[Senate Hearing 113-789]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
S. Hrg. 113-789
THE JUVENILE JUSTICE AND DELINQUENCY
PREVENTION ACT: PRESERVING POTENTIAL, PROTECTING COMMUNITIES
=======================================================================
HEARING
before the
COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY
UNITED STATES SENATE
ONE HUNDRED THIRTEENTH CONGRESS
SECOND SESSION
__________
JUNE 9, 2014
__________
PAWTUCKET, RHODE ISLAND
__________
Serial No. J-113-64
__________
Printed for the use of the Committee on the Judiciary
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COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY
PATRICK J. LEAHY, Vermont, Chairman
DIANNE FEINSTEIN, California CHUCK GRASSLEY, Iowa, Ranking
CHUCK SCHUMER, New York Member
DICK DURBIN, Illinois ORRIN G. HATCH, Utah
SHELDON WHITEHOUSE, Rhode Island JEFF SESSIONS, Alabama
AMY KLOBUCHAR, Minnesota LINDSEY GRAHAM, South Carolina
AL FRANKEN, Minnesota JOHN CORNYN, Texas
CHRISTOPHER A. COONS, Delaware MICHAEL S. LEE, Utah
RICHARD BLUMENTHAL, Connecticut TED CRUZ, Texas
MAZIE HIRONO, Hawaii JEFF FLAKE, Arizona
Kristine Lucius, Chief Counsel and Staff Director
Kolan Davis, Republican Chief Counsel and Staff Director
C O N T E N T S
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JUNE 9, 2014, 9:09 A.M.
STATEMENTS OF COMMITTEE MEMBERS
Page
Whitehouse, Hon. Sheldon, a U.S. Senator from the State of Rhode
Island......................................................... 1
WITNESSES
Witness List..................................................... 27
Bedrosian, Honorable Haiganush R., Chief Judge, Rhode Island
Family Court, Providence, Rhode Island......................... 10
prepared statement........................................... 40
Bryant, Elizabeth Burke, Executive Director, Rhode Island KIDS
COUNT, Providence, Rhode Island................................ 13
prepared statement........................................... 46
Duoa, Osbert, Providence, Rhode Island........................... 18
prepared statement........................................... 50
Listenbee, Robert L., Administrator, Office of Juvenile Justice
and Delinquency Prevention, Office of Justice Programs, U.S.
Department of Justice, Washington, D.C......................... 3
prepared statement........................................... 28
SUBMISSIONS FOR THE RECORD
Division of Juvenile Correctional Services, Rhode Island
Department of Children, Youth & Families, Providence, Rhode
Island, testimony.............................................. 52
Rhode Island for Community & Justice, Toby Ayers, Ph.D.,
Executive Director, and Program Director, Juvenile Justice DMC
Diversionary Coalition, Providence, Rhode Island, June 12,
2014, letter................................................... 61
Rhode Island for Community & Justice, Shanna Wells, M.Ed., Mental
Health Subcommittee Chair, and Executive Director, West End
Community Center, Inc., and Toby Ayers, Ph.D., Executive
Director, and Project Director, DMC Diversionary Project,
Providence, Rhode Island, June 12, 2014, letter................ 65
Rhode Island Department of Children, Youth and Families, Janice
DeFrances, Ed.D., Director, Providence, Rhode Island, June 16,
2014, letter................................................... 64
THE JUVENILE JUSTICE AND DELINQUENCY
PREVENTION ACT: PRESERVING POTENTIAL, PROTECTING COMMUNITIES
----------
MONDAY, JUNE 9, 2014
United States Senate,
Committee on the Judiciary,
Washington, DC.
The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 9:09 a.m., at the
Tides Family Services, 242 Dexter Street, Pawtucket, Rhode
Island, Hon. Sheldon Whitehouse, presiding.
Present: Senator Whitehouse.
OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. SHELDON WHITEHOUSE,
A U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF RHODE ISLAND
Senator Whitehouse. This hearing of the Senate Judiciary
Committee will come to order, which is easy for me to do since
I am the only Member present, so I bring myself to order.
[Laughter.]
Senator Whitehouse. It is terrific to be here with
everyone. I want to particularly thank Brother Michael Reis and
the staff at Tides Family Services for hosting us here today
and for the extraordinary work they do with young people here
in Rhode Island.
This is a field hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee
on the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act. It is a
pleasure for me to chair this here in Rhode Island and showcase
some of the strides that Rhode Island has taken when it comes
to juvenile justice and to examine what more can and should be
done as we reauthorize this piece of legislation.
I am very honored--I will mention our witnesses later when
they come on, but in addition to a very distinguished panel of
Rhode Island witnesses, I am very honored that we are joined by
United States Attorney Peter Neronha, by State Senator Roger
Picard, by Chief Brian Sullivan from Lincoln, Chief Paul King
here from our city of Pawtucket--where this hearing is taking
place--Chief James Mendonca from Central Falls, Chief Stephen
McCartney from Warwick, Superintendent Giovanna Donoyan from
Woonsocket, and former chief and former head of the Bureau of
Criminal Investigation Vin McAteer. And I would also recognize
Teny Gross, whose Institute for the Study and Practice of
Nonviolence does such terrific work with young people on our
streets as well. But everybody here has expertise and something
to contribute when it comes to juvenile justice, so I
appreciate very much that you are all here.
We are here to try to make sure that we can do our best to
keep kids out of youthful trouble, both by helping ensure that
they have the opportunity to achieve their potential and become
productive adult members of society.
Juvenile justice is largely a province of the States, but
the Federal Government has an important role to play in
guaranteeing certain standards for the care and custody of
youth. The Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act,
which we call ``JJDPA,'' is the most important piece of Federal
legislation in this area. It authorizes Federal resources for
States and communities seeking to improve their juvenile
justice systems and prevent children from coming into contact
with those systems in the first place.
The legislation celebrates its 40th birthday this summer,
but it has not been reauthorized since 2002, so there are 12
years of more experience that has not yet been incorporated in
this legislation. Reauthorization would allow us the chance to
examine current policies in light of recent experience, and I
plan to introduce bipartisan legislation to do that very soon.
This hearing will bring Rhode Island voices formally into
that process, and with these terrific witnesses, we have a lot
to add.
When JJDPA was enacted in 1974, the legislation established
four core protections: the deinstitutionalization of status
offenders, removal of most juveniles from adult jails, sight
and sound separation from adults for those juveniles who are
placed in adult facilities, and a requirement to assess and
address disproportionate minority contact with the juvenile
justice system.
I look forward to hearing from our witnesses how the four
core protections should be updated or strengthened. Do they
adequately take into account the needs of all vulnerable
populations? Should we do more to ensure that mental health and
substance abuse needs are addressed through State juvenile
justice systems? Can detained youth continue their education
without undue interruption? These are some of the questions I
hope Rhode Island experience can help answer.
As a former prosecutor, I understand the importance of
holding individuals accountable for their conduct. However, I
also know that when we are talking about young offenders, the
evidence shows that treating them like adults and incarcerating
them like adults increases the likelihood that they will
reoffend in the future. Scientific research has shown that
adolescent offenders are not like adult offenders and that
risk-taking activity, including criminal activity, is often a
transient characteristic of adolescence itself.
We know that up to half of all juvenile offenders have
experienced trauma, with incidences of PTSD particularly high
among girls, and we know that as many as 70 percent of
adolescents in the juvenile justice system have diagnosable
mental health needs, and as many as 80 percent have a history
of substance abuse.
We know that minorities continue to be overrepresented in
the juvenile justice system, and we know that when a youth is
suspended or expelled from school, that youth's likelihood of
becoming caught up in the justice system increases
significantly.
We know that a strong juvenile justice system should
include a continuum of care that incorporates developmentally
appropriate placement, comprehensive mental health and
substance abuse services, opportunities for continuity in
education, and effective reentry planning.
