INCARCERATED YOUTH
A counselor met John, a
nineteen year old, while on their weekly visit to the city jail. After
the staff gave his presentation to the classroom of youth on what his
program had to offer for youth who would be homeless on the outside.
John signed the paper going around, indicating that he wanted to speak
with the counselor individually. In their meeting, John spoke to the
counselor about his mother who had a drug problem, his father who was
incarcerated, his history of being placed in and out of foster care and
his little brother who was in foster care upstate. Because it was the
second time he had been incarcerated for drug sales, John realized jail
was not for him and he wanted to” get [his] life together.” John knew
he would be homeless upon release from jail and this was making him
nervous. He did not want to go into the adult shelter system, because as
he said, “it’s worse than jail.” After speaking about what the program
could offer him, education, job and vocational training, housing,
counseling and help with legal issues, the counselor left his card and
phone number. The counselor told John that upon release, he could go
straight to the address circled.
Three weeks later, John
appeared at the gate of the program and the counselor received a phone
call. “John is here to see you”. They talked for a while about how he
was feeling about being out, what fears he had and what he wanted to
accomplish while out. This was the beginning of John’s successful
re-entry into society.
Almost two years later,
John has graduated the program with a job and a GED. He has rented a one
bedroom apartment and is living independently. These last two years had
a lot of ups and downs. Through John’s dedication to make it and the
staff who cared about his success, John made it. He will no longer be
considered yet another statistic in the penal system but will be seen as
one more productive citizen in society.
STATEMENT OF
THE PROBLEM
New York is one of four
states in the nation that treats youth ages 16 and over as adults in the
criminal justice system. All other governmental agencies draw the
adult/child line at 18 (Department of Health and Mental Hygiene),
21(Administration of Child Services and Department of Youth and
Community Development), or up to 24 years of age at some Community Based
Organizations (CBO) and health clinics. These differences in defining
the age of adulthood creates particular problems for coordination among
governmental and voluntary agencies that should be responsible for the
welfare and well-being of these youth pre and post release.
Statistics regarding the amount of youth found homeless upon
release from incarceration are not available. But what can be said
according to the statistics of a shelter for homeless youth in New York
City, is that approximately thirty percent (30%) of the youth who come
through their doors admit to having a history of incarceration (Covenant
House, 2001). The correlation between incarceration and homelessness for
youth continues to grow while the services available to assist them in
their transition do not. It is important to understand who these youth
are, and the circumstances that support the cycle of homelessness and
incarceration. One study shows that sixty eight percent (68%) of the
youth who came from jail were living with family or guardians prior to
incarceration (Covenant House, 2001).
Reasons for a high percentage of homelessness were stated as
the following: Forty nine percent (49%) of the youth involved in the
cycle of homelessness and incarceration have a history of foster care
(ibid). When a youth in the child welfare system is sentenced to
incarceration or is detained, the foster care case is closed, and the
Department of Correction or the Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS)
take legal responsibility for the youth. Once they are released, if they
have turned 18, they cannot have a child welfare case re-opened.
Similarly, it is often close to impossible to open a case for a 16 or 17
year old regardless of whether or not they have a history of
incarceration. Not only is the difficulty due to the age, but also many
of the youth have not had success in child welfare agencies or foster
homes, and agencies become reluctant to take youth back who have
frequently “gone AWOL”, used substances on site, or have a history of
violence. Unfortunately, this policy leaves these youth with no
stability, support or agency responsible for their welfare.
Even for youth who may have family support, some binding
legal issues or laws do not allow them to go back to the neighborhood
they came from. Federal laws bar many ex-offenders from public housing
and federally assisted housing programs. (Urban Institute, 2001) Some
youth are not welcome back due to recidivism and burned bridges.
Finally, some youth, due to shame or pride, simply feel that they cannot
go back. These examples clearly show that homelessness is an issue for
youth that have been incarcerated. Once homeless, youth are at
increased risk of incarceration especially if they lack proper ID, or
are engaged in street economy activity (prostitution, selling drugs,
using drugs, gang activity). These two often reinforce each other. It
is also pertinent to state that “Returning prisoners who indicated that
their families or friends were supportive of their efforts to rebuild
their lives had lower levels of drug use, greater likelihood of finding
a job and less continued criminal activity. Those who went to homeless
shelters were seven times as likely to abscond from parole.” (Nelson,
Deess and Allen, 1999). This gives insight into the high rates of
recidivism among homeless youth.
