A Whole-Family Approach Shows Promise in Keeping Young Offenders Out Of Prison

January 26, 2017

Children as young as 13 can be tried in adult criminal court for serious crimes in New York state. But instead of redirecting troubled kids, prison hardens them. That’s why the New York Foundling, a private children’s-advocacy organization, offers an alternative, Families Rising, a diversionary option that mandates family therapy in exchange for delayed sentencing and avoiding a criminal record entirely if the program is completed successfully. The program also costs significantly less than housing an inmate at New York City’s Rikers Island: $8,400 versus $167,731. To date, participants have also proved the experiment’s validity: Of the Families Rising participants, 97 percent completed the program and avoided a criminal record; 92 percent completed the program and avoided jail time altogether.

Families Rising operates from the belief that most children are products of their environments. “A child who is arrested and tried as an adult should not be viewed in isolation or a vacuum,” according to their website. “Instead, we view the child in the context of his or her family, and introduce a trained therapist into the family dynamic to help them address factors leading to their arrest.” Formally called “functional family therapy,” the practice can be intensive for all members of the family—especially parents, who are often under extreme pressure to make sure the prescribed therapy is successful, lest their son or daughter be taken into custody.

Read the full article on TheAtlantic.com.