Juvenile justice shakeup brings

youths home

By STEVE KADEL-Frontiersman reporter

MAT-SU -- Program restructuring at MacLaughlin Youth Facility could have a side benefit for Mat-Su youths housed at the Anchorage site.

MacLaughlin is reducing its holding capacity by 20 beds. That probably will allow some Mat-Su juveniles sent to MacLaughlin to spend the final weeks of their term in Palmer's Mat-Su Youth Facility where they will be closer to their family, said MSYF director Ray Michaelson.

It's just one of several changes under way in the state's Division of Juvenile Justice.

"The idea is to have step-down programs to get kids out of those larger correctional facilities," Michaelson said. "Proximity of family is valuable. Some of the families just aren't making it to MacLaughlin as much as we'd like."

The MSYF operates for juveniles as the Mat-Su Pre-Trial Facility does for adults. It's a place to keep juvenile offenders who are charged with more serious crimes until they're placed elsewhere -- whether that's a treatment facility such as MacLaughlin, a foster home or shelter.

"We typically have 10 to 15 kids from Mat-Su at MacLaughlin," Michaelson said.

The Palmer detention facility has 15 beds, with the average stay between 35 and 40 days. When the new "step-down program" begins, some of those at MSYF will be just entering the juvenile system while those on the other end will be nearing release.

Neither Michaelson nor Sean Owens, juvenile probation and intake supervisor, foresees problems mixing the two populations.

Most of the youths at the Palmer facility are being adjudicated for serious felonies or violation of terms of release on a previous crime, Michaelson said. They can be as young as 12 or 13 and up to 20 years old, if the crime was committed before their 18th birthday.

Another step in the division's realignment is to develop what Michaelson calls a "detention screening tool" with clearer guidelines about how particular crimes will be dealt with. State officials hope to have that in place by mid-July.

By becoming more flexible about who is assigned to what facility, Michaelson said, it opens up more opportunity for youths to get help quickly. For example, he said there may be a 90-day waiting period for a treatment program at MacLaughlin but no waiting list in Fairbanks.

Meanwhile, much that happens at MSYF will remain the same. That means every youth housed there attends classes Monday through Friday under an arrangement with Mat-Su Borough School District, which Michaelson calls the facility's closest partner in the Mat-Su.

He said the division has concentrated for the past seven years on developing its facilities statewide. About a year ago, emphasis started shifting toward coordinating and streamlining delivery of services.

The current restructuring began prior to Gov. Frank Murkowski's election, but Michaelson said it fits in with the new governor's philosophy of cutting costs where possible. However, that doesn't mean reduced services, he said.

"We do not anticipate any major changes in programs," Michaelson said of the Mat-Su facility.

The bottom line, according to Michaelson and Owens, is finding the best way to address root causes of problems among teen-agers.

"The whole goal is to help kids avoid criminal behavior while they are growing up," Michaelson said.