GUEST VIEW: What to do with juvenile detention centers

Editorials

March 27, 2008

Anonymous The Tonawanda News Thu Mar 27, 2008, 11:09 PM EDT

As Gov. Paterson races against the clock to get a new state budget in place, one issue he is sure to face is whether to see through former Gov. Spitzer’s plan to close some state juvenile detention facilities that house youths for long terms and place the full cost of maintaining short-term facilities on the shoulders of local governments.

While there is an argument to be made for closing the facilities, Gov. Paterson should nonetheless improve upon it. That would better serve the interests of all, including taxpayers.

There’s no question that some of the 28 facilities operated by the state Office of Children and Family Services are underused. That’s why the office announced that it would close six of them. But the state Senate wants to keep three of the six open including Auburn Residential Center, which has 24 beds but at the moment houses no children; Brace Residential Center, with 25 beds and three children; and Great Valley Residential Center, with 25 beds and 11 children.

According to the Correctional Association’s Juvenile Justice Project, a respected watchdog group that supports the closings, each empty bed costs taxpayers $140,000 to $200,000. The association argues that it would make better sense financially, and in terms of helping youngsters in trouble, if the six facilities were closed and the money used to establish a network of community-based programs.

That’s a better approach, surely, but the state does not have a good record for community care. Remember when the state closed many of its mental hospitals and promised that patients would be cared for at community centers? That network never fully materialized, and many patients were left to search on their own for help. In some instances, patients turned to violence. Gov. Paterson should support the closings, but with a firm guarantee that community care will be there.

The plan to shift costs to localities also seems reasonable on the surface. After all, the state has agreed to cap the local share of Medicaid costs that counties have traditionally borne, and a special state panel is looking at ways to cap property taxes. So, as a trade-off, the state would eliminate its share of the counties’ cost for maintaining detention centers where youthful offenders are held as they wait to be placed in a state facility.

But even with the relief promised counties, shifting the full cost of short-term juvenile detention facilities could lead to local tax increases. In any case, as Albany County Executive Mike Breslin observes, it’s the precedent that matters. If the cost shift takes place, then more might follow. Once again, the state would engage in a shell game of cutting, or stabilizing, taxes, by passing costs off to local governments. Mr. Paterson has an opportunity to end this shell game once and for all. He should seize the day.

— The Times Union of Albany

Text Only

Editorials

OUR VIEW: Time is up for SPCA board
This is no time for subtleties or polite requests.

February 7, 2012
OUR VIEW: Now who’s waging class warfare?
It was absurd for Republicans to cast President Obama’s call for a slightly higher income tax rate on the wealthiest Americans as class warfare.

February 3, 2012
OUR VIEW: SPCA off to good start
We were pleased to see members of the SPCA of Niagara’s board of directors take swift action and fire Executive Director John Faso on Monday.

February 1, 2012
Progress on marina, new funds, laudable
City leaders deserve praise — praise we’re pleased to deliver after years of criticism — for finally cementing a plan for redeveloping the city marina on River Road, a property that has sadly fallen into disrepair following to years of false-starts and faltering leadership.

January 27, 2012
OUR VIEW: In address, Obama focused on the practical
We were pleased to see President Obama mark a return to focusing the government on simple, achievable goals to help create jobs and bolster the nation’s economy.

January 26, 2012
OUR VIEW: Romney’s wealth shines spotlight on tax equity
Though it may not prove politically expedient for Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney, his decision to release his 2010 and anticipated 2011 tax returns will have at least one benefit, even if it wasn’t intended:

January 24, 2012
OUR VIEW: Cuomo pension plan makes sense
Cuomo proposed adding a 401(k) tier to the state’s pension plan. We’ll forgive workers in the private sector where plans of this nature are the accepted norm if they wonder why this would even be controversial.

January 18, 2012
OUR VIEW: Cuomo's plans are praiseworthy
In the annual state of the state address, Gov. Andrew Cuomo was long on big promises that will be a boon to New York’s government, business and education infrastructure. But as every New Yorker — particularly ones in this neck of the woods — knows, talk is cheap.

January 7, 2012
OUR VIEW: Do something about the SPCA
Although the dust still has to settle around the horrific complaints by a former employee of the Niagara County SPCA and others, we were discouraged to learn that the animal shelter is still struggling with a lack of leadership.

January 5, 2012
OUR VIEW: Time Warner skating on thin ice
In a high stakes game of chicken between cable network MSG and the region’s largest cable TV provider Time Warner Cable, the only people losing right now are hockey fans the region over.

January 3, 2012
More Editorials Headlines

Editorials

Search Results

GUEST VIEW: What to do with juvenile detention centers

Site Map

Contact Us