Close underused facilities
Keeping youth detention centers makes no sense if they’re empty
New York State’s fiscal condition is in crisis mode and one of the ways the governor proposed to reduce the growing state deficit is by closing juvenile detention facilities. Cattaraugus County’s Great Valley Youth Residential Center is one of them.
And that makes sense, because there’s no one home — unless you’re counting the roughly 30 full-time workers and seven part-time employees who staff the center. Reportedly, the number of young people currently housed in the 25-bed facility is zero. The money that could be saved by closing the facility is said to be about $2 million annually. During one of the worst economic crises in recent memory, the state cannot afford such unused or underused facilities.
It was back in 2000 that the state had its highest number of juveniles in the system, about 2,200 kids, many of whom committed offenses while they were under the age of 16. Had they been older, those offenses would have been called crimes; at the time, courts used to “adjudicate” youths to residential facilities.
Experts on the subject have suggested that the money spent on juvenile facilities would be more effectively spent on after-school programs and other early intervention efforts. There have been significant declines in recidivism rates in other states that have adopted this method.
So what’s the argument for keeping such centers? Jobs and money.
Supporters of the Great Valley residential center, most notably Sen. Catharine Young, R-Olean, have argued for keeping money and jobs in the community. The Cattaraugus County Legislature earlier this year adopted a resolution backing the conversion to a limited secure facility.
It is difficult to fault any community, much less one with few resources, for trying to hang on to a large employer. But the state itself can’t afford to be primarily a job provider, and this issue should center on the welfare of young people — the purpose, after all, of corrective actions when they run into behavioral problems. If the Cattaraugus County residential center is retained under this plan, the majority of potential residents — 70 percent to 82 percent — would come from Long Island, New York City, Rockland County and Westchester. If the courts send them at all.
Great Valley is one of two such facilities in Western New York. The other one is in Limestone and reportedly has 10 youths in residence, none from that area.
Young, understandably championing her district, voiced outrage at the suggestion of closing both the Cattaraugus and Great Valley facilities, calling that “a terrible slap in the face to Western New York.” She argued that doing so would leave troubled youths and their families from this area without any residential services in the eight-county region — and take away more than 50 jobs. Moreover, she said, it sends the message that “we don’t matter out here, and New York City is their priority.”
She should peek into the state coffers. There’s not much there, and there will have to be cuts. Full staff supervising few or zero residents? That’s not an effective way to spend money.
Log into MyBuffalo to post a comment
MyBuffalo is the new social network from Buffalo.com. Your MyBuffalo account lets you comment on and rate stories at buffalonews.com. You can also head over to mybuffalo.com to share your blog posts, stories, photos, and videos with the community. Join now or learn more.
Reader comments
Learn more about our moderation system.