Terrell's turtle may never realize how odd his circumstances are. The tiny reptile is a resident in Missouri’s Hogan Street Regional Youth Center, a correctional facility for troubled youth like Terrell. As strange as a pet inside prison may be, outside the glass walls of the turtle’s aquarium, similar marvels abound. Instead of bland colors on concrete blocks, cheerful bed spreads cover wooden bunks. Instead of uniformed and heavily armed officers, therapists, social workers, and teachers stroll in plain clothes through the hallways. And, instead of resentment and rebellion, in this place young offenders like Terrell find hope and restoration.
The Hogan Street Regional Youth Center is only one example of Missouri’s thirty-two residential treatment centers for youth that exemplify what has been dubbed “The Missouri Model.” Since the 1980s, the state has abandoned a strictly disciplinary approach to juvenile corrections and instead has focused on counseling and rehabilitation to help kids reject criminal behavior and become positive, productive members of their communities. Safe environments where kids can share their struggles, reform their attitudes, and learn valuable skills are the hallmark of Missouri’s method.
Missouri’s approach to juvenile corrections has reaped considerable rewards for public and prison safety. Recidivism rates for youth leaving the system hover at merely 8% compared with rates of 30% elsewhere, and not a single suicide has occurred in Missouri’s juvenile facilities since the system’s inception. Officials from at least 30 states are flocking to Missouri to learn from it, and several states are exploring ways to mimic its methods. In recognition of Missouri’s success, Harvard University granted it the 2008 Annie E. Casey Innovations Award in Children and Family System of Reform.
Terrell’s turtle is likely oblivious to all this. But for youth like Terrell, there is no mistaking the Missouri Model’s significant impact.
For more on Juvenile Justice, visit Justice Fellowship’s Juvenile Justice Issue Page.
For more information on the Missouri Model, visit the following links:
St. Louis Today: Missouri leads the nation in juvenile justice reform
Stateline.org: States adopt Missouri youth justice model
Missouri Department of Social Services Division of Youth Services
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