| Hawaii exemplifies pathways to reducing youth incarceration
Tue Jun 21
It's easy to feel hopeless when learning about the U.S. prison system. Today, we're excited to share some hope as Hawaii celebrates a major milestone: Absolutely zero girls locked up in juvenile detention. While the state — known to have one of the highest incarceration rates in the world — has been working on juvenile detention reform since the 1980s, their efforts have ramped up over the past decade.
Major change began in 2004, after reports emerged of the sexual assault and inadequate medical care girls at the detention centers experienced. To combat this, not only did government leaders begin teaching probation offices how to work with and understand the needs of girls, but judges underwent training to understand the underlying trauma girls face when making certain decisions (such as running away from home). This training resulted in more judges sending girls to counseling services than to detention centers.
And there's been a major decrease in boys in these centers as well, with one facility going from 200 boys incarcerated to just 16. A number of factors have led to such significant outcomes. In 2014, Hawaii's Legislature passed laws increasing investment in youth mental health and substance abuse programs as well as decriminalizing prostitution for minors. New nonprofit services, such as those provided by Hale Kipa, began addressing issues of trauma, abuse, and others that lead youth to commit crimes. For example: - One of their centers provides emergency housing and trauma-informed support for victims of sex trafficking.
- Another center provides youth with civil citations and services to improve their family relationships, stay in school, and navigate their teenage years.
On top of all this, a house bill enacted two years ago shifted government funds away from incarceration costs, such as $200K per year on beds alone, to instead funding community services (like the ones mentioned above) addressing mental health and substance abuse treatments. Since then, Hawaii has already seen a 28% decrease in youths being charged in court for new law violations. | |
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