DISCUSSING REFORM — Experts gathered at The New School in New York City in October to discuss ways to reform New York’s juvenile justice system. The event was sponsored by the Center for NYC Affairs. Shown are: Sylvia Rowlands, director of the Blue Sky program; PEF Executive Board member and OCFS youth counselor John Ruiz; Assemblyman William Scarborough; Larry Busching, chief, Family Court Division, NYC Law Dept.; and Tamara Steckler, Legal Aid Society. — Photo by Michael Paluszek

Family Court judges take closer look at youth placement

By DARCY WELLS
There is room for improvement in New York’s juvenile justice system, but labeling the entire system a failure is doing a disservice to all those involved, according to PEF President Ken Brynien.

Brynien, an active member of the governor’s Task Force on Transforming New York State’s Juvenile Justice System, has reached out to all judges presiding over family court proceedings in New York, warning of the dangers of shifting troubled youths from state-operated detention facilities to privately run agencies.

Brynien wrote a letter to the judges in response to a memo the union recently obtained.

The memo went to judges statewide, presiding over family court proceedings and was issued by the two supervising judges of family courts both in and outside of New York City. It was in response to a recent visit by state Office of Children and Family Services Commissioner Gladys Carrion.

According to the memo, Carrion acknowledged to the judges the conditions, described in a recent report by the U.S. Department of Justice identifying problems related to the care and supervision of youth in OCFS facilities, are systemic of all facilities.

“Instead of trying to fix the problems, the commissioner is advocating closing some upstate OCFS facilities and shifting youths into voluntary agencies,” said Brynien.

“Family court judges need to be aware of the mismanagement, understaffing and lack of accountability at these voluntary agencies.”

In the letter to the judges, Brynien said PEF is fully aware of the need to reform the juvenile justice system, but dumping youths into privately-run facilities is not the answer.

“Commissioner Carrion has identified the problem areas: lack of adequate mental health services, lack of special education teachers and a need to move toward a therapeutic, rather than a correctional, model of rehabilitation,” Brynien said.

“Our members who work in these facilities agree with those findings. Now, let’s work toward implementing needed changes, not shifting responsibility for rehabilitating youths to less accountable, less transparent programs.”

Brynien said the union will continue to fight any further proposed closures of OCFS facilities.

“We are committed to repairing the system and working with management to achieve that goal,” Brynien said.