Jackson Free Press

Whether it's a 10th-grade boy skipping school twice a week or an even younger girl who defied the city's curfew laws, the Mississippi Legislature is ready to change the way it officially handles these scenarios.

On the House side, Rep. George Flaggs, D-Vicksburg, has a 125-page Juvenile Justice Reform Act of 2005 (HB 6) that would take the juvenile justice system away from the Department of Human Services and create a new Department of Juvenile Justice for Mississippi; however, this big change is the wrench in the plan for most of the conservatives who want less bureaucracy and are concerned about adding new expenses to the budget this year.

Flaggs' bill would completely reform Oakley and Columbia training schools and even change their names to help shed their stigma, which was cemented by a U.S. Department of Justice lawsuit against the state charging atrocious mistreatment of children in those two facilities. Flaggs' bill would turn Oakley into its own school district and see to it that the kids with mental problems get regular counseling. Lastly, his bill would help start up a few new community-based programs that gives a youth offender an alternative to being incarcerated for a petty crime. This bill has made it through the committees, but it recently died on the calendar.

But on the Senate side, you have Sen. Gray Tollison, D-Oxford, and his Juvenile Justice Reform Act of 2005 (SB 2894). His act has much of the same meat, but leaving out the new department. "Politically," Tollison said. "I knew a Department of Juvenile Justice wouldn't fly with the way politics are right now, especially with the Department of Human Services under the governor."

Even Flaggs approves: "I think it's a good bill. My bill was more comprehensive, but in reality, his is very good. It's a first step in the right direction, and I'm willing to compromise and go along with it."

"The children come first, and I'm going to take his bill and try and make as few changes aspossible, so we can send it to the governor and let him sign it. ... This is a win-win situation for the children," Flaggs said.

One of Tollison's primary objectives is to address the problems that caused the state to get sued over its training schools. Under this bill, a juvenile-justice detention facilities monitoring unit is established under the attorney general's office. They will perform quarterly inspections with the help of the Department of Public Safety to ensure the juvenile detention facilities comply with state and federal standards.

The Senate bill also addresses the lack of services for nonviolent youth offenders with emotional and behavioral disorders. Each Multidisciplinary Assessment Program (MAP) in the state will get an "A" (adolescent) team to assist with these problems. Each team will have at least four members including: a school counselor, a community mental health professional, a social services/child welfare professional and a youth-court counselor. Additional funds will be needed to ensure that all MAPs get these A teams.

The bill also says if a child is determined to need mental help from a professional from screening upon entering a facility, then that child will be referred to an appropriate medical facility with 48 hours.

SB 2894 also more clearly defines a minor "status offense" for the state and declares that a child may not be placed in a training school for a minor offense nor for any contempt of or revocation of an adjudication of a status offense. It also states that no first-time nonviolent youth offender shall be committed to a juvenile-justice center such as Oakley or Columbia unless a court finds extraordinary circumstances.

"The overall theme here is to provide more community-based programs," Tollison said. "If a youth court judge has a nonviolent youth offender, then the 'A' team can intervene and offer to help with the root of the problems, such as the home and family life. These types of programs are much cheaper for the state to have—only about $23 per child per day—as opposed to the residential facilities, which cost just over $89 per day per child. People just have to remember that you need a good youth court judge and good people in the communities to help to set these kids on the right path."

Upon the passage of the Senate bill, the Department of Human Services is supposed to try and get up to 44 of these programs across the state, enough to allow each county to have access to one.