Kentucky

Deborah Yetter with the Courier Journal writes on 2/10/08 that

Kentucky's juvenile justice system is undergoing a major shift in philosophy -- dropping what critics said had been an emphasis on incarceration and punishment in favor of the treatment and rehabilitation required by law.

"I don't want to hear the word incarceration used in conjunction with juveniles," said J. Michael Brown, the new secretary of justice and public safety. "Our mission is to treat the juveniles, the children that are entrusted to our care."

Ron Haws, 64, a six-year veteran of the Juvenile Justice Department, recently was named acting commissioner by Brown and agrees the department has strayed from its mission.

As a result, it is holding too many youths who may not have committed serious crimes for too long at residential centers sometimes hundreds of miles from their homes, said Haws, who became commissioner Feb. 1.

"We should not have a youth anywhere in the commonwealth in placement any longer than he needs to be there," Haws said.

Click on following story for more details as the juvenile system in Kentucky refocuses on the child and not confinement.  Kudos to J. Michael Brown and Ron Haws.

New emphasis for state juvenile justice system
Rehabilitation, not jail, part of change