Helping youth thrive means moving beyond incarceration

Youth detention centers in the United States were originally created to separate young offenders from adults. The goal was to provide rehabilitation in a safer environment more appropriate for this age group. However, these facilities have fallen out of favor due to evidence of systemic abuse, racial disparities and poor outcomes — including high recidivism rates — that suggests they often do more harm than good.

A study published in The American Journal of Public Health examined 118 youth detention facilities whose closure had been recommended or declared. More often than not, closures resulted.  The study highlighted best practices in doing so. 

One of the authors is Dr. Ben Danielson, a clinical professor of pediatrics at the University of Washington School of Medicine. He directs Allies in Healthier Systems for Health & Abundance in Youth (AHSHAY), a program in the UW medical school’s Department of Psychiatry. 

He talked about the findings and his interest in the topic. The conversation below was edited for clarity and length. Download accompanying video soundbites and related multimedia of Danielson.

Q: What inspired you to take part in the study? 

A: The study is interesting because you would think this had been done, that there was already information in the literature about the practice and the experience of trying to close youth detention centers and facilities in this country. But there really hadn't been a good comprehensive look at that. So, this opportunity to look at this issue from 2010 to 2023 and get a bird's eye view of what's happening around the country was a really interesting opportunity. 

Q: Why is this study important? 

A: I've been working with this center called ASHAY, which is part of the University of Washington, for a few years now, and one of the biggest areas of focus for us is really addressing this issue of youth incarceration. And if you're a numbers person, if you care about money and the way money is spent, you'd probably really look at youth incarceration and question why it's done in that way. Because it costs a lot, hundreds and hundreds of thousands of dollars per person per year to incarcerate a young person, and it doesn't work. The outcomes are not good. 

Q: What are some major findings of the study? 

A: Over that period of time of 14 years, we found 118 different places where they had intended to close. They named their intention: ‘This used facility is something we're going to close.’ That's a lot of facilities around the country. Of those, 62%, well over half, were successful in closing. I just want to pause there and say, it's just important for us to know that this can be done, that it is done, it has been done, and it actually happens more often than not.

Q: You mentioned more than 60% of facilities that said they would close eventually did. Why did this happen? 

A: The first point is, more often than not, it happens. The second point from this study that I think is interesting is that it looks like you have more success when you close for pragmatic reasons than for ideologic reasons. It looks like perhaps the facilities and the places that close based on a philosophy of not incarcerating youth are actually less likely to be successful than the places that close for financial or other practical reasons. And I think there's an important lesson there for all of us about how we can hold our philosophies very dear. We can think very seriously about our ideologies, but when it comes to making changes happen, there's got to be a practical component. There have to be the pieces in place already that will help you be successful. There has to be the right sense of will among the people who can make decisions. 

Q: What should communities focus on if they want to move away from youth incarceration and toward alternatives? 

A: I think this is an important place for communities to engage in the conversation. So, this isn't just a discussion between, I don't know, an administrator, facility director, and a purse strings holder about what happens when a facility is closed. There has to be the community engagement because the community can really help determine where resources might show up. There are such great programs that help a young person get reconnected to mentors, get connected to somebody who understands the trauma they faced, get help and support and services in lieu of being detained. These diversion programs, these alternatives to incarceration, they work and they're a lot less expensive. Communities can really help inform, support, encourage and make sure that the plans are in place so that those alternatives are there, so you don't just close the door without actually opening an opportunity. 

Q: The report says Black or indigenous people are more likely to be detained and to have less access to resources. How did this influence decisions to close or keep these facilities open? 

A: A Black youth is more likely to be arrested by police for the same kinds of actions that someone else does. A Black youth is more likely to get prosecuted, more likely to have a serious sentence that includes jail time, is more likely to be imprisoned for a longer period of time and is less likely to have access to community-based resources that we know are more effective. So, as we think about closing facilities, planning to close facilities and strategies around that, to really understand that this is all happening in this context of what is a really strongly racially disproportionate setup system at each step of the way. 

Q: What do you hope people who work with youth will take away from this study? 

A: I hope for people who work with youth, this is a little bit of an encouragement and an affirmation that we can do this, that there's a lot of reasons why we should be working even harder to build more of the infrastructure in our communities, to have great alternatives, to continue to have faith and believe in young people, to look at the evidence that says that community programs allow young people to get into tracks in their lives that are productive and wonderful and thriving and full of joy, and that work really matters. I think communities and folks should take from this: that when you're working with youth, you are offering a different kind of future for them and not just for them, but for all of us and for all of our kin as well. 

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