NCJ Number
150956
Date Published
1994
Length
24 pages
Annotation
This report assesses the conditions in New York State that impact children and youth and proposes changes in the areas of income security, child welfare/family service, health care for children and pregnant women, juvenile justice, youth emancipation, and education.
Abstract
Overall, the report concludes that the children of New York State have gotten poorer, sicker, less educated, less safe, and less secure during the last 6 years. Proposals offered by Statewide Youth Advocacy, Inc., are designed to help remedy these conditions. The major recommendation is the creation of an independent Commission on the Quality of Care in Children's Services. The Commission's jurisdiction will include all children's programs supported by State or Federal dollars. It will oversee all children's programs in child welfare, juvenile justice, mental health, substance abuse, developmental disabilities, and education. In the area of juvenile justice, the report recommends a comprehensive review and reform of the current system. Among the issues recommended for review are county operation of community-based juvenile services out of a Youth Services Unit, the expansion of family-oriented diversion programs, the development of noninstitutionalized programs for nonviolent youth, a moratorium on the building of juvenile correctional facilities, and the development of a Community Reinvestment Act for juvenile justice services.