2 Comments Governor Cuomo Talks Juvenile Justice in Today’s “State of the State Address” (01/05/11)
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo had some very interesting things to say about Juvenile Justice in NY in his “State of the State Address” today. It sounds like he might also be in the business of “Building People, Not Prisons.”
Here’s the excerpt:
For those of us who are old enough to remember Willowbrook, it brings back very bad memories. When we think about our current juvenile justice facilities, I believe there are echoes of what we dealt with in Willowbrook. You have juvenile justice facilities today where we have young people who are incarcerated in these state programs who are receiving help assistance program treatment that has already been proven to be ineffective; Recidivism rate in the 90 percentile. The cost to the taxpayer is exorbitant.
For one child over $200,000 per year. The reason we continue to keep these children in these programs that aren’t serving them but are bilking the taxpayers is that we don’t want to lose the state jobs that we would lose if we closed the facilities. I understand, I understand, the importance of keeping jobs. I understand the importance of keeping jobs especially in upstate New York. I also understand that that does not justify the burden on the taxpayer and the violation of civil rights of the young person who is in a program that they don’t need where they’re not being treated hundreds of miles from their home just to save state jobs. An incarceration program is not an employment program. If people need jobs, let’s get people jobs. Don’t put other people in prison to give some people jobs. Don’t put other people in juvenile justice facilities to give some people jobs. That’s not what this state is all about and that has to end this session.
To read the full address, please click here. And stay tuned for a full response from Fortune President and CEO, JoAnne Page!
What is most interesting is the lack of comments about an apparent truth that also applies to adult corrections. The admission that corrections has become an employment program is courageous. Too many people are incarcerated in the U.S.
Mass incarceration has become an employment and profit making business for many interests at the expense of educational funding. ethic minority communities and families.
An awesome statement from our Governor Elect. This business of corrections with its octopus grip decimating social structures within communities of color like family, community and livelihood,the capitalistic interests of big business including cheap labor and of course the millions of jobs created all on the backs of our seeds. I agree with John, more of our youth are incarcerated annually than graduate from college, educational funding is suffering and tax payers are carrying the load.