Success of DYS sets national example

When America embarked on its get-tough-on-crime campaign several years ago, there seemed to be an urgent need for law-abiding citizens -- and the police, prosecutors and judges who are responsible for maintaining order -- to get the upper hand over criminals. Crime statistics at the time were skyrocketing, and there appeared to be no end in sight.

Get-tough policies such as strict mandatory sentences have had the desired effect. Longer prison terms and other changes in the way cities and communities are policed have reduced crime all over the country in ways that might not have been considered possible at the outset. But America also became a nation of prison builders. And now states with budget crunches are hard-pressed to construct more prisons and pay their operating costs.

This is one reason so many states are focusing on juvenile crime with new urgency. One method of dealing with young offenders is embodied in the programs developed by Missouri's Division of Youth Services. The program has had remarkable success and has become a national model for other states seeking ways to effectively deal with juvenile criminals.

As a result of the DYS system, fewer young offenders are turning into career criminals. A 2002 statistic, for example, shows that only 8 percent of Missouri juveniles previously placed in state custody found themselves in an adult prison within three years of being released from DYS supervision. Ask officials in other states that are struggling to get a grip on juvenile crime and have recidivism rates five to 10 times higher than Missouri's. That's a remarkable record. And it means fewer inmates for Missouri's overflowing prisons.

What makes the DYS model work? Most everyone agrees that it is the emphasis on rehabilitation rather than punishment. Most states -- including Missouri until 1970 -- warehouse young offenders in centers that resemble prisons where there is little for inmates to look forward to except getting out and committing another crime.

But when Missouri started its first community-based program -- the Sears Youth Center in Poplar Bluff -- in 1970, it also changed the way it dealt with the youngsters referred by juvenile courts. The new setting provides personal attention, efforts to help youngsters learn right from wrong and counseling and therapy to overcome the causes of illegal behavior. Group homes were established in Cape Girardeau in 1973 and 1974, and the Girardot Center for Youth and Families opened in 1991.

The DYS system works. And other states that have adopted the DYS strategy are finding the same positive results.

One concern is how state funding cuts for the juvenile court system and its diversion and preventative programs might affect DYS. Cape Girardeau's juvenile detention center has had 1,200 boys referred to it so far this year. Only 11 of those were sent on to DYS facilities. Without adequate funding, however, there is a concern that more juveniles will go directly into DYS facilities, which might create a new burden.

The success of DYS and the national attention it gets are sources of pride for Missouri.

This is a state program that works and deserves to be widely copied.