Date Published: 03/26/07
The Eckerd family has cared for troubled youth in Florida since 1968, and we have weathered the politics of state government, funding issues within the Department of Juvenile Justice, and inaction by the Florida Legislature.
This year, however, change is in the air in our state capital.
Gov. Charlie Crist, Department of Juvenile Justice Secretary Walt McNeil and House and Senate leaders have indicated a willingness to rethink the way we treat kids in this state. If we do not help ensure that much-needed change takes place, we will doom another generation of troubled youth to lives lacking direction and hope for the future.
In order to make fundamental improvement in Florida's juvenile justice system, two things need to happen: The mission statement of the Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) must change, and the governor and Legislature must properly fund the system.
A key concern is DJJ's old misguided mission statement, which puts public safety as the goal rather than rehabilitating youth. We support a new mission that focuses on prevention programs and rehabilitation of youth, a mission that ultimately will enhance public safety and benefit all Floridians.
Public opinion polls have consistently shown that Florida taxpayers prefer to spend money on juvenile justice programs proven to help kids. Yet government has a long history of being more interested in building prisons than repairing young lives.
Voting for more prison beds allows politicians to go back home and tell constituents they were “tough on crime.” But if they really want to be good stewards of state money - and be “smart on crime” at the same time - they should properly fund the juvenile justice system.
Already this year, we have seen that legislators are more than willing to pump $147 million into the Department of Corrections. And, as usual, the Department of Juvenile Justice is left with a recommended cut - this time $18 million. Meanwhile, a request for $45 million to shore up the privatized system that cares for youth in DJJ care languishes in the Legislature.
The state continues to send unfunded mandates to the providers who simply can no longer hold their programs together with band-aid remedies.
The department has not been adequately funded since it was created in 1994. DJJ secretaries have received the brunt of criticism for failures, but none has been given enough money to truly elevate the Florida juvenile justice system to one that is admired instead of ridiculed.
During the last decade, the Eckerd family has subsidized our Florida youth programs with millions of dollars in order to provide quality care. But even that significant private financial commitment is no longer enough to run effective juvenile justice programs for the state.
We recently turned in the keys to a program that offered services to high-risk delinquent girls, because available state funding was severely inadequate to meet the girls' needs. And we are not willing to put girls or our staff at risk in order to meet substantially low state funding!
While juvenile justice funding continues to track in the wrong direction, today's youth are entering the system with more serious issues than ever before - drug dependency, sexual victimization, dysfunctional families and much more.
Research has consistently shown that youth who get the right treatment during adolescence can turn their lives around dramatically. While we agree there is a small percentage of youth who need to be in a secure facility to protect staff and the public, the great majority of youth in state custody do not fall into that category.
My father, Jack Eckerd, built a drugstore empire on hard work and a reputation that stood for honesty, integrity and quality care. He created Eckerd Youth Alternatives, a not-for-profit organization, to provide prevention, rehabilitation and treatment programs - his investment in Florida's future. We at Eckerd Youth Alternatives are committed to fulfill his legacy. It won't be easy, but it's definitely worth the risk. After all, as my dad said, “it's about the kids.”
Nancy Eckerd Hart
Tallahassee Democrat
March 25, 2007
Nancy Eckerd Hart is a board member of Eckerd Youth Alternatives, Inc., one of the largest providers of services to troubled youth. She also is the daughter of EYA founders Jack and Ruth Eckerd. Since 1968, more than 70,000 young people have been helped through a range of six program models in more than 40 locations in nine states. Contact her by email at NHart@eckerd.org.
Source: Tallahassee Democrat |