Keeping kids outside the system: alternatives to juvenile detention are cheaper and more effective.

• Author: Sullivan, Irene

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Rashad never took his eyes off his mother. While his public defender questioned him, Rashad clenched and unclenched his hands, answering in staccato bursts, his large brown eyes imploring or challenging his mother, who returned his stare from the front row of the courtroom. No, he hadn't pushed his mother into the coffee table. No, he hadn't tried to strangle her. Yes, he tried to tell his story to the police. Yes, he knew why his mother called the police and why she claimed he had pushed her first. She wanted him arrested. She had called the police before. According to her, he was 14, "good for nothing," and headed for prison like his father.

It's bad enough that a judge has to decide who is telling the truth in domestic violence cases like this. Worse, even if found guilty of misdemeanor domestic violence, Rashad would return home with his mother. Imagine the dinner table conversation that night.

A cheaper and more effective approach than arresting Rashad would have been referring him to Family Resources, a Pinellas County, Florida, shelter for runaway and homeless youth that also provides family counseling and an alternative respite from violent domestic disputes. Family Resources is one of 233 agencies across the country that belong to the National Network for Youth, which provides services to kids and families while keeping the kids out of the juvenile justice system. In a 2001 study, Florida Tax Watch, a fiscal watchdog group based in Tallahassee, found that organizations such as Family Resources save Florida taxpayers millions of dollars each year by diverting youth from the juvenile justice and dependency-court systems. States that are struggling to balance their budgets should look to juvenile justice alternatives like these, which achieve better results at a lower cost.

While researching a book about my nine years of service as a juvenile judge in the St. Petersburg/Clearwater area of Florida, I met dedicated people all over the country who have had success deterring juveniles from crime. I reviewed the data. I found that diverting kids from criminal careers could save billions of dollars a year in prison costs while helping to create law-abiding, productive citizens, thus enhancing public safety. Here are a few evidence-based programs that work:

Civil citations for first-time offenders. Wansley Waiters earned worldwide recognition as director of Miami-Dade County's juvenile services division by working with...