I am proud to say that Rhode Island is experiencing a
downward trend in the number of youths referred to family court
for wayward and delinquent offenses, as well as a steep decline
in the number of youths placed in the care or custody of the
Training School, our secure facility for youth in the juvenile
justice system. Alongside the decrease in incarceration, crime
has fallen sharply in this population as a result of the use of
such alternative strategies.
I want to thank Chairman Leahy of the Senate Judiciary
Committee for authorizing this hearing to take place in Rhode
Island and for his support for reauthorization of the JJDPA.
I also want to thank Ranking Member Grassley for his
cooperation in planning this hearing.
We welcome Administrator Robert Listenbee from the
Department of Justice's Office of Justice Programs' Office of
Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. He has traveled
here to participate in this hearing, and he has a longstanding
commitment to protect public safety while improving outcomes.
And I extend my warm thanks and appreciation to our Rhode
Island witnesses, Chief Family Court Judge Haiganush Bedrosian,
Elizabeth Burke Bryant, and Osbert Duoa, for their willingness
to testify and share their valuable and varied experiences.
Your voices and perspectives will help inform our efforts back
in Washington.
I look forward to hearing from our witnesses and to working
with partners on both sides of the aisle in Washington toward
reauthorization legislation that is based on best practices and
scientific evidence.
And now, if I could ask Robert Listenbee to come to the
microphone and be sworn in. Do you affirm that the testimony
you will give before this Committee will be the truth, the
whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?
Mr. Listenbee. I do.
Senator Whitehouse. Please be seated.
Robert Listenbee is the Administrator of the Office of
Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention at the Department
of Justice's Office of Justice Programs. Before his appointment
to OJJDP, Mr. Listenbee was chief of the Juvenile Unit of the
Defender Association of Philadelphia for 16 years and was a
trial lawyer with the association for 27 years. He was
instrumental in creating the Juvenile Defender Association of
Pennsylvania. Mr. Listenbee served as co-chair of the Attorney
General's National Task Force on Children Exposed to Violence
and as a member of the Federal Advisory Committee on Juvenile
Justice, which advises the President and Congress. He received
his bachelor of arts from Harvard University and his law degree
from Boalt Hall School of Law at the University of California,
Berkeley, and we welcome him to Rhode Island.
Mr. Listenbee, please proceed with your statement.
STATEMENT OF ROBERT L. LISTENBEE, ADMINISTRATOR,
OFFICE OF JUVENILE JUSTICE AND DELINQUENCY PREVENTION, OFFICE
OF JUSTICE PROGRAMS, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, WASHINGTON,
D.C.
Mr. Listenbee. Thank you, Chairman Whitehouse.
To Chairman Whitehouse and other distinguished Members of
the Committee, I would like to thank you for this opportunity
to discuss juvenile justice reform and the Department of
Justice's support for the reauthorization of the Juvenile
Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act.
I am, as the Senator indicated, Robert Listenbee,
Administrator of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency
Prevention within the Department of Justice's Office of Justice
Programs. As you know, and as the Senator indicated, in 1974
Congress enacted the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency
Prevention Act which established our office. I am pleased to
speak with you today as we approach the 40th anniversary of
that landmark legislation.
As a former defender and trial lawyer with nearly 30 years
of service, I have dedicated myself to seeking justice for
youth involved in the juvenile justice system--a system that
often revictimized youth in the name of accountability. We know
that a number of factors place youth at a higher risk of
entering the juvenile justice system including childhood
exposure to violence, mental health problems, substance abuse,
and cognitive disabilities.
Research suggests that more than 50 percent of these kids
will reoffend and that detention and out-of-home placement can
worsen preexisting mental and emotional problems.
During my tenure at the Defender Association of
Philadelphia, I created a specialized unit to deal with
juvenile sex assault cases and was instrumental in developing
three specialty court programs that diverted youth out of the
juvenile justice system and reduced their risk of residential
placement.
In my role as Administrator, I have drawn from these
experiences, and they have informed my priorities and goals for
advancing the work of this office.
OJJDP's vision is that of a Nation where all our children
are healthy, educated, and free from violence. Should they come
into contact with the juvenile justice system, that contact
should be rare, fair, and beneficial to them. To implement this
vision, I have articulated five major priorities to support
State and local efforts: first, maintain public safety; second,
adopt a developmental approach to juvenile justice reform;
third, integrate evidence-based research in all programs,
grants, and initiatives; fourth, reduce youth violence and its
impact on children in homes, schools, and communities, while
developing programs that address trauma and provide trauma-
informed care; and, fifth, reduce disproportionate minority
contact and eliminate racial and ethnic disparities.
The Department strongly supports the reauthorization of the
Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act. OJJDP has
worked closely with Congress in support of their efforts to
reauthorize the JJDPA. Our office has heard from juvenile
justice organizations and practitioners who strongly support
juvenile justice reform and reauthorization of the JJDPA.
While much can be accomplished through the reauthorization,
there are some very specific items which OJJDP believes are
crucial and critical to juvenile justice reform and public
safety. Among these are:
Promote the use of evidence-based interventions and
prevention programs and provide appropriate services for youth
while ensuring safety within communities;
Provide enhancements to the Disproportionate Minority
Contact core requirement;
Enhance services and support indigenous and culturally
based practices to assist American Indian and Alaska Native at-
risk youth;
Improve youth access to qualified legal representation;
Phase out the Valid Court Order exception;
Treat youth charged with minor in possession as status
offenders;
Encourage the use of community-based alternatives to
detention, especially those charged--where youth are charged
with status offenses;
And enhance the availability of juvenile reentry services
and provisions that recognize the need for gender-responsive
programs.
As Administrator, I believe that OJJDP has a crucial role
to play in fostering and encouraging juvenile justice reform.
Juvenile justice professionals throughout the Nation have
embraced the need for evidence-based practices and adopting
developmentally appropriate approaches to juvenile justice
reform. OJJDP has embraced this rising tide of system reform
and transformation because it is evidence-based, it promotes
public safety, and it provides positive outcomes for youth.
In conclusion, I believe we have seen some encouraging
trends in the decline in youth in custody, the increase in
States' compliance with core requirements, and promising reform
efforts by the States. However, there is still much to be done
in a number of areas to include the need to address children's
exposure to violence; racial and ethnic disparities; and trauma
and trauma-informed care, just to name a few. Our office is
diligently working with our partners at the State, local, and
tribal levels to address these issues. Reauthorization of the
Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention Act will strengthen the
core requirements and provide the necessary funding to support
these important juvenile justice programs. I would like to
thank you for the opportunity to testify before the
Committee on this important issue. I would also like to
thank the U.S. Attorney, Providence officials, Pawtucket
officials, and Brother Michael Reis of the Tides Family
Services for welcoming us here today.
Thank you.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Listenbee appears as a
submission for the record.]
Senator Whitehouse. Thank you very much, Mr. Listenbee.
I overlooked, which is really bad of me, mentioning
Magistrate Angela Bucci Paulhus, who was here from the very
beginning, who used to work for me in the Attorney General's
office, and we worked together in the Attorney General's office
as well, so I want to recognize her.
And I also want to recognize a former DCYF Director, Linda
D'Amario Rossi, who has come, and she, in addition to being a
former DCYF Director, is also the Chair of the Board of Tides.
So, Linda, thank you very much for being here.
Mr. Listenbee, you have mentioned some very specific
changes that you would propose that we incorporate in the
legislation. In terms of the implementation of the VCO
sanction, do you see any adult models in probation that make
sense to use as a template?
Mr. Listenbee. Well, Senator, in terms of the valid court
order exception, this is a provision that allows for status
offenders to be held accountable by judges if they fail to
comply with judicial orders. Our goal in this matter is to
phase out the valid court order exception so that there is an
opportunity for everyone to become familiar with the new rules
and regulations. We would also like to stress that during the
time that this phase-out is occurring, no child should be held
in excess of 7 days during the phase-out period.
Specifically, Senator, I am not familiar with any adult
practices that provide really good models at this time. If
there are some, we would hope that the field and
representatives from throughout Rhode Island and other places
will provide us with some information on them. We would
certainly like to take a look at them.
