By changing their juvenile justice policies and shifting funding priorities, states can dramatically alter their juvenile justice systems. Texas shifted the majority of their juvenile population from state-run secure facilities, which keeps youth away from their family and community support systems and have high rates of re-arrest, to community-based in-home counseling and wraparound services for youth and their families. The result is smaller population held in secure facilities, lower re-arrest/re-committal rates for youth and significant cost saving for the state.
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