Most Youth Are Jailed In Maine Simply Because ‘they Could Not Go Home,’ New Report Says

Maine unnecessarily imprisons nonviolent youth because it lacks treatment options, according to a new analysis of the state’s juvenile justice system released Tuesday. The report does not go so far as to suggest the state eliminate youth detention entirely, as some advocates have called for, but says Maine only needs “a limited secure detention and corrections capacity to protect the public from youth who pose a significant danger to others.” Right now, most youth imprisoned at the Long Creek Youth Development Center in South Portland pose “low or moderate” risk to the public, according to the report. Officials should fund and develop a broader spectrum of alternatives to incarceration, including smaller secure facilities, according to the report, which was prepared for a legislative task force.