Wendy Calderón-Payne proposes prevention and ATI expansion
Rev. Wendy Calderón-Payne of Bronx Connect proposes expanding Functional Family Therapy in schools and a Philadelphia-style pre-diversion program for first arrests. She says length of stay is unacceptable and that ATI capacity exists but placement requires DA approval and excludes some serious charges.
Chair Stevens and members of the committee, I'd like to thank you for allowing me to speak today.
I am Reverend Wendy Calderon-Payne, and I'm the executive director of Bronx Connect, and I know everyone.
I have submitted written testimony, but I feel that I'm going to use my three minutes to answer some questions.
In terms of reducing populations of horizons and crossroads, first you must work to prevent youth getting involved in the justice system.
New York City funds an excellent family-centered mental health program called Functional Family Therapy.
If this was expanded, it could be offered to schools with high levels of violent incidents.
Data shows that many of these incidents revolve around a very few number of students.
The crisis management system includes a school-based gun violence prevention program that could be expanded to the same schools to work in conjunction with the FFT program.
We have a Philadelphia pre-diversion program for youth facing their first arrest.
This program is in partnership with the Philadelphia DA's office.
This incredible program allows us to enroll a young person upon their first arrest.
When they graduate, the arrest is not registered anywhere.
This program has maintained a 6% re-arrest rate for over five years, and I do not know of this happening in New York City.
As a city, we should want youth facing their first arrest to be diverted, and a pre-diversion program would allow us to change.
Their life trajectory and not have it
have a justice record, follow them.
I have proposed launching such a program through city council for the last few years, and I'd love to have further discussions with you about this.
Second, the length of stay must be addressed.
It is just unacceptable that young people are detained for years.
The reason we have so many older young people in Horizons and Crossroads is because their cases are not being addressed by the courts in an expedient fashion.
It is not a speedy trial.
Finally, I encourage the committee to review the charges these
these detained youth and young adults are facing.
As a program that does work within Horizons, many of these young adults are facing serious charges like murder, attempted murder, gang jumping, and are facing decades of incarceration upstate.
Few judges and DAs will allow an alternative to incarceration program for youth facing
rape and murder charges.
That's just the truth.
While 95% of Bronx Connect's felony cases are high felonies, less than 1% are rape or murder charges.
Finally, I think the quickest way to move, the quickest way to reduce the population is to move people from secure detention
and into community alternatives, of course the DA has to approve this.
It's not our choice.
It's not ACS's choice.
We would take everyone, but they have to be approved.
I'd also like to clarify that our ATA program has significant therapeutic services and bilingual services, but we cannot
to an ATI program, anyone who needs to be in a mental health facility, if that makes sense.
The DA won't allow it, but we have a lot of bilingual therapists.
Thank you.