The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Last youth leaves CJTS
Malloy: Time to learn from mistakes in juvenile justice, as facility closes
MIDDLETOWN — The state’s beleaguered facility for incarcerated male youth under the charge of the Department of Children and Families closed its doors Thursday.
Two years ago, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy ordered Connecticut Juvenile Training School, the secure facility for delinquent boys 12 to 20, be shuttered by July 1.
The number of youths housed at CJTS has dropped precipitously due to a declining rate of juvenile and young adult arrests, record low crime rate, the impact of the governor’s criminal justice reforms, and the enhanced behavioral health services made available by DCF to all of Connecticut’s youth, according to a news release from the governor’s office.
The facility stopped taking new admissions Jan. 1, and the last youth left the facility Thursday.
CJTS originally opened in 2001 under Gov. John G. Rowland. It cost $57 million to build and millions more in annual costs to operate, the release said.
“In Connecticut, we’re leading the nation in rethinking our approach to criminal justice, especially when it comes to the treatment of our young people,” Malloy said in a prepared statement.
“The Connecticut Juvenile Training School was an ill-advised and costly relic of the Rowland era. It placed young boys in a prison-like facility, making rehabilitation, healing and growth more challenging,” he said.
“The fact remains that this isn’t a celebratory moment, but a time to reflect on the past mistakes made when it comes to juvenile justice, and an opportunity to create a system that better serves our young people and society as a whole.”
“It is an important and good day for the children, families and communities of Connecticut,” the Bridgeport-based Connecticut Juvenile Justice Alliance said in a press release. We are grateful for all the hard work everyone has done to make this a reality.
”The closure of the Connecticut Juvenile Training School marks a beginning, not an end. As a community, Connecticut needs to invest the time, money and resources into ensuring a full array of services is built to guarantee the best outcomes for youth, families and public safety. This continuum of care needs to be co-created in partnership with the young people, families, and communities of Connecticut that have been benefactors of the juvenile justice system,” it continued.
CJTS is located on 32 acres of land in Middletown. The facility is secure and has a campus-style design with six buildings surrounding a central courtyard. It was originally built with the capacity to house more than 200 youths, according to the state.
As part of the budget deal reached in October 2017, lawmakers voted to transfer care of youths whom the courts previously committed to DCF over to the judicial branch by July 1.
“We thank the staff of CJTS who were devoted to rehabilitating these young people and to improving their lifelong outcomes,” Malloy continued. “But the fact is, they didn’t need a prison-like facility that housed over 200 youths to accomplish this important work. As a state, we must endeavor to provide a more suitable setting for this critical work.”
“The staff at the facility have worked tremendously hard to serve this population of youth, have demonstrated great commitment and compassion, and have proven themselves to be dedicated public servants,” DCF Commissioner Joette Katz said in the release. “We wish them all the best in their new endeavors, and I thank them for being so instrumental in reforming the Connecticut juvenile justice system.”
“The way Governor Malloy and Connecticut policy makers have methodically reformed their juvenile justice system to the point where they are now closing their state’s last youth prison is nothing short of a national model,” Vincent Schiraldi, co-director of the Columbia University Justice Lab and former New York City Probation Commissioner, said in the statement.
“The fact that Connecticut’s juvenile arrest rate has plummeted alongside its decline in youth imprisonment means that state policy makers have figured out a way to make Connecticut residents safer while incarcerating fewer of their sons and daughters, something policy makers in other states should pay attention to,” Schiraldi continued.
During the last 10 years, the number of youth entering the criminal justice system has plummeted in the state, according to the governor’s office. Between 2009 and 2016 — the most recent year for which data is available — arrests involving people under 18 dropped by 56 percent.
Additionally, between 2009 and 2017, the number of inmates under 18 incarcerated by the Connecticut Department of Correction dropped by almost 85 percent.