Editor’s note: To safeguard the identity of the minor in this article, the name “Luke” has been used in place of the juvenile’s real name.
When Luke ended up in trouble again, he wasn’t expecting another chance.
After being placed on probation after his last offense, he was told that another mistake would lead to a more serious consequence – residential placement. Luke said he experiences addiction and has tried to stay sober, but has had trouble in the past.
So, when it happened again, Luke knew what to expect.
“I was super anxious because I’d been on probation before, and I was told that if any situation happened again, that I would be sent to residential,” Luke said.
However, something vastly different took place.
Luke ended up in the county’s new juvenile diversion program, the result of new funding from the state that places an emphasis on reducing interactions with the formal justice system.
“It was like a thousand-pound weight was off my chest,” Luke said.
Now, Luke is able to meet with a skills trainer that coaches him through his week and gives him someone to talk to about what’s going on in his life. He’s been able to stay sober for longer than before and plans to pursue a degree in computer programming after completing his high school diploma.
A new approach
The three grants secured by Miami County were created as part of a larger effort in Indiana to follow data-driven practices throughout the justice system. The Juvenile Justice Reform Task Force submitted a package of recommendations to the Indiana Legislature in 2021, which set into motion a variety of grant programs and policies.
The two main grant programs are the juvenile diversion program, and the juvenile community alternatives program, which are supplemented by an additional behavioral health grant. With maximum awards of $85,000 each, the grant funding expands many of the constraints the probation office previously dealt with.
The diversion and community alternatives grants work together to prevent interactions with the formal justice system and provide alternatives that are based on research. Mandy Mavrick, chief probation officer for the county, said the “based on research” part is key.
“And if you look at research – that’s where these programs are derived from – what we’ve been doing forever, the research is not good. I mean, it’s just filling up prisons and putting people in jail. So, there’s a huge push from adults as well as juvenile offenders, adolescent offenders, to revamp that system,” Mavrick said.
The Indiana Criminal Justice Institute (ICJI) compiles data for risk factors associated with juvenile delinquency for their three-year plan. In the most recent plan, Indiana leads Midwestern states in the number of low-income working families, is the third worst in the region for child poverty, and children in Indiana experience abuse and neglect at a rate twice the national average.
Rural areas were identified as particularly underfunded in the legislature’s report, which led them to adopt a population-based funding mechanism that focuses on rural communities.
The grant programs arrived at the county level early this year, after a narrow application window closed and the funding was awarded. Almost immediately, Mavrick was able to hire additional staff for the county, including two case managers and a therapist. That ability to provide in-house services was something Judge Jacob Winkler said was not possible prior to the reforms.
“We have never had that ability. We have diverted kids in the past, those low risk, first-time-offense type situations, but we have never had the ability to actually provide in-house services,” Winkler said.
The availability of services extends beyond juveniles who are part of the programs. Mavrick said mental health resources are also available to family members.
“We actually have a therapist that comes here once a week that is covered by the grant, that offers free mental health treatment, free evaluations for the kid and the family. So, it’s all encompassing for everyone involved – even siblings,” Mavrick said.
In Miami County, diverting low-risk juvenile offenders to mental health resources has shown early successes. Mental health is just one part of the new programs – the juveniles who participate have planted flowers around the courthouse, learned how to budget, and more.
“Our goal is to develop relationships in the community, and to change the stigma around juveniles and offenders in general, because a lot of times, they’ve made a mistake. They’re upset, especially with kids, and they’re very impulsive. Their brain’s still developing,” Mavrick said.
Scientifically speaking, children continue to develop through age 25. The frontal lobe, which is responsible for impulse control, is the last part of the brain to fully develop. The National Institute of Health says the immaturity of the brain through adolescence is a factor which could lead to risk-taking behaviors.
However, accountability plays a large role in the county’s new approach as well. The grants expand the use of restorative justice and aim to repair harm through conversations between victims and offenders. According to recent studies, these conversations are particularly impactful for victims, who experience “deep and significant emotional change” as a result.
For juvenile offenders, confronting the individual or groups they harmed can illustrate the direct relationship between their actions and the effects they have on the victim. Keira McKinley is a case manager and leads the county’s restorative justice program and has observed how the process leads to better outcomes for all parties.
“They’re addressing what they’ve done, and now they’re working toward making it better. So, it’s creating empathy, it’s creating compassion. With these community service opportunities that we’re hoping to have, they can develop working skills, resume skills, and they can form connections within the community. And when people have connections to the community, they’re less likely to cause harm to the community,” McKinley said.
Offenders and victims work together to create a restitution plan during the process, which reframes justice as a repair to the harm rather than as a punishment. Restitution can include volunteering for an organization, repairing property damage, and more. Data shows that restorative justice reduces the likelihood a juvenile will commit another offense. McKinley said a large reason why it is so effective is because kids, by nature, have room to grow.
“I think a big part of it is that they are kids. So, they haven’t had the chance to really grow into their habits. They’re a little bit more, you know, changeable – they’re a little bit more open. And kindness, I think, touches them much more than adults,” McKinley said.
The probation department is hopeful that using these research-based methods will create lasting change in the children they work with each day. The staff said they are all adjusting to the new structure but are excited to try something new.
“But in the end, if this is done successfully, I mean, we’ve got 50 years of research from people that have been doing these programs that recidivism goes down, harm to communities goes down, [and] the expense on the community; it goes down drastically,” Mavrick said.
“It has positive lifelong implications for these kids who do participate in these programs. They don’t go on to being in court or criminals. They’re in the community, and they become productive members of society,” McKinley added. “That’s our goal”
