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Two proposed laws that could dramatically change the
way juveniles are punished in Connecticut are poised for a critical
vote today before the legislature's judiciary committee.
One bill would allow adolescents under 18 to be prosecuted
in the state's more lenient Superior Courts for juvenile matters.
The other calls for creating a pilot program in one community that
aims at reducing the disproportionate number of minority kids incarcerated
or detained in the state.
While children of color represent only 23 percent
of people under age 18 in the overall population, they represent
almost 75 percent of the population in detention, according to attorney
Ann-Marie DeGraffenreidt, representing one of the bill's primary
sponsors, the Center for Children's Advocacy at the University of
Connecticut School of Law.
The minority confinement bill seeks to establish "race-neutral"
criteria to determine whether troubled juveniles should be detained
based solely on the safety risk they pose to the community and not
other factors. The criteria would follow models that have proved
successful in lowering the rate of minority juvenile confinement
in other states, including Oregon, Washington and California.
If the pilot program succeeds in reducing the numbers
of minorities in detention, it could be repeated statewide, DeGraffenreidt
said. The rates of detention and incarceration among minorities
have remained high despite repeated efforts to address the problem,
DeGraffenreidt said, adding that more needs to be done.
Aggression and belligerence exhibited by youths that
often arises out of fear are often mistaken for hostility. Greater
awareness and training among police, prosecutors and judges could
help them see the distinction, DeGraffenreidt said.
Connecticut's chief court administrator, Judge William
J. Lavery, who opposes the bill, told legislators earlier this week
that the judicial branch is already working with the nationally
known Youth Law Center and the Department of Children and Families
to develop more strategies and programs to divert children of color
from the juvenile justice system.
One new program is the Hartford Juvenile Review Board,
which has taken up the cases of 250 children since it started reviewing
cases and working on alternatives to incarceration last year. State
officials want to create similar boards in New Haven and Bridgeport,
and Gov. M. Jodi Rell has included money for it in her proposed
budget.
The "Raise the Age" bill, as it is being called, has
supporters and advocates led by the Connecticut Juvenile Justice
Alliance.
The bill calls for the state to begin incorporating
youths ages 16 and 17 into the juvenile courts starting in 2008
in order to give the state court system time to prepare.
Copyright 2005, Hartford Courant.
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