Money to foster innovation
OLYMPIA – Searching for ways to turn around troubled lives, one of the nation’s largest philanthropic organizations plans to pour millions of dollars into juvenile justice projects in six Washington counties, including Spokane.
The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation is trying to come up with blueprints for changes to make juvenile justice more fair and effective, said Laurie Garduque, program director for the group. Washington is one of four “bellwether states” where the foundation is trying to foster pilot projects to see what works.
The grants in Washington will total $10 million over five years. But how much each county will get – and for what – remains to be seen. A spokeswoman for the foundation said that grants will likely be awarded by the end of the year. Foundation records show initial rounds of funding in other states have ranged from $105,000 to $1.6 million.
The traditional tough-on-crime philosophy of incarceration isn’t a particularly effective way to make young people productive citizens, Gov. Chris Gregoire said.
“It’s a waste of human capital and a waste of taxpayers’ money,” she said. “Those in the juvenile justice system, whether we like it or not, if we don’t intervene and we don’t help them, are headed for our adult criminal justice system.”
Instead, she said, society owes it to young offenders to try to find out what’s wrong in their lives and try to fix it before they turn into career criminals.
“Is it mental health? Is it drugs and alcohol? Is it a broken family? Domestic violence?” she said. “Whatever it is, let’s get to it. Let’s help that kid turn his or her life around.”
The MacArthur Foundation is focused on three goals in the Washington projects:
“Reducing the disproportionately high number of minority youths in the system.
“Reducing reliance on incarceration by targeting early problems like school truancy.
“Improving mental health screening and access for youths.
The Washington projects will be overseen by state Supreme Court Justice Bobbe Bridge, a longtime youth advocate who said Friday that she’s stepping down from the court at the end of the year to head up the Seattle-based Center for Children and Youth Justice. Bridge was one of the founders of the center last year.
In Spokane, the county has streamlined juvenile court processes and investigated detention alternatives, according to juvenile court administrator Bonnie Bush.
With just 39 cells for juveniles, she said, it’s key to make sure that those who are held are the highest-risk kids.
Bush said the county’s working on a five-year plan to combat truancy and expand “restorative justice” programs that hold offenders accountable and responsible for victim restitution.
Among the other reasons Spokane was picked, foundation officials said, were voters’ approval of a sales tax for mental health programs, nearby universities, Hispanic mentoring in schools, and extensive collaboration among community members who deal with kids.
Grants like these are important to help find better ways to combat juvenile crime, said Chris Blodgett, director of the Area Health Education Center at Washington State University’s Spokane campus. With tight government budgets, he said, dollars for innovation “are almost nonexistent otherwise.”
Other counties selected for grants are: Benton, Franklin, Clark, Pierce and King.