The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Youths facing prison get a second chance
Accountability key part of Clayton program; it saves money, too.
Six months ago, Catorey Davis was facing at least 10 years in prison for armed robbery, receiving a stolen car and reckless driving.
On a recent Tuesday night, instead of doing hard time, the 16-year-old was facing other young felons at the Clayton County Youth Development & Justice Center. He told them about the hair-cutting business he’d start with $100. It’s a logical plan since he’s already been cutting hair for a year. The hypothetical business-on-a-shoestring-budget exercise is part of the group’s weekly assignments designed to help them with problem-solving and critical thinking.
In other parts of Georgia, Davis would mostly likely be wearing a prison jumpsuit and mingling with adult inmates instead of participating in an early-intervention and accountability program for young felons aptly named Second Chance.
While Georgia has what it calls “accountability courts” — problem-solving programs for drug addicts and deadbeat parents used as an alternative to jail — Clayton’s Second Chance program is believed to be the only one of its kind in the state for young felons, according to Clayton Chief Juvenile Judge Steve Teske.
Just over 100 young men between the ages of 14 and 17 have gone through the program since its began in 2010. They’ve been convicted of serious offenses such as aggravated assault, burglary, armed robbery, weapons possession, home invasion and entering autos. Some are gang members, although they often don’t admit it, Teske said.
So far, about 75 have graduated from the program. Second Chance graduates get their felonies expunged once they complete the program and go two years without any incidents, Teske said.
“We’d rather intervene this way while they’re kids so that we don’t have to see them again as adults,” Teske said. Second Chance isn’t for everyone. Some kids can’t seem to break away from their old friends and habits. Two teens were drummed out of the program recently and marched in front of their peers to the jail next door where they immediately began their prison sentence.
“It’s unique in that it’s the only one of its kind that focuses on the youth who have committed serious offenses,” said Joe Vignati, deputy commissioner for the Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice. “What’s innovative and different is that you have a community of folks who’ve said ‘let’s see what we can do to wrap services around youth to prevent them from moving further into the system.’ ”
Vignati also noted the program helps that group of young offenders — children who have committed serious offenses that land them in the adult system — reconcile their deeds in the juvenile system instead.
Beyond turning kids around, the program is a cost-saver. If Second Chance participants had gone to prison, it would cost about $120,000 a year to house one young offender, Vignati noted. Of the kids who do go to prison, 65 percent end up going back, Vignati added. The Second Chance program’s annual cost per child is $5,000, Teske said. Its recidivism rate is 7 percent.
Second Chance is an extension of Teske’s ongoing work with troubled teens.
The 56-year-old judge has become a go-to guy nationally on juvenile justice reform. About a dozen years ago, he worked with Clayton’s law enforcement, courts and school district to cut the county juvenile court’s workload. Back then, the court was clogged with cases of kids arrested for misdemeanors such as school fights and disorderly conduct. Now those cases are most likely to be resolved through mediation to resolve many of the issues. The school district has since formed its own security force.
As a result, school arrests in Clayton are down 91 percent, Teske said. The stark improvement in Clayton has been recognized across the country. Teske has testified before Congress as an expert on detention reform and reducing the school-toprison pipeline. He is part of a group that advises the president and Congress on juvenile justice matters. He has been to 38 states as a technical adviser on reforming the juvenile systems in those states.
Second Chance began in 2010 after a 17-year-old appeared in Teske’s court. The teen was facing armed robbery charges in superior court but District Attorney Tracy Graham Lawson had the case transferred to Teske. (In Georgia, DAs have the discretion of moving kids facing serious criminal charges in adult court to juvenile court as they see fit). The young man was a good student with no priors, Teske recalled. He was looking at a minimum of 10 years in adult prison or five years in juvenile lockup.
“Neither situation was the proper remedy for this young man,” Teske said.
Second Chance was born. In the two-year program, young offenders and their families work with judges, probation officers and counselors to identify the problems that led to their crimes. Clinicians and social workers visit the home to see what conditions the family is living in so they can help address the problems that keep the teen from doing better. Probation officers and other judges within Clayton’s court system also work with the kids.
“It’s hard for a kid to do homework and stay focused on school when they’re having to see mom struggling, crying and in pain,” Teske said.
Currently there are a dozen young men in the Second Chance program. Here’s how the program works:
In the first phase, participants spend six months on house arrest with a GPS monitor. They’re only allowed to go to school and work. They’re drug-tested through the program. They go through a series of role-playing, classes and other tasks to help “rewire their brain.”
As Teske likes to put it: “Kids are neurologically wired to do stupid things.”
In the second phase, the kids attend the Tuesday night sessions where they focus on schooling, getting a job and other life skills. During the sessions, the teens are given pointers by judges and probation officers and other court officials. Parents attend as well. Once the teens get a job, they learn to set up budgets and bank accounts they jointly hold with their parent to keep track of deposits and withdrawals. The third phase or stepdown phase gives participants more freedom as they finish their time on probation.
By the time the teens have reached the second phase, parents and program officials report seeing changes in them. Their attitudes and grades have improved. Many have ditched their old friends and habits. For example:
Asar Ferguson is no longer “reaching out to those friends anymore,” said his dad, Roger Ferguson. After spending eight months in juvenile detention, the 15-year-old is back in school and his dad said “the grades are good.” The teen was charged with theft by taking and aggravated assault after a drug deal he and a friend were involved in went bad.
Hunter Chandler, 17, said his “overall thinking process has changed.” Chandler was facing reckless driving, possession of a firearm and aggravated battery. He’s been in the program six months.
Arnetta Davis has noticed her son Catorey has become more serious and focused.
“It’s really good for him because it’s teaching him to control himself and it’s keeping him in order,” she said. For Catorey Davis, who admits to having never made plans in his life, the program has him wanting to finish high school now. The business plan exercise and dress code are steps in the right direction.
“I’ve got to do that every Tuesday,” he said. “I just know I’ve got to do it. Tie and suit. This is my life now.”