Senator Whitehouse. Okay. It is somewhat of an analogy with
a probation violation for an adult offender in that you can be
brought in very quickly and incarcerated for a violation of
probation or a violation of a valid court order, correct?
Mr. Listenbee. Correct, Your Honor. I mean, correct,
Senator.
Senator Whitehouse. Too long in a courtroom, Mr. Listenbee.
[Laughter.]
Mr. Listenbee. Senator, I spent a lot of years in a
courtroom handling thousands of cases, so it does come as a
reflex.
Senator Whitehouse. Take a look at the HOPE program in
Hawaii that was run by Judge--I want to say--I have got Almey
on the brain, but that is Steve Almey who drives me. He has got
a name very like that. He was the U.S. Attorney in Hawaii when
I was there, and I will get you his name. It has, I think, been
very effective in probation violation by making the system much
more rapid and responsive. Quick, small sanctions seem to work
better than a lot of process, and then a big sanction. And
treads more lightly on both the individual before the court and
the system and the taxpayer. So we will work with you on that.
Mr. Listenbee. Senator, one of the experiences I had was
the creation of a graduated response court for young people who
violate and were charged with violating probation, technical
violations of probation, and, again, in that situation it was
for rapid response, graduated, so there was not immediate
custody for the child. And I think these kinds of responses
worked very well with young folks, as long as you have a
continuum of responses that are appropriate and age-appropriate
for the young people we are dealing with.
Senator Whitehouse. We are seeing a cultural shift in terms
of how our country perceives addiction to alcohol and drugs. A
lot of the shame and stigma is going away, and the success of
recovery programs is becoming clearer and clearer. And I am
working on recovery legislation, recovery and rehab legislation
in Washington right now.
What should we be looking at, do you think, in terms of--we
have had a drug court here that has worked very effectively in
Rhode Island, and we have other interventions like a new
veterans court that provide a diversion into recovery services
very quickly. That seems to me to be a good process. Are there
different considerations that the Department perceives when
dealing with juveniles?
Mr. Listenbee. Senator, with juveniles, I think one of the
most important things we can do is when juveniles come in
contact with the system, very early on have appropriate
assessments to determine what their needs are. If their needs
involve addictions, we need to make sure that they get to the
right place at the right time to get the right services to
address those addiction issues.
Among the possibilities certainly are drug courts. Juvenile
drug courts have come a long way. We have been focusing on
these issues within the Office of Juvenile Justice and
Delinquency Prevention within the last year. We brought
together researchers and practitioners to develop standards and
practices and procedures that are age-appropriate for
juveniles. So we are working to develop models that actually
work and that can be replicated throughout the Nation. We are
very fortunate to have funding from Congress for this issue,
and we anticipate going forward that we will be able to be very
successful in this area.
But, again, early assessment, identification of the issue,
and appropriate treatment with the right kind of services at
the right time is really what is critical. And we know that if
we do it early on, we are not as likely to have young people
come back into the system if this issue is addressed.
I was very fortunate to have worked to help create a drug
court with prosecutors and law enforcement in Philadelphia, and
we have had over 1,000 kids go through the program. One of the
most exciting things I have seen in my entire tenure as a
public defender was graduation day at drug court where you
would see young people come and indicate to the court how
important it was for them to have been through the process,
even though many of them went into placement for short periods
of time, and also to see their families there and to recognize
that they were getting their kids back.
Senator Whitehouse. When you have spent some time in the
courtroom, the difference between the outcomes of the
individual before the court going out the back door in silence
and in manacles and going back out the front door of the
courtroom surrounded by cheering family and friends is a
remarkable contrast, and it is something that, when you have
seen both, it is unforgettable, isn't it?
Mr. Listenbee. Yes, it is, Senator. And one of the things
that we are able to do, which I would like to stress, for drug
courts is we were able to take those young people who were in
their senior year of high school and work with them diligently
to ensure that they were able to recover credits for their
placement time in juvenile programs and able to actually get
their degrees by having an intensive educational component.
So being able to do that and watch them both go through
drug court and graduate there and then go into the high school
and graduate from the high school was really an honor and a
privilege to do that.
Senator Whitehouse. One last question. The role of the
Federal Government in JJDPA is in some respects secondary to
the primary role of State officials. It is viewed as a support
and, to a degree, a constraint on State behavior. And because
what we do in the Federal Government can affect what 50
different States do, which may have different ways of
addressing the problem, you do not want to tighten down the
crank too hard so that you lose your opportunity for innovation
and discovery, particularly if this is a statute that is only
going to be reauthorized every dozen years.
So that gives OJJDP an important role in the implementation
of this. What advice do you have for the Committee in terms of
the areas in which you think it is so well established that we
can afford to be fairly directive versus areas in which we
should leave more flexibility to the States to continue to find
the best way to solve these problems and a way, to use your
good phrase, that causes these encounters to be rare, fair, and
beneficial?
Mr. Listenbee. Well, Senator, first of all, I would like to
stress that the core requirements remain, and that your
Committee should help us develop sort of a clearer
understanding and mechanisms for implementing those core
requirements.
The one that we have had the least success on has been
disproportionate minority contact and dealing with racial and
ethnic disparities. We would like to enhance the requirements
to the States on that particular requirement. We think that
there are a lot of new and innovative approaches that are
available now. Through OJJDP, we are concentrating our
resources, our training and technical assistance on this
particular requirement, and we expect that with the sort of
enhanced clarity about what we can do in that area, we will
make a difference.
I think the States have been doing a pretty good job of
implementing reforms across the Nation. The difficulty they
have had is developing comprehensive statewide reform as
opposed to reform in specific areas on specific topics. For
example, in some States there is reform on the support of
school discipline issues, something called ``the School-to-
Prison Pipeline.'' In some States there is reform in terms of
comprehensive statewide reform, like in Georgia and Texas. But
it still has not gone throughout every county in the State, and
I think that what we can do from OJJDP and where I would
encourage you to have some flexibility is to allow us to use
training and technical assistance, research guidance, and
financial support to encourage and incentivize the States to
bring about statewide reform as opposed to directing them to do
it.
The States have good models in some places. We are
borrowing from one State, sharing it with another State, and we
look to have peer-to-peer counseling and support. We have some
dynamic work going on out there. What we are trying to do at
the OJJDP level is to consolidate those reforms, set forth a
comprehensive strategy for them, and then to provide that
strategy to the States. But we need the encouragement and
support of the Committee to do that. We hope that States will
realign their policies with this new reform strategy. But they
need to make their own choices. There is a lot of wisdom out
there in the States. I do not think that we in Washington have
all the wisdom necessary to tell them exactly what to do.
Senator Whitehouse. It is an important balance to maintain,
and I look forward to working with you. You will be the prime
liaison with the Department of Justice as we reauthorize this
bill, and I appreciate very much your terrific work in this
area over many years. I look forward to working with you as we
reauthorize the bill, and I am grateful to you for coming up to
Rhode Island, and I hope you have the chance to stick around,
because it will be a treat to hear the Rhode Island witnesses.
Mr. Listenbee. I plan to stick around, Senator. Thank you
very much. I appreciate it.
Senator Whitehouse. Thank you very much. You are excused,
and we take a minute to reset the table for the second panel.
[Pause.]
Senator Whitehouse. I should say as a matter of record,
while we have a senior Department of Justice official here, how
pleased we are with our United States Attorney and what an
excellent job he is doing here in Rhode Island.
[Applause.]
Senator Whitehouse. Thank you. Let the record reflect that
the comment was met with applause from the audience, so not
just dead silence. Very, very good.
Senator Whitehouse. All right. Let me call the second
panel. Do you all affirm that the testimony you are about to
give before this Committee will be the truth, the whole truth,
and nothing but the truth, so help you God?
Judge Bedrosian. I do.
Ms. Bryant. I do.
Mr. Duoa. I do.
Senator Whitehouse. Thank you very much. Welcome and please
be seated.
