CHENANGO COUNTY – Debate over raising the age of criminal responsibility in New York State has some Chenango County officials questioning what financial implications the proposal would have if legislation is passed later this year.
The issue was addressed in Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s “2015 Opportunities Agenda” on Wednesday. New York and North Carolina are the only two states in the country where 16 and 17-year-olds can still be prosecuted as adults.
According to Cuomo, any expectations that 16 and 17-year olds will be rehabilitated in prison and leave prison in better shape than they were are unrealistic.
“State prisons are no place for a 16-year-old,” said Cuomo.
A state-appointed pannel created in 2014 suggested raising the age of criminal responsibility in NY to 18 (though there are blurry lines when it comes to youth who are convicted of substantially heinous crimes). Cuomo said, “This year, the pannel came back and said let’s raise the age of criminal responsibility to get 16 and 17-year-olds out of adult prisons where they are being hurt, not helped. And let’s have a set of facilities and systems for 16 and 17-year olds.”
While there’s little debate among Chenango County officials over the decision to raise the criminal age of responsibility, it does generate questions about the impact it will have. County Attorney Allan Gordon explained the issue isn’t about what should be done, but about how it will be done.
“I think it’s a good thing to raise the age,” said Gordon. “No one likes to see 16-year-old kids with criminal records. That’s something that they live with for the rest of their life ... The big question mark is, who’s going to pay for it all?”
As the system currently stands, 16 and 17-year olds facing prosecution are handled by the District Attorney. Those who receive a guilty verdict are sent to prison. But juvenile delinquent records are sealed, thus not considered a criminal conviction and does not have the lifelong impact of a criminal conviction.
Raising the age of criminal responsibility would mean that teens who would have been sent to prison would instead be treated as a juvenile delinquent and placed in a rehabilitation program, sometimes at the county’s expense. It would also mean a bump in cases handled by the county attorney and an increased work load for family courts.
Payment for juvenile delinquent programs are handled through the Chenango County Department of Social Services. DSS Commissioner Bette Osborne explained that depending on the level of offense, the cost of youthful offenders in rehabilitation programs can range from $40 per day for low-level offenders to as much as $950 per day for high-level offenders.
“It’s possible that if it’s a very low level criminal that they could go into a foster home or a therapeutic foster home with low level security. That might cost $40 per day,” she said.
The next level of rehabilitation is a residential treatment center (RTC) for more serious youthful offenders. RTC includes services such as mental health counseling and schooling, and can range in cost from $85,000-$100,000 per year for one individual. Intensive RTC for delinquents that are in need of one-on-one care is more expensive at $150,000-$200,000.
While the county does receive an annual block grant from the state to help offset costs of RTC, grant funds typically runs out by September, leaving the county to foot any RTC expenses incurred for the remainder of the year.
For more serious cases, youthful offenders are referred to the state-run Office of Children and Family Services at a cost of $950 per day, or approximately $347,000 per year – all of which comes from local share with no state assistance, said Osborne.
“If the (age of criminal responsibility) is changed, it would definitely have an effect on what the county pays for RTC programs,” Osborne said. “Even if only five youths are convicted and four go into a residential setting, it could cost $800,000 per year; so it adds up quickly.”
Osborne additionally pointed out concerns over how residential settings would be redesigned to include more serious delinquents. “If low-level offenders in RTC are placed with attempted murderers, we have to question what impact that will have on the kid,” she said. “It’s a good thing to have this new law, but at the same time we need to set up the infrastructure for it.”
Details of the governor’s proposal, including how changes to juvenile delinquent programs will be funded, are still being worked. Gordon said it’s likely that the law, if passed, will be phased in over two years.