Government bureaucracy at its worst
All have witnessed some asinine solutions government officials have come up with at one time or another to common sense problems. However, the latest handling by the Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) has got to be ranked high on the list of idiotic bureaucracy at its best.
This upcoming Friday could very well be the last day of the existence of Associated Marine Institute’s Baxley Wilderness Camp (or AMIKids Baxley Wilderness). The camp has provided a genuine and successful rehabilitation facility for troubled youth for the past 20 years near the banks of the Altamaha in Appling County. It has also supplied as many as 40 jobs for area residents.
On October 4 a letter was sent to AMIKids that notified the company of the state department’s intent to remove all kids assigned to AMI facilities no later than December 14. All AMI facilities including Baxley, Middle Georgia, located in Cochran, and Savannah River, located in Sylvania, were instructed to begin implementing a contract closeout procedure. In a nutshell, as of Dec. 14, AMI would no longer exist in the state of Georgia. DJJ Commissioner L. Gale Buckner signed the letter and Buckner cited that this decision was based on a “lack of funding”.
But then on October 11 AMI received a second letter from Buckner. The tone of this letter seemed to give some hope that the programs could remain as a viable alternative for troubled youth in Georgia. Bucker said, “Last week, we sent you a courtesy letter informing you of the tough choice for the potential cut of AMI Wilderness Camps out of DJJ’s budget. We have heard and recognize the concerns that you, your staff and the community have expressed. We would like to continue to have dialogue with you and your staff regarding the current budget and programmatic challenges that we have previously discussed with you. This dialogue will occur prior to any final department decision has been made regarding the continuation of this program.”
The letter sounds like DJJ is/was willing to possibly find a solution through dialogue between DJJ and AMI. There is one thing certain when there is dialogue; it has to be between multiple parties. To date, AMI has not been invited to sit down and have a conversation with DJJ since the October 11 letter. In the meantime DJJ has continued to reduce the number of juveniles sentenced to Baxley Wilderness and other Georgia AMI programs. As of Monday, there were three juveniles at the Baxley facility, a facility designed to house 32. AMI has stated that it would have to have at least 16 juveniles to break even, and that is with a reduction in staff. In essence, DJJ has closed the program without any dialogue. Buckner retired in November after serving less than a year in the role as commissioner, but was DJJ ever sincere in wanting to have a serious discussion with AMI? It appears not.
As some added history of how crazy this decision is, Baxley Wilderness received a new five-year operating plan (contract) from the state in 2011 and the state had also just purchased a brand new $125,000.00 kitchen for the Baxley facility approximately one month before this decision was made. This kitchen was a total waste of taxpayer money by DJJ.
Let’s also add that this decision was supposedly based on the idea of saving money. However, in a recent Associated Press article it was noted that the average cost of a rehabilitation program in the state of Georgia, such as AMIKids, is less than $30,000.00 per year, per juvenile. The cost to incarcerate a juvenile in a facility such as a DJJ-run Regional Youth Detention Center is three times more the cost at $90,000.00 per year. It should also be noted that the success rate in an AMIKids program is high (70+ percent), which means less repeat offenders and less cost to taxpayers in the future.
Once these programs are closed, that will mean more and more troubled youth will be released back into society, and possibly back into public schools, without any treatment or intervention. A slap on the wrist you might say. This should not be comforting for parents around the state that have children in public schools and society in general.
So how’s this for government bureaucracy? DJJ is going to close a program that is highly effective, even more than state-run facilities, and cut a program that costs three times less to operate than state-run facilities. Oh by the way, did I mention that AMIKids is a non-profit organization and the sole purpose of the organization is to transform troubled youth into responsible young adults?
It is the belief of some of the Baxley Wilderness Board of Directors, including me, that DJJ has not been forthcoming with legislators and other elected officials across the state with regard to this issue and the actual cost of operating these programs. I ask and encourage our state representation, Senator Tommie Williams, outgoing Representative Tommy Smith, incoming Representative Greg Morris and incoming Representative Chad Nimmer, to take a long hard look into this situation and make your own determinations.
-Jamie Gardner
The mission of AMIKids: AMIkids provides our communities’ kids an opportunity to transform into responsible young adults. Since 1969, AMIkids has been providing a structured, family environment to guide more than 105,000 youth back on track to becoming productive and contributing members of society. The success of AMIkids’ programs lies in encouraging each of our kids to grow as individuals. We help kids develop confidence and competency in vital life skills and educational areas, leading them to acceptance of personal responsibility and assisting them in making better choices.
On October 4 a letter was sent to AMIKids that notified the company of the state department’s intent to remove all kids assigned to AMI facilities no later than December 14. All AMI facilities including Baxley, Middle Georgia, located in Cochran, and Savannah River, located in Sylvania, were instructed to begin implementing a contract closeout procedure. In a nutshell, as of Dec. 14, AMI would no longer exist in the state of Georgia. DJJ Commissioner L. Gale Buckner signed the letter and Buckner cited that this decision was based on a “lack of funding”.
But then on October 11 AMI received a second letter from Buckner. The tone of this letter seemed to give some hope that the programs could remain as a viable alternative for troubled youth in Georgia. Bucker said, “Last week, we sent you a courtesy letter informing you of the tough choice for the potential cut of AMI Wilderness Camps out of DJJ’s budget. We have heard and recognize the concerns that