We will hear first from Judge Haiganush Bedrosian, who was
appointed chief judge of Rhode Island's Family Court in
December 2010, having served as an associate justice of the
court for 30 years. She began her professional career after
receiving her bachelor of arts degree while teaching elementary
school for 6 years. After graduating from Suffolk University
Law School, she served as law clerk to the Honorable Thomas J.
Paolino, Associate Justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court.
In private practice, she specialized in family law cases, often
appointed by family court judges to represent the interests of
a parent whose children were in the custody of the State or to
act as guardian ad litem to the children placed in the care of
Child Protective Services.
Chief Judge Bedrosian has taught law courses at local
colleges. Before her appointment to the bench, Chief Judge
Bedrosian was employed part-time by the Department of Attorney
General in the Criminal Prosecution Unit. She was the first
woman appointed to the family court, appointed by Governor
Garrahy, and she was the first woman appointed as its chief
judge, appointed by Governor Donald Carcieri.
Chief Judge Bedrosian has been a member of numerous boards
and commissions dedicated to the improvement of justice for
Rhode Island's children and families, and I welcome her, and I
appreciate her testimony. Your Honor?
STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE HAIGANUSH R. BEDROSIAN, CHIEF JUDGE,
RHODE ISLAND FAMILY COURT, PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND
Judge Bedrosian. Thank you for the invitation.
Senator Whitehouse, actually I am very pleased to appear
here today, and I was delighted to hear the comments of Mr.
Listenbee and the fact that the Federal Government is indeed
ready, willing, and able to begin talking to the States again
about authorizing the Act so that we will continue to get the
funding that we need to help all the youngsters who are so
vulnerable in our State, either being in the juvenile justice
area or in the child protection area.
But I do want to point out, though, that Rhode Island, back
in 1974, had Associate Justice Edward Healey, who was a member
of the family court, and he then, that far back, had begun the
discussions of how juvenile justice systems had to be
rehabilitated with new methods of treatments. And he was one of
the forerunners in the discussion regarding the issues
regarding incarceration of youth for minor offenses. He was a
member of the Task Force to Write Standards and Goals for
Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention for the
President's--of course, then the President--National Advisory
Committee on Criminal Justice, and he was a past president of
the National College of Juvenile and Family Court Judges. The
point that I am making is that for the last several decades, we
have been hearing here at the family court about the need for
advances in how we treat juveniles and children who are in need
of child protection services.
As we all know who have been in the system for so long, the
1970's, 1980's, and 1990's brought many changes in the laws to
protect juveniles, and I bring out as the example that In re
Gault, of course, made sure that children had an attorney when
necessary.
In Rhode Island, we also have been providing attorneys and
guardians ad litem for children who are in child protection
services via DCYF.
Rhode Island's Department of Children, Youth, and Families
had become a separate department in our State because of the
thoughtfulness of our legislators. And at that time, the State
declared that we have a basic obligation to promote, safeguard,
and protect the social well-being and development of the
children of the State through comprehensive programs.
So to put all of this in perspective, I am noting that when
we first started these discussions in the 1970's, the United
States was then enmeshed in a war in Vietnam; the feminists
were demanding equality for good-paying jobs; the NAACP was
seeking equality for people of color; and as we all know, today
the issues regarding children and disproportionate minority
contacts is the subject of one of our--it will be the subject
of one of our discussions today.
Congress enacted the JJDPA as the Office of Juvenile
Justice and Delinquency Prevention became part of the
Department of Justice. That is why I am appealing to you today.
Rhode Island's Family Court was a special court created in
1960. I practiced there in the 1970's. It was housed in an old
building at 22 Hayes Street--which is now Nordstrom's, by the
way.
[Laughter.]
Judge Bedrosian. And the holding cells in that basement
held adults and juveniles. I visited them there. The juvenile
and adult cells were separate cells, but indeed they were right
next to one another so that the adults and the juveniles were
able to converse with one another and to see one another. This
new Garrahy Judicial Complex, which was built in the early
1980's, does have a separate area for the youngsters. So the
issue regarding sight and sound separation certainly has been
discussed and accomplished here in Rhode Island.
The Rhode Island Training School has a new state-of-the-art
building to house incarcerated youth, and as you have pointed
out, the numbers have changed dramatically. So Rhode Island has
moved ahead to actively promote the well-being of our children,
but we still have a lot of work to do.
In the last 40 years, there were so many changes regarding
children in our juvenile justice systems. In Rhode Island at
the family court, we start our--let me stop. The cases that are
referred for juvenile justice issues go to an informal hearing
first. And Kevin Richard is here. He is the head of that
department, and he will make a decision as to whether or not
the initial cases are brought to a judge. Those cases can be
handled informally with the assistance of a counselor, and many
of those children never return.
However, we do have those cases regarding the status
offenders who are charged as well as the wayward and delinquent
youth who are charged with, of course, wayward and delinquent
offenses, and these are heard by the family court justices.
The exception to some of those cases is the family court
truancy calendar in which those petitions are heard in the
schools where magistrates preside over the hearings. By having
these cases in the schools, this assures that not only is the
child being heard by a magistrate, but the professionals in the
schools, such as the principal, the guidance counselors, and if
they have social workers, they are all present to assist this
youngster in finding programs.
So I also want to discuss the issues of strengthening
deinstitutionalization of status offenders because that is an
issue that has been raised by the Federal Government. And I
would like to explain that while the family court may advise a
status offender at times that violation of a valid court order
could result in an order for detention at the Training School,
that order for detention is a rare order in the Rhode Island
Family Court.
However, for those youthful offenders who are detained for
long periods of time, programs within the Training School are
geared to educating the youth while treating their social as
well as behavioral health issues. Rehabilitation remains the
goal for all youth in our State, whether they are status
offenders or wayward or delinquent youth, or the children who
are in child protection services via the association with our
Department of Children, Youth, and Families.
I will tell you very truthfully that with proper timely
services, many youth have become upstanding members of society,
and those are the youngsters that will sometimes come back and
talk to us and say, you know, ``I do want to thank the
particular judge for helping me, because without the assistance
of the State, I would not have the job that I wanted or go to
the school that I am now attending.''
Let me also state that youth who receive their high school
diplomas are more apt to be employed. More than 10 years ago,
these special truancy calendars that had been created have
invested in those children and assigning them to classes so
that they can receive their high school diplomas.
You have referred to the comment, Mr. Listenbee, that
sometimes the school dispositions will be referred to as the
``pipeline to the prison.'' I went to a conference a couple of
years ago. We had 2 days' worth of discussions on that issue,
and the family court is dedicated to making sure that kids stay
in school rather than get involved in the juvenile justice
area.
I have pointed out to you the issues that some of the
magistrates hear at the truancy calendars, but I do want to
point out that there are times that we do hear truancy cases
with the justices. It is not an exclusive issue at the schools.
The funding--and I want to thank you--from the OJJDP for
the truancy calendars has benefited literally thousands of
youngsters over the last 10 or more years. These hearings at
the schools are referred to as ``diversion calendars.'' There
is no prosecutor there. There is a school principal perhaps or
there is a guidance counselor or a truancy officer, and the
cases are heard in an informal setting. By assigning those
hearings at the school, again, I point out all the participants
who are interested in these youngsters can attend so that a
proper program can be worked out.
I do want to also applaud and thank you and, of course,
those who are in your office, Mr. Listenbee, for the Federal
funding for the family court's drug treatment calendars. They
have also been a benefit for more than 2,400 youngsters over
the last 10 years who have graduated from the drug treatment
calendar. Retired Associate Justice Pamela Macktaz has presided
over this calendar over the last couple of years, and she has
been assisting youth and their families in overcoming the
problems related to substance abuse.
We also have our experienced counselors who work with the
youth and their families. They work to assure the graduation of
the youngster from the drug court calendar by using helpful and
necessary social services in various drug treatments to help
the drug-involved youth combat the use of illegal drugs and
alcohol. I am confident today that I speak not only on behalf
of those youngsters who have graduated but also their families,
who will sometimes return to thank us for working with their
youngsters and keeping them out of any additional troubles.
