LAW DAY 2013
Georgia's Juvenile Justice System:
High Cost, Low Returns
By Hon. Michael P. Boggs
Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia
Co-Chair - 2012 Special Council on
Criminal Justice Reform for Georgians
F
ocused on improving public safety and a desire to
be more fiscally responsible, the 2011 Legislature
established the Council on Criminal Justice Reform for
Georgians (the Council).
(1) that Georgia should create a two-class system within
the Designated Felony Act that would allow for different
sentencing options depending on the severity of the offense;
and
Georgia’s prison population has doubled since 1990 to nearly
56,000 inmates, making Georgia’s prison population the 4th
largest in the United States. In Georgia, 1 in 13 citizens is
under correctional control and the State spends in excess
of $1.1 billion dollars in the corrections system. Incredibly,
Georgians are no safer, as the adult recidivism rate is nearly
30 percent. Moreover, Georgia’s 8% projected prison growth
will cost $264 million. The 2011 Council recommendations,
which were included in HB 1176 as passed in 2012, are
intended to flat line this growth and increase public safety.2
(2) that Georgia should prohibit the commitment of status
offenders and certain misdemeanants to out-of-home
facilities.”
Governor Deal extended the work of the Council in 2012
to address Georgia’s juvenile justice system. The Council
released its Report in December 2012, and most of its
recommendations are included in HB 242 and HB 349
currently pending in the Legislature.3
The Council found that Georgia taxpayers have not received
a sufficient public safety return on their juvenile justice
investment. The state spends nearly $200 million per year
to operate secure out-of-home juvenile facilities at a cost of
roughly $90,000 per bed per year.4 Despite these enormous
costs, more than 50% of all youth in the justice system
(and 64% of those released from a secure facility) are readjudicated delinquent or convicted of a criminal offense
within three years of release. Moreover, nearly one in four
of the youth in these costly facilities committed low-level
offenses including misdemeanors or status offenses, 40%
were assessed as low risk, and 58% committed nonviolent
offenses.5 We discovered that we can improve public safety
outcomes by treating these low-risk nonviolent offenders in
the community. Unfortunately, we also discovered that secure
commitments are often the only sentencing option as Georgia
has limited or no community-based programs for youth.
This data played an important role in the Council’s numerous
recommendations, chief among them:
12
THE ATLANTA LAWYER
April 2013
The Council also recommended that low-risk, nonviolent
juveniles be treated in proven "evidence based" community
programs built through a fiscal incentive community grant
program funded with $6 million in state funds.
The Council’s 2012 recommendations are intended to hold
juvenile offenders accountable, increase public safety,
and save Georgia’s taxpayers nearly $85 million through
2018. Importantly, these recommendations modeled after
successful programs initiated in other states, are “smart-oncrime” in their approach to criminal justice reform and will go
a long way to accomplishing the goals of improved public
safety and fiscal responsibility. ▪
1
The national average is 1:43. Georgia leads the United States in this
statistic.
2
Full text of HB 1176 can be found at http://www.legis.ga.gov/Legislation/
en-US/display/20112012/HB/1176.
3
The Council made fifteen recommendations for juvenile justice reform of
which nine (9) are included in HB 242 while six (6) are handled through
either the budget process or administratively. For more information, see
the full Council Report at http://tinyurl.com/specialcouncilreport. The
report also includes nine (9) recommendations for additional adult criminal
justice reform. Full text of HB 242 can be found at http://www.legis.ga.gov/
Legislation/en-US/display/20132014/HB/242. Full text of HB 349 can be
found at http://www.legis.ga.gov/Legislation/en-US/display/20132014/
HB/349.
4
These facilities include Youth Development Campuses (YDC’s) at $91,126
per bed per year and Regional Youth Detention Centers (RYDC’s) at $88,155
per bed per year. Source: Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice.
5
A “status offender” is a juvenile who commits an offense that would not
be a crime if committed by an adult; in other words, the juvenile’s act is
an offense only because the perpetrator is a child. Such offenses include,
but are not limited to, truancy, running away from home, incorrigibility, and
unruly behavior.
The Official News Publication of the Atlanta Bar Association