The time wasn’t right for reforming the juvenile justice system this legislative session, but that wasn’t evident to backers until the final days, when costs became an issue.
After five years of work and assurances that reforming the juvenile justice system would save money and young lives that otherwise would be lost to the criminal justice system, the legislation didn't make it. There were concerns that local governments would have had to cover millions in costs and the state would have to come up with more money. The bill had passed the House but didn't get on the Senate's final calendar.
There's always next year, advocates of the 246-page bill said Tuesday. Bill sponsor Rep. Wendell Willard, R-Sandy Springs, said backers will use the time before the next session to get solid cost figures -- something the governor wants to see.
"The governor knows we need significant reform in our juvenile justice system," said Brian Robinson, Gov. Nathan Deal's spokesman. "He agrees with the direction of the legislation, but right now, there are too many unknowns about the costs involved. Estimates vary widely, but we do know that it comes with a hefty price tag. The governor would like to see that issue resolved, so that we can move forward on these needed improvements."
House Bill 641 was a rewrite of the entire Georgia Code that deals with children -- including foster care and termination of parental rights. It also includes the juvenile justice system and how to address preteens and teenagers judged delinquents for committing low-level offenses such as shoplifting or drug possession and “crimes” that are crimes only because of their ages -- running away and truancy. The idea is to resist locking them up before finding out why they are troubled.
“We don’t have any problem with the policy at all,” said Douglas County District Attorney David McDade, who was among the prosecutors arguing against the bill. “The difficulty has been good government costs money, and if we’re going to have to implement that [bill], we need the resources. We support the bill as long as it’s fully funded.”
McDade said it would have cost local governments millions, and there was no guarantee that the state would provide the funding.
Cost estimates varied.
Willard said the proposed law would not have been effective until July 2013 to allow time to get a handle on costs.
There were "several things that were on the governor's plate as far as new policies with unknown costs. One of the big ones is criminal justice reform [for the adult system]. ... Then we passed the revenue bill, which has tax cuts," Willard said. "They think they know [the costs of the bills], but there are some unknowns, uncertainties."
Backers of HB 641 said the reform could save the state as much as $49.5 million a year. The Department of Human Services and the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities combined might save $13 million because overlapping responsibilities would be eliminated, and the Department of Juvenile Justice would claim the rest because it would be holding fewer juveniles.
The district attorneys and counties argued, however, it would cost them $16 million a year. Also there were estimates that the statewide public defender system would need $3 million to $5 million more, and the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities would require another $8 million.
"There was a lot that would save money, but nobody was calculating that into their estimates," said Kirsten Widner with the Barton Law and Policy Group. "There wasn't time [in the session] to fully vet and understand the cost questions."
Giovan Bazan spent most of his life in the state's care, either in a foster home or Department of Juvenile Justice lockups, so this year, he offered firsthand accounts of what happens in the juvenile justice system. Beginning when he was 11, Bazan was locked up over and over for running away from his abusive foster home. At 14, Bazan was locked up for a year and a month because he had thrown a pocket knife in the trash in a restroom at school.
"The No. 1 motive should be that you're helping these kids ... helping them have better lives instead of incarcerating them," said Bazan, now 21. He works for a nonprofit agency that helps juveniles transition out of the foster care system.
According to the Department of Juvenile Justice, 60 percent of the teenagers released from one of their facilities return or go into the adult prison system.
"Had I had that scrutiny [prescribed in the legislation], I wouldn't have ended up in the juvenile justice facilities and all these correctional facilities," said Bazan, who would have liked to have been a sailor or a Marine or a police officer, professions that are off-limits to him because of his past. "They basically looked at me like I was the problem."
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