Keeping the kids in the juvenile justice system safe and rehabilitating them while we hold youth accountable for their actions is more than just the right thing to do. It’s also how we prevent future delinquency and crime.
The Texas youth justice system aims to increase public safety by getting the kids it works with to accept responsibility for their actions and plan for future success. For that to happen, youth need quality services and supports and safe conditions while they’re in the system. These kids will eventually leave the system, and incarceration alone won’t improve their behavior. What will is providing age-appropriate specialized treatment, mental health and substance abuse treatments, and community-based services shown to bring about real, positive change by rehabilitating youth so that they don’t reoffend.