The 70,000 young people who are in custody in the United States and the South on any particular day are receiving such a poor education that they are being set “further back” in their lives, according to the Southern Education Foundation (SEF). 
Researchers who issued the April 17 report, “Just Learning,” found that juvenile justice programs are “profound and crippling” and that education can help young people who were incarcerated from returning to prison.
“Because effective education in the juvenile justice system helps to reduce recidivism and the number of youth who are in need of custody in the future, it can reduce the need and cost of future placement in juvenile justice facilities,” SEF said in the report.
“Students come out of the juvenile justice system in worse shape when they entered, struggling to return to school or get their lives back on track,” Steve Suitts, SEF vice president and study author, said in a statement.
The juvenile justice education system, he added, is marked by low expectations, ineffective instruction and technology and poor support.
In 2009, SEF said, students in juvenile justice education programs for 90 days or more failed to show any academic improvement. These students were in programs that documented progress.
The study also found that young people who were incarcerated in smaller facilities closer to their home communities made less progress than their counterparts in larger, state systems. That was particularly true in Southern states, researchers said.
One problem: Juvenile justice facilities that have young people with serious learning or emotional issues often cannot provide adequate support to them.
“The institutionalization of hundreds of thousands of young people is a detriment to their future and to society’s interests,” Kent McGuire, SEF president, said. “It is up to states to ensure that students in custody leave with the skills that can help them be independent and self sustaining.”
SEF researchers pointed to successful youth education at the Maya Angelou Academy in Washington, D.C. and a Chicago program that uses cognitive behavior therapy. The approach in Chicago helped cut violent crime arrests and boost school attendance and grades.
Among the recommendations by SEF for states to help young people after they leave incarceration: Keep the same education standards for students who are in juvenile justice classes to ones for pupils who are in public schools. Also, coordinate with public school systems for a “seamless” transition after a young person is released from incarceration.
The Atlanta-based Southern Education Foundation uses research and advocacy in its work on equity and academic excellence for all students in the South.