{"id":129,"date":"2019-01-23T13:22:07","date_gmt":"2019-01-23T13:22:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bostonreleasenetwork.org\/?p=129"},"modified":"2025-09-11T15:35:53","modified_gmt":"2025-09-11T19:35:53","slug":"merrimack-valley-experiment-in-criminal-justice-reform","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/baystatereentrynetwork.org\/index.php\/2019\/01\/23\/merrimack-valley-experiment-in-criminal-justice-reform\/","title":{"rendered":"Merrimack Valley experiment in criminal justice reform"},"content":{"rendered":"<header class=\"article-header\">\n<p class=\"article-header__overline\">EDITORIAL<\/p>\n<h1 class=\"article-header__headline\">In the Merrimack Valley, a vital experiment in criminal justice reform<\/h1>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"article-body\">\n<figure class=\"lead-media\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"lead-media__media imagetargeting\" src=\"https:\/\/c.o0bg.com\/rf\/image_960w\/Boston\/2011-2020\/2015\/03\/03\/BostonGlobe.com\/Business\/Images\/maeda_20prison_biz4.jpg\" sizes=\"(min-width:960px) 800px, 100vw\" srcset=\"\/\/c.o0bg.com\/rf\/image_960w\/Boston\/2011-2020\/2015\/03\/03\/BostonGlobe.com\/Business\/Images\/maeda_20prison_biz4.jpg 960w, \/\/c.o0bg.com\/rf\/image_835w\/Boston\/2011-2020\/2015\/03\/03\/BostonGlobe.com\/Business\/Images\/maeda_20prison_biz4.jpg 835w, \/\/c.o0bg.com\/rf\/image_460w\/Boston\/2011-2020\/2015\/03\/03\/BostonGlobe.com\/Business\/Images\/maeda_20prison_biz4.jpg 460w\" alt=\"Tewksbury, MA 022715 UTEC (United Teen Equality Center) street worker Johnny Chheng (cq) and Angel Garcia (cq) headed for IHOP in Tewksbury, the first stop after he was released from Middlesex House of Correction in North Billerica, Friday, February 27 2015. (Wendy Maeda\/Globe Staff) section: Business slug: 20prison reporter: Megan Woolhouse\" \/><figcaption class=\"lead-media__info\">\n<div class=\"lead-media__credit\">WENDY MAEDA\/GLOBE STAFF<\/div>\n<div class=\"lead-media__caption\">A UTEC street worker makes IHOP a first stop for a young man released from the Middlesex House of Correction in North Billerica.<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<div class=\"article-header__byline article-header__byline--article\"><time class=\"article-header__pubdate\" datetime=\"2019-01-22 21:21\">JANUARY 22, 2019<\/time><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-content\">\n<p id=\"U85144669026bfB\">In a handful of courthouses in the Merrimack Valley, an important experiment in criminal justice reform is underway.<\/p>\n<p>Court officials are partnering with\u00a0<a class=\"a\" href=\"https:\/\/utecinc.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" shape=\"rect\">UTEC, a Lowell organization<\/a>\u00a0that works with some of the toughest young men in the region, to reimagine probation \u2014 that critical way station between freedom and imprisonment.<\/p>\n<p>Some 56,000 people statewide are under probationary supervision \u2014 either in lieu of a prison sentence, or as they ease their way back into society after months or years behind bars. And the Merrimack Valley pilot program homes in on one crucial subset of that population: young adults, ages 18 to 24.<\/p>\n<p>Decades of neuroscience research show that the brain is still developing into the mid-20s. That can mean a lot of bad, impulsive decisions; this age cohort has a higher recidivism rate than any other. But when the brain is that plastic, there is also real opportunity for redemption. For turning lives around.<\/p>\n<div class=\"inline-newsletter \" data-exact-target-id=\"20540177\" data-mailing-list-name=\"Today in Opinion\" data-is-amp=\"\" data-section=\"\/opinion\/editorials\">\n<div class=\"inline-newsletter__copy\"><\/div>\n<form class=\"inline-newsletter__content\" method=\"post\">\n<div class=\"inline-newsletter__button-container\">\u201cYoung adults are a discrete group,\u201d explains probation commissioner Edward Dolan. \u201cYou can\u2019t treat them like they\u2019re 15-year-olds. And you can\u2019t treat them like they\u2019re 50-year-olds.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/form>\n<\/div>\n<p>Indeed, the pilot joins a small, but promising array of programs around the country that aim to carve out a unique place for young adults in the criminal justice system. Prisons in Billerica and Cheshire, Conn., have established separate young adult units. And San Francisco launched a Young Adult Court a few years ago.<\/p>\n<p>In the Merrimack Valley, about 30 high-risk young adults are participating in the voluntary program so far, with plans to expand to 60 or 70 if the state does the right thing and steps up funding.<\/p>\n<p>Participants work in a handful of UTEC-run social enterprises \u2014 a mattress recycling business, a cafe and catering outfit, and a woodworking operation that makes cutting boards and salad tongs sold at Whole Foods markets throughout the Northeast.<\/p>\n<p>UTEC \u2014 founded 20 years ago as United Teen Equality Center, but now with an expanded mission to serve older youth, ages 17-25 \u2014 also offers free child care and mental health services. And the organization says its young adults have substantially lower recidivism rates than the broader, justice-system-involved population in this age cohort.<\/p>\n<p>The group has had an informal relationship with the probation department for years. But UTEC will now be able to access probation\u2019s formal risk assessments, offering a more robust picture of the young adults it serves. And eventually, probation will dedicate officers in five courthouses to work directly with UTEC \u2014 referring young adults to the program and monitoring their progress.<\/p>\n<p>The courts and probation department are also discussing incentives for completing UTEC programming \u2014 including a reduction in probation fees and trims to probation sentences.<\/p>\n<p>Importantly, all the players seem willing to experiment. Gregg Croteau, chief executive of UTEC, says the program will function as a \u201clearning lab,\u201d with lessons to be drawn by the state and, hopefully, the nation.<\/p>\n<p>Paula Carey, chief justice of the Trial Court, sees an opportunity for a broad impact. And she says lawmakers should keep funding the pilot when they take up the budget this spring: \u201cI think this is a winner all the way around.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Only time will tell, of course. But for now, the Merrimack Valley experiment is certainly worth supporting.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>EDITORIAL In the Merrimack Valley, a vital experiment in criminal justice reform WENDY MAEDA\/GLOBE STAFF A UTEC street worker makes IHOP a first stop for a young man released from the Middlesex House of Correction in North Billerica. JANUARY 22, 2019 In a handful of courthouses in the Merrimack Valley, an important experiment in criminal &#8230; <a title=\"Merrimack Valley experiment in criminal justice reform\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/baystatereentrynetwork.org\/index.php\/2019\/01\/23\/merrimack-valley-experiment-in-criminal-justice-reform\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about Merrimack Valley experiment in criminal justice reform\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-129","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-local-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/baystatereentrynetwork.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/baystatereentrynetwork.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/baystatereentrynetwork.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baystatereentrynetwork.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baystatereentrynetwork.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=129"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/baystatereentrynetwork.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":133,"href":"https:\/\/baystatereentrynetwork.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129\/revisions\/133"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/baystatereentrynetwork.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=129"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baystatereentrynetwork.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=129"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/baystatereentrynetwork.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=129"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}