fallen from about 9,000 in 2004 to 3,200 in 2022.
Laura Bischoff is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.
Ohio juvenile prison report by Anthony Shoemaker on Scribd
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio shouldn't put kids under age 14 in prisons, report says
Local News