CURRENT STATE
Incarcerated youth have
high levels of illiteracy and school failure. Based on the statistics of
one youth shelter, 80% of the young people coming from jail into a local
youth shelter had neither completed high school nor obtained a GED
(Covenant House, 2001). Youth with a history of incarceration are often
judged to be undesirable to the school system, and have difficulty
re-enrolling.
Additionally, 41% of these same youth reported a history of
substance use (ibid.). Homeless young men and women often have long
histories of trauma—child abuse and neglect, exposure to high levels of
community violence, loss of parents to AIDS, violence, poor medical
care, or prison—and may use substances to self-medicate. This can
increase their risks of homelessness, incarceration or both.
Studies have shown that incarceration does not promote
rehabilitation but instead reinforces institutionalization.
Incarceration, or traditional punishment is –7% effective in reducing
recidivism (D.A. Andrews, 1994). Once outside, the lack of services
while in jail/detention/prison combined with the lack of services on the
outside only helps to increase the chance of recidivism. Homeless youth
are particularly vulnerable to re-offending and/or re-arrest.
The transition from incarceration to freedom is an abrupt
one, and often minimal preparations are made before release. Without
discharge planning, there exists no positive support network, stable
living environment, or structured plan to make their transition back
into society successful. Certain policies, such as late-night release
times from Riker’s Island, are a barrier to a youth’s successful
transition back to community. Inmates are often released in Queens
Plaza, at 2 or 3 in the morning, with little more than two tokens. Most
service organizations do not have the capacity for 24-hour programming,
and therefore youth without a place to sleep that evening must fend for
themselves. Inmates are often released without the items they were
arrested with, including identification. A youth out on the street in
the middle of the night without ID is susceptible to re-arrest. Lack of
ID is particularly dangerous for youth, and it has become increasingly
difficult to access this critical documentation from the state,
particularly if the young person’s parent’s/guardian’s aren’t involved
in their life, or alive.
Youth who have been convicted of an adult felony have other
obstacles to face upon return. Due to the stigma of being an
ex-offender, many employees are reluctant to hire them. Having a felony
record is a legal reason for an employer to discriminate. For some, not
living at the address given upon release from prison, (usually due to
homelessness) itself is a violation of the conditions of their release,
and can land them back in jail.
SERVICE GAPS
For formerly incarcerated youth, the transition back into
society consists of an abrupt change from a controlled environment to
complete freedom. Although pre-release planning is crucial to effective
transition into society, there is minimal work done on the inside. Due
to the high percentage of inmates and the lack of resources both
physical (in terms of housing or schools that accept them when they are
released) and human (social services, prevention type - family based or
community based because they are not given any referrals when they
leave, just a token and sent back to where they came from), discharge
planning is mainly left to the few external programs that visit the
jails on a weekly basis.
While programs are available on the outside for ex-offender
youth, the majority are outpatient, offering job/vocational training,
educational programs, general groups and guidance counseling. These are
all essential to an effective re-entry into society, but as noted
previously, it is an individual process and each individual has certain
needs, many being more complex than the need for employment and
education. Many need programs that can offer intense behavioral and
cognitive therapy.
Housing is another area where there is great need, as
explained above. New York City has only one program that offers
immediate shelter to homeless youth, let alone youth ex-offenders, and
is not designed to assist the specific needs of ex-offenders.
Because minimal preparations are made before release, there
exists no positive support network or stable living environment for
youth once they are released from a facility. If done insufficiently,
pre-release preparations can increase societal rejections (including
employment). If not addressed immediately, the resulting frustration,
disappointment and anger can lead to a return to the familiar which in
turn finds the youth back in jail or prison.
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR INCARCERATED YOUTH ISSUES
·
Examine policies among OCFS,
ACS and DOC to allow maintenance of incarcerated youth in the Child
Welfare system through their 21st year.
·
Create half-way
house/re-integration programs for youth returning from OCFS facilities
and jail/prison who are over the age of 18.
·
Change the time of release
for inmates from Riker’s, or open a 24-hour service center in Queens
Plaza.
