All youth deserve to reach their full potential. Yet, too many young people are unnecessarily caught up in the youth justice system, with a disproportionate number of them being youth of color and those furthest from opportunity. Addressing these challenges were daunting even before COVID-19. But like most other sectors, the pandemic has catalyzed an alarming staff shortage in Wisconsin’s youth prisons.
As Youth Justice Awareness Month comes to a close, we focus today on one of the most pressing ways we can serve youth caught up in the youth justice system right here in Wisconsin – by addressing the urgent and critical staffing shortage in youth prisons.
“Inadequate staffing at Wisconsin’s youth prisons continue to have a ‘profound impact on daily operations,’ a court-appointed monitor wrote.”
– Wisconsin State Journal
September 16, 2022
What does the shortage mean for youth currently stuck in the juvenile justice system?
The repercussions of this shortage have been well documented for months. They include:
- Extensive waiting lists for community-based services & alternative placements, which inhibits youth from being diverted away from secure custody.
- Increased use of operational confinement in secure facilities, which has the potential to trigger mental, emotional, and behavioral health crises due to isolation.
- Longer stays in detention without access to needed services, which inhibits a youth from progressing on rehabilitative efforts to satisfy court-ordered dispositions.
- Increased out-of-state placements, which has the potential to prolong separation from family and loved ones.
Why is there a staffing shortage?
Like many other publics sectors, workers in the juvenile justice system are facing a slew of their own challenges:
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- COVID illness, death, and family leave,
- Early retirement and worker burn-out,
- Lack of interest in working with high need youth,
- Insufficient administrative capacity for seeking new grants which could address service gaps and increase service capacity.
Hear Us
Even before recent staffing pressures, life in the juvenile justice system was traumatic. Through the podcast ‘Hear Us’, Elijah, Keela, Termaine, Megan, Mya, and Jamie bravely share their experiences navigating Wisconsin’s youth justice system.
Impacts on Youth
The negative impacts on both youth and communities are well-documented. When we don’t comprehensively address their needs through reforms and support, the consequences are nothing short of tragic:
- Long-term emotional, physical, and cognitive harm to youth in custody,
- Lack of access to age-appropriate and culturally responsive services,
- Unnecessary referrals to youth justice intake due to mental health crisis, and
- Prolonged disengagement from age-appropriate family, school and community settings.
A multi-sector strategy is urgently needed. We need to implement short and long-term solutions for staffing the future needs of Wisconsin so that youth with complex needs have the services they need to be part of their communities. We welcome the opportunity to join state leaders in that work.
Through Youth Justice Wisconsin—a project of Kids Forward and Youth Justice Milwaukee—we are working to transform the youth justice system, increase community safety, and improve well-being for young people, ages 10-24.