So by virtue of the fact that we have had the funding for
the drug treatment program, for the truancy programs, and for a
mental health clinic that we have at the family court, the
family court is very proud to say that it has been able to help
more than, as I said, 2,400 in drug treatment and more than
2,000 in the truancy calendars to benefit from programs.
I applaud the work that the Committee is doing. I certainly
am delighted to be able to support the work of this Committee
in hoping that there is a reauthorization very soon.
[The prepared statement of Judge Bedrosian appears as a
submission for the record.]
Senator Whitehouse. Thank you, Judge Bedrosian. We are
going to work very hard to make sure that there is a
reauthorization and try very hard to make it a bipartisan
reauthorization so that this is a piece of legislation that can
get through the rather hazardous legislative environment that
prevails in Washington right now. But we have seen good success
getting bills in a bipartisan fashion through the Judiciary
Committee, and I hope to be able to find a way to have this
follow that same successful path.
Judge Bedrosian. And I am delighted to hear that, and I
will always stress that the programs and the treatments that we
provide at the court are keeping a lot of kids out of detention
in their adult life.
Senator Whitehouse. Our next witness, Elizabeth Burke
Bryant, is executive director of Rhode Island KIDS COUNT, a
children's policy and research organization founded in 1994
that provides information on child well-being, stimulates
dialogue on children's issues, and promotes accountability and
action. Rhode Island KIDS COUNT provides policymakers,
community leaders, and the news media with the best available
data and information on children's health, education, safety,
and economic security. The organization produces a quarterly
Issue Brief Series, hosts a monthly cable television program,
and publishes the annual famous Rhode Island KIDS COUNT
Factbook.
For 20 years, Rhode Island KIDS COUNT has tracked data on
juvenile justice in partnership with the Rhode Island
Department of Children, Youth, and Families and the Rhode
Island Family Court. The organization also coordinates the
Annie E. Casey Foundation's Juvenile Detention Alternatives
initiative.
Ms. Bryant is an adjunct lecturer in public policy at Brown
University's A. Alfred Taubman Center for Public Policy and
American Institutions. A native of Providence, Rhode Island,
Ms. Bryant received a bachelor of arts degree from the
University of Vermont and a law degree from the George
Washington University Law School. Previous positions include
policy director for the city of Providence, housing court
prosecutor, consultant to the Rhode Island Housing Mortgage
Finance Corporation, and the Rhode Island Foundation and the
Women's Prison Mentoring Project.
Ms. Bryant has been actively involved in several
organizations, including Voices for America's Children, the
United Way of Rhode Island, the Rhode Island Foundation, and
the Local Initiative Support Corporation, and is the recipient
of numerous awards, including the National Florette Angel Child
Advocate of the Year Award, the Rhode Island Foundation's
Community Leadership Award, the Paul W. Crowley Educational
Advocacy Award, the Rhode Island Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies
Coalition Silver Rattle Award, the Classical High School
Distinguished Alumni Award, and the John Hope Settlement House
Sterrett Award.
So we are very, very glad to have Elizabeth Burke Bryant.
STATEMENT OF ELIZABETH BURKE BRYANT, EXECUTIVE
DIRECTOR, RHODE ISLAND KIDS COUNT, PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND
Ms. Bryant. Thank you very, very much, Senator. It is
really an honor to be asked to testify today. Is this on?
Great.
Thank you, Senator Whitehouse, and also many thanks to
Chairman Leahy and Members of the Senate Committee on the
Judiciary for inviting me to testify regarding the
reauthorization of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency
Prevention Act, JJDPA. I would also like to extend my
appreciation to Administrator Listenbee for his leadership at
the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention and
his visit to Rhode Island--it is great to have you in our
State--as well as to Brother Michael Reis and Tides Family
Services for hosting this important hearing.
As an organization working to strengthen communities and
improve the lives of youth and their families in Rhode Island,
Rhode Island KIDS COUNT asks the Committee to reauthorize the
JJDPA and make it work even better on the path to juvenile
justice reform and success for our young people in the system.
States across the country, including Rhode Island, have
made considerable progress reducing the use of incarceration
for juveniles over the past several years. I am going to just
give you a few statistics from Rhode Island to set the stage
and set some context.
In 2010, the latest year for which national data are
available, the rate at which States hold youth in secure
confinement reached an over-35-year low, with almost every
State reducing the number and percentage of youth held in
secure facilities.
Here in Rhode Island, between 2004 and 2013, the annual
total number of youth in the care and custody of the Rhode
Island Training School during the course of the year declined
from 1,069 to 498. We have a chart in our testimony, Senator,
that is one of those indicators going in the right direction.
It shows a line graph pointing straight downward, although we
still have work to do. Some of this----
Senator Whitehouse. I should say that the full statement
with the graph will be made a part of the record, as will the
full statement of all of the witnesses.
Ms. Bryant. Thank you, Senator.
Some of this decline is due to the cap that was placed on
the population at the Training School in July 2008. The cap was
for 148 boys and 12 girls on any given day. The population has
further declined by 44 percent between 2009 and 2013. The new
facility, Training School facility that the chief judge
mentioned, which was filled to capacity when it was opened in
2009, had an average daily population of 83 youth during the
first quarter of 2014. And just for comparison's sake, Senator
Whitehouse I know you remember the days of youth sleeping on
the mattresses of our Training School. In fact, we have looked
into DCYF data, and the high in 2006 was 220 youth, and now we
are down to 83. So that kind of shows the dramatic progress
that did not happen overnight. It happened by a large number of
strategies that were trying to prevent the incarceration of
youth and started much earlier with prevention strategies,
which I will get to in a moment.
As you noted, Senator Whitehouse, in your opening remarks,
crime has also fallen sharply over the past decade as juvenile
justice systems have utilized more effective intervention and
prevention strategies. In Rhode Island, the number of youth
referred to family court for wayward and delinquent offenses
declined 45 percent between 2007 and 2013, from 5,275 youth
referred to family court to 2,926. During the same time period,
the number of juvenile offenses declined by 40 percent, from
8,301 to 4,964.
The use of community Juvenile Hearing Boards and the family
court's diversionary program that the chief has remarked about
have been instrumental in preventing low-level and first-time
offenders from the formal juvenile justice system, as have been
many coordinated best practice, community-based, and family
centered efforts in the community, such as ones that are used
right here by Tides Family Services, others that are used by
the Institute for the Prevention of Nonviolence, and many more.
For youth who do become formally involved in the system, there
is a growing recognition in Rhode Island that they can often be
better served in the community utilizing alternatives to
detention.
Between 2007 and--actually, I am going to skip that because
it is the chart that I just described.
In 2009, Rhode Island juvenile justice stakeholders joined
in partnership with the Annie E. Casey Foundation to become a
statewide Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative, which we
call JDAI. JDAI promotes the vision that youth involved in the
juvenile justice system are often best served using proven,
family focused interventions and creating opportunities for
positive youth development. JDAI is now active in over 250
sites in 40 States throughout the country.
The Rhode Island JDAI effort, coordinated by Rhode Island
KIDS COUNT, includes the support and participation of the
family court, the Department of Children, Youth, and Families,
the Office of the Attorney General, the Public Defender's
Office, the Providence Police Department, Tides Family
Services, the Institute for the Study and Practice of
Nonviolence, Rhode Island for Communities and Justice, Family
Services, Child and Family, and many, many more social service
providers dedicated to preventing the escalation and overall
youth involved in the juvenile justice system. Together, we
have used JDAI's strategies to focus on reducing unnecessary
and inappropriate use of secure confinement and enhancing
community-based alternatives to detention.
And the other remarkable thing about this initiative,
Senator, is, as you well know, when you have people who are
working in all parts of the system who seldom come together
around the same table, you can really make a lot of progress,
and that has been our experience with this initiative.
Like many states, however, Rhode Island still has much work
left to do to develop a comprehensive array of services that
can prevent the need for overnight and brief stays in detention
while appropriate alternatives are found.
During 2013, more than half--around 54 percent--of stays at
the Rhode Island Training School lasted less than 2 weeks.
The positive trends that are occurring in Rhode Island and
other States can be reinforced and supported by updating the
JJDPA, which establishes minimum standards and provides
critical funding for State and local juvenile justice systems.
As you noted, the Act was last reauthorized in 2002, but few
changes were made even at that time. More than a decade later,
much more is known about what works and does not work to keep
our communities safe and provide more opportunities for young
people to reach their full potential.
We recommend that the JJDPA reauthorization include the
following policy improvements:
First, keep youthful offenders and adult offenders
separate--and some of these things I do want to point out,
Senator, are meant to be national in scope and are not saying
that we still have some of these things existing in Rhode
Island. So in no way do I want to conflict with anything the
chief has said, but we think it is important at these hearings
to really speak out for all American youth, not just those in
our State.
Keep youthful offenders and adult offenders separate. The
JJDPA, as you mentioned, requires sight and separation of
juvenile and adult offenders held in secure facilities;
however, this protection is not extended to youth tried or
punished as adults. The reauthorization of the JJDPA should
require States to house youth charged or convicted as adults in
juvenile facilities until they reach adulthood.
Next, prevent the confinement of status offenders by
strengthening the Deinstitutionalization of Status Offenders,
or DSO, core protection--another item you also mentioned,
Senator--which prohibits the locked detention of status
offenders. In recent years, many jurisdictions throughout the
country have allowed the confinement of status offenders who
violate a court order--for example, court orders not to truant.
We recommend that this valid court order exception be
eliminated.
Next, strengthen the disproportionate minority contact core
protection by requiring States to take concrete steps to reduce
racial and ethnic disparities in the juvenile justice system.
We recommend that States be required to use data to plan and
implement strategies to reduce DMC and publicly report on
progress. We have made major strides in reducing the number of
young people at our Training School. However, we still report
on disproportionality with our population here in Rhode Island.
Next, provide safe and humane conditions of confinement for
youth in State or local custody by prohibiting use of JJDPA
funds for dangerous practices and encouraging States to adopt
best practices and standards to eliminate dangerous practices
and unnecessary isolation.
Next, provide a research-based continuum of mental health
and substance abuse services to meet unmet needs of court-
involved youth and their families, including diversion and
reentry services.
Next, establish accountability measures and data collection
requirements that incentivize the timely transfer of
educational records and communication with a youth's home
school district or LEA so they do not lose school credit while
they are incarcerated. These measures should also require that
States demonstrate that incarcerated youth are reenrolled back
in their schools or LEAs or other career training upon release.
It would be remiss of me if I did not say that education
reform is at the epicenter of our goals to reduce the pipeline
of young people that ever enter the juvenile justice system.
Sometimes these reauthorizations are in silos, just like some
of our work is in silos. However, when we look at the education
level of youth in the Training School, we know that these youth
have been disconnected from their schooling or have been on the
radar screen for years and years in terms of youth that are
falling behind and need further intervention at the educational
level. The average reading level of youth in the Training
School is seventh grade. The average math level is sixth grade.
And we know that 80 percent of low-income children in this
country are not reading at grade level by the end of third
grade. That is part of this work. And how you link the
reauthorization to some of the really important work of
education reform I think maybe is a key new ground that this
reauthorization can make more explicitly about reducing the
pipeline.
Next, assist States in compliance with the JJDPA by
establishing incentive grants to encourage States to adopt
evidence-based and/or promising practices that improve outcomes
for youth and their communities. For States that are deemed to
be out of compliance with any of the core protections, the
reauthorization should require JJDPA funds withheld for
noncompliance to be set aside and made available to those
States as improvement grants to help them with those particular
protections.
Next, enhance the partnership between States and OJJDP by
expanding training, technical assistance, research and
evaluation. Enhance the partnership between OJJDP and Congress
by encouraging transparency, timeliness, public notice, and
communication.
The last one is to incentivize juvenile justice systems to
ensure that all policies, practices, and programs recognize the
unique needs of girls. Girls in the juvenile justice system
enter with different personal and offense histories and needs
than their male peers. Effective programs for girls in the
juvenile justice system promote healing from trauma and abuse,
address mental and physical health issues, and meet the needs
of pregnant and parenting girls.
Thank you, Senator Whitehouse, for your lifelong commitment
to juvenile justice reform. And thank you to all of the Members
of the Committee for the opportunity to testify today and for
all of your work to improve the lives of youth involved in the
juvenile justice system.
As I close, I would like to especially thank you for
conducting this hearing at Tides Family Services. Brother
Michael and his staff are doing extraordinary work with youth
and their families to help young people have a chance for a
successful future. I often say this, he knows I say this
everywhere around town: The work Brother Michael and his team
do is life-saving work, and so is the work you are doing,
Senator and Members of the Committee, to improve the Juvenile
Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act through reauthorization.
Thank you very much.
[The prepared statement of Ms. Bryant appears as a
submission for the record.]
Senator Whitehouse. Thank you very much.
Our final witness is Osbert Duoa who is a 20-year-old
resident of Providence, Rhode Island. He is employed as a
retail sales manager for Harvest Kitchen, and he acts as a
mentor to young people at Tides Family Services, where he
himself received services while in the juvenile justice system.
Mr. Duoa? How did my pronunciation do?
Mr. Duoa. I was just about to tell you, a point of
correction. It is ``du-o.''
Senator Whitehouse. ``Du-o.''
Mr. Duoa. The ``A'' is silent.
Senator Whitehouse. The ``A'' is silent. Thank you.
STATEMENT OF OSBERT DUOA, PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND
Mr. Duoa. I would like to say good morning to everybody.
Thanks for coming. Thanks for having me. My introduction is I
am Osbert Duoa. I am 20 years old. I was born in Liberia in
1994. I came to the U.S. with my mother when I was 5. We lived
in Pawtucket.
After a few years, my dad and my three brothers was sent to
the U.S. I began getting in trouble when I was 14. I first got
on probation, and during that time I was sent to California to
stay with my dad. Me and him was not getting along as I was
younger, so I hustled the best way I can to get some money
because me and him was not getting along, so I figured let me
go back to my mother's. And that is what I did. I earned up
enough money, took the Greyhound, which was one trip, I
believe. It was 200 and some change. I was 14. I did not know
what I was doing, so I just took the bus. I stayed on the bus.
I did not get off the bus. I asked people--it was--I ate
McDonald's, so it was fun.
When I arrived back to Providence, Pawtucket, nobody knew
that I came back. So I was staying with a couple friends, and--
which I already had broken my probation, violated my probation.
So I was ordered to spend some time in a Training School for 7
months. And then there was a guy named Charles who also came to
the Training School, introduced me to Tides Family Service.
Being in Tides helped me grow and learn.
There were different people. The Tides worker was very
different. They really--they showed care, love. They was there
for me. When I did not want to go to school, they would help me
go to school on time, take me to work, and they took me to Six
Flags, which I really liked.
When me and my mom was fussing sometimes, they would take
me out, talk to me, give me some advice. It was not like other
counselors where you get they are just there for you and just
take you out and not express theirself and tell you about,
like, their life and how they was growing up. So for me, I kind
of related to what they were saying and what they wanted to--
where they wanted to see me in life.
I began to learn about life, and what I needed most was my
mom, my job, people who cared about me. I started working with
Harvest Kitchen, which is a culinary program. It was very good,
awesome. I never knew how to make applesauce.
[Laughter.]
Mr. Duoa. Three kinds of flavors: original, strawberry, and
cranberry.
[Laughter.]
Mr. Duoa. So I go there and I go home. My mom would say,
``What do you do at work?'' ``Make applesauce.'' I would go to
my other job. ``What do you do at work?'' ``Make applesauce.''
I am, like, ``I am going to turn into applesauce.''
So one of my conductors is Jen Scott. She is real cool. She
is here to support. So today I am a retail sales manager at
Farm Fresh, which we do the farmers' market. If you are not
familiar, I am there selling applesauce.
[Laughter.]
Mr. Duoa. And I am also selling some other products,
produce. I really like doing the salesmanship and the business
type of things, so I am involved in that. I am going on my
third year. It has been fun.
I am off probation. I got off at the age of 18, and I do
not plan on going back on probation or getting in trouble.
A good man once told me that you cannot be on both sides of
the line. Either you are going to be in trouble, stay with the
old friends, or you are just going to go straight ahead and
just be a positive role model and be just like everybody in
this room trying to do their job and wake up and help everyone
else.
So for me, when I do the farmers' market, I may not be in
the best of moods because it is very early and I am trying to
sell stuff. So I just got to put myself in that position where,
if I can make somebody smile and I sell nothing that whole day,
that is my--that is what I like to do.
Well, thanks for having me. Thank you, Senator. I hope you
go back to the White House and tell them about us.
[Laughter.]
Mr. Duoa. Thanks to everybody in this room again. Thanks to
Tides Family Service. I would have never been able to do it
without you. And also thanks for me getting in trouble because
without me getting in trouble, I would not be able to be here
in front of you all. So thank you, everybody. And thank you for
coming from Philadelphia. If I missed you, I am sorry. Thank
you. I know my story was not the best, but I am kind of
nervous, so I am trying to explain.
Thank you.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Duoa appears as a submission
for the record.]
Senator Whitehouse. I think it was fine. I think it was
fine. Very well done. Thank you, Osbert. I really appreciate
it.
Mr. Duoa. Thank you. Any questions? I am not nervous no
more. Any questions?
Senator Whitehouse. Good.
[Laughter.]
Senator Whitehouse. We will get there.
Let me start with Judge Bedrosian. The downward trend that
we have talked about and that Elizabeth documented, what do you
think have been the key successful elements to that?
Judge Bedrosian. Well, locally we have had the juvenile
boards in the various cities and towns with----
Senator Whitehouse. The juvenile hearing boards.
Judge Bedrosian. Yes, which have taken on the cases of
youthful offenders, first-time offenders usually, and been able
to resolve whatever the issues were. And I think that has been
of great benefit to some youngsters. I am very much a believer
that when kids are in school and doing well, their
opportunities to get out and get into trouble lessen. And I
think the schools are doing a more comprehensive job of looking
at kids who are truant and trying to assist them to make sure
they stay in school. I can tell you that because I have the
statistics from our truancy calendars that many of the
youngsters that we see do not get involved in our juvenile
justice cases.
So I believe that that is also a benefit, the fact that we
have taken a very long, hard look at the issues regarding
truancy and brought them right into the schools to make sure
the kids----
Senator Whitehouse. Including the middle schools.
Judge Bedrosian. Yes, to make sure that they stay in
school. In fact, Angela Bucci Paulhus is one of the best
representatives of the magistrates who have been in the schools
because she has done this for a few years--I do not think I
will give you all the years, but Angela has been doing this,
and she has been a star, as far as I am concerned, in terms of
helping all the other magistrates and the principals and all of
the educators that she has worked with in finding ways to keep
kids in school. I applaud people like Angela who are so
dedicated, and the teachers as well as all of those educators
who are so dedicated to making sure that kids stay in school.
It is a very different atmosphere now. As you know, I started
life as a school teacher, so I still have friends in the
business, so to speak. But the atmosphere now is that we will
do everything we possibly can, short of getting to the home and
dragging the kid out of bed, to get them into school. And,
frankly, one of our truant officers that we are very familiar
with has done that a few times.
So the issue has been raised. How do we keep kids in
school? Every school comes up with some novel approach on how
to make sure we get kids there. People have bought alarm clocks
for the kids. There are those that call them. Those are
obviously the very literally hands-on methods. But there is
also the dedication of special education teachers who have
worked out courses so that youngsters who have some learning
disabilities will be able to accomplish what they need to
accomplish. It is a benefit, as far as I am concerned, when
sometimes the kids do get into the truancy programs because
they find all these people who are willing to help them.
So I give the people who work in those areas a lot of
credit. I give the educators a lot of credit. The special
education people are wonderful. So there are a number of things
that I am understanding that the numbers of offenses are down,
and the kids who are referred to the family court, those
numbers are down also.
But my understanding more recently, though, is that at
Training School, I am told that there were 12 girls in the unit
for a period of time, and they do receive some very good
treatments, from what I have been told, and we have had the
discussion that there is more attention being paid to the
females who are part of the population of the Training School.
But, frankly, it would be great if we could get the special
funding for the girls. It took several years before they moved
into the new state-of-the-art Training School.
And one of the things that I always have found to be very
offensive is the fact that I hear, well, there are not enough
girls to create programs. That is not true. And the people who
are working there now are creating the programs from what I
have been told.
Senator Whitehouse. There are two takeaways that I remember
from looking at this issue as Attorney General. One was that
when we looked back, we very often found, as you have said,
that truancy was the first really strong signal of bad things
to come and that it usually cropped up first in middle school.
So it is terrific that you have responded to that.
The other thing was the time spike during the course of the
day. It was those hours between when school let out and when
parents came home that caused a huge spike in activity. And
have you noticed that the improvement in after-school programs
has made a difference in----
Judge Bedrosian. I do not have any stats on that, Senator,
so I do not believe I can comment on whether or not the after-
school programs have made a change. We usually have our stats
as to what is going on in school.
Senator Whitehouse. Elizabeth, what is your observation on
that?
Judge Bedrosian. Do you have anything on that?
Ms. Bryant. While we do not have a cause-and-effect study,
we do know that during this time of decline, just in Providence
alone, the Providence After-School Alliance has made good
places for kids to be after school at the middle-school level
for thousands of Providence kids a reality, and at the same
time we have seen these numbers come down. So you are
absolutely right that those bewitching hours of 3 o'clock to 6
o'clock, having youth engaged in programs where there is a
caring adult and a sense of their future that are somehow
connected to schools so that the people in the schools know
that these good things are going on after school are just a
great recipe for reducing the pipeline. And you are right, it
starts early.
We track chronic absence in the Rhode Island KIDS COUNT
Factbook, we track chronic early absence, K through 3rd grade,
and there is a disturbing number of young children that are
absent more than 10 percent of the school year, and schools
across the State are really trying to get at that issue very
early. We are also tracking middle and high school chronic
absence. So all of these things, I think, when the numbers see
the light of day and really people understand the significance
of the problem, then community-based solutions can occur.
I also want to thank Senator Picard and his colleagues at
the General Assembly because last year or the year before, a
law was passed in Rhode Island that said that out-of-school
suspensions cannot be used by reasons of absence. It sounds
like an obvious thing to do, not to give people an out-of-
school suspension for the issue of absence. And I think the
Rhode Island law is a model for that, and many school boards
across the State are really paying attention to that issue as
well.
Senator Whitehouse. The question of reentry is one that at
the adult side has received very good bipartisan attention in
Washington with the Second Chance Act, and we are working on
that in sentencing reform as well, and we had, I think, some
very good work on that in the bill that just passed out of the
Senate Judiciary Committee in a very bipartisan fashion, 15-2.
Even the two were bipartisan. It was a Republican and a
Democrat who voted against it. So that was a pretty good sign.
Let me start with Osbert. When you were leaving the
Training School, how did you feel about the transition from
that back to school? And what observations did you have about
that experience? Then I will ask Ms. Bryant and Judge
Bedrosian.
Mr. Duoa. It was kind of difficult going back to school
after being in there. Like I said, Tides helped me get to
school and from school.
Senator Whitehouse. What time of year did you come back to
school?
Mr. Duoa. I believe it was when school had just begun. I
think I missed a month, like maybe in October or something.
Senator Whitehouse. So everybody else had gotten to know
each other in that first month, and then you show up.
Mr. Duoa. Yes. It was--I was not really comfortable going
back to school because it felt different from being
incarcerated and having like the freedom of I do not have to go
to school as when I was in there, I had to wake up every
morning and go to school, and if I did not go to school, I
would probably fight somebody and then get sent back to my room
or--you know. So it felt like, all right, I am not going to go
to school and blah, blah, blah, but Tides helped me. They took
me back and from school.
Senator Whitehouse. Judge, what do you think about the
reentry concerns that we should be looking at, the transition
from Training School or incarcerative settings back out to the
community and to school?
Judge Bedrosian. What I will tell you candidly, usually it
depends on one or two persons who will encourage a youngster to
think about completing their school assignments, and it is very
important to have a mentor, and that is what I have learned
over these many years, that mentoring is a very big issue. And
if we can find someone who is dedicated to assisting a
youngster, usually that person can convince them to get back to
getting an education or looking for a field that you would like
to work in. And it is very important to find that person.
Senator Whitehouse. There is an observation I have heard
repeatedly, so much so that it has really finally sunk in, and
that is that kids who succeed in school can identify an adult
in the school community who they believe really cares about
them. And it is not a hypothetical question, yes, there is an
adult out there that really cares about them. It is Mr. Smith,
it is Mrs. Jones. They have that personal connection. And a lot
of people have said that if that is there, then everything is
on a much better slope; and if that is not there, you really
are in trouble. And what you are saying is that that is true--
--
Judge Bedrosian. That is a reality.
Senator Whitehouse [continuing]. Not only in school but
it's particularly true for this transition.
Judge Bedrosian. It is. It really is. And there are
mentoring programs out there to try to assist kids in either
staying in school or going back to school. And the few times
that I have talked to adults who have finally completed an
education, that is what I have heard, that I had a particular
teacher or a guidance counselor or even a truant officer who
finally got to me and said, you know, if you just do X, Y, and
Z, you can get a diploma and maybe go on to a trade school or
to a college and get a job, and you do not have to be on
probation for the rest of your life. And, of course, they are
maturing at that point, too, a little bit.
Senator Whitehouse. What are you seeing?
Ms. Bryant. Well, I think this brings up a couple of points
that should be emphasized, Senator.
First of all, there is no question about the link between
how children are doing academically and the possibility of them
getting involved with the juvenile justice system, so the
better work we do to keep them connected at school, doing well
in school--and that does come by virtue of knowing, caring
adults in the building. I see Superintendent Donoyan who tries
to be doing that every day in Woonsocket. There is real
research behind that, people knowing you and wanting you to
succeed in the school building as well as, as we have said,
some of these after-school programs, summer programs that
really engage all of our young people with a vision of what
they can be in life.
I also think it is important to emphasize that when I
mentioned community-based programs--and we are sitting in one
right now--it is the relationships that those programs have
with the young people and their families both to try to prevent
incarceration and, if incarceration in a juvenile detention
facility does happen, working with them in a step-down way to
get them back integrated into the community and with a
transition plan that works.
And so I think oftentimes, not just in Rhode Island but in
the rest of the country, when you look at those per young
person costs of incarcerating them in the Training School--a
few years ago in Rhode Island it was about $106,000 for one
person. And when you think about what community-based
alternative programs such as outreach and tracking here, what
Teny Gross does, what Child and Family and Family Service do,
it is a fraction of that. And yet those community-based
programs are the ones that have to just every year fight for
the dollars to even stay open.
And so it is really time to look at cost-effective nature
of what we are doing with our juvenile justice funds and ensure
that those kinds of anything it takes and more, real family
engaged, youth-engaged relationship building that these
community-based programs do are supported. And not all of them
reach high standards. So I think we need to be clear in our
field that there needs to be accountability and results that
are required of these community-based programs. They are not
created equal. But for those that work, it just seems like it
is not sensible for them to not feel as though sometimes they
do not even have the dollars to know how many kids they are
going to be able to help in the next year, given the dollars
that saves in States, not just in Rhode Island but across the
country, for every youth that you prevent from being in the
Training School, how those dollars could be redirected.
Senator Whitehouse. While we are on the subject of dollars,
the OJJDP dollars have been more and more taken up with the
four core elements that we talked about, and it is required--or
provided less funding in other areas. Are you seeing
reductions, Judge Bedrosian, in available funding for----
Judge Bedrosian. Yes.
Senator Whitehouse [continuing]. Things like training? How
has that played out for you? What has been most painful or
difficult?
Judge Bedrosian. I do not know about the painful and the
difficult, but what I can tell you is that, as you know, we
have a great interest at the family court in maintaining our
truancy calendars in the schools and being able to provide
whatever services are necessary for the youngsters who are on
the calendars, Senator. So if they have a need for some mental
health services, then we want to make sure that there is a
continuum of care for mental health services for youngsters in
Rhode Island.
We also want to make sure that we have places like Tides
Family Service where they have the programs that the social
workers go out every day to see the family. That daily response
is critical to keeping a kid at home.
And I can tell you candidly that about 3 or 4 years ago, I
went out one night with one of the social workers, and we went
to several of the homes here in Pawtucket. And I watched that
social worker talk to those youngsters and get information out
of them that no one could have gotten but for the fact that
they had a special relationship.
So I am very much a believer in the kinds of services that
provide a person or persons who are specially known to these
youngsters, and I would suggest very strongly that when the Act
is reauthorized that everybody take a look at the programs
where the kids see somebody, the same person or person, every
single day. It works. I have known that there are kids that
have been with Tides who stayed at home, who very well could
have been at the Training School or in some other placement but
for the fact that they had a social worker coming out every
single afternoon or evening to see the family and to talk to
them to find out what their needs are and to actually make sure
that they are complying with whatever services have been
afforded to them.
So I feel very strongly about keeping kids at home if it is
possible and not decimating the funding to these kinds of
programs, which are so important. So I will leave you with that
thought.
Senator Whitehouse. Okay. Same question, Elizabeth.
Ms. Bryant. I could not have said it better than she for
that point.
Senator Whitehouse. Perfect. Osbert, were there particular
moments or circumstances that were kind of a turning point for
you that you look back on and think of as a time when your
thinking changed, your point of view changed, your attitude
changed? Anything you can identify that would be helpful to
this discussion about how to get kids going in the right
direction?
Mr. Duoa. Wow, that is----
Senator Whitehouse. Or was it more kind of a slow and
steady process with Tides of working around?
Mr. Duoa. I think she said it. Have Tides and the social
worker go out there for the kids. But more likely for me it
was--it was just like an experience. I think we need more
programs and stuff. It is just more of an experience for
certain kids. Certain kids are going to listen and participate
with the programs and the process that we are trying to do. It
is more they have to do it or go through it themselves to
understand that Tides is there for them or Harvest Kitchen is
there for them or other programs are there for them.
Senator Whitehouse. All right. Well, let me thank everybody
for being here. I appreciate it very much. I understand that
Chief Tavares from East Providence has joined us, too, so thank
you very much for joining the other chiefs who are here.
This is an official hearing of the U.S. Senate Judiciary
Committee, and the record of it will remain open for an
additional week, and anybody who wishes to add anything to the
record is welcome to coordinate with my office. Lara Quint is
behind me, and she is coordinating this, so if there is
anything else you would like to add to the record, please feel
free to do that.
And let me again thank all of the witnesses who have shared
their experience and their knowledge. I really think this has
been very, very helpful, and I have known Judge Bedrosian and
Elizabeth Burke Bryant for many, many years, and I am very
proud of the service and the skill and the compassion that they
bring to their work.
Osbert, thank you so much for joining us, and
congratulations on the choices that you have made.
And, Mr. Listenbee, we thank you for coming to Rhode
Island. As I said, you are a key player in these negotiations
as they go forward, and we look forward to working very closely
with you to drafting a bipartisan, effective JJDPA
reauthorization that can move smoothly through the Senate.
And, Brother Michael, again, thank you to you and Tides for
hosting us and for all the terrific work that you do.
Thank you all very much. The hearing is adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 10:33 a.m., the Committee was adjourned.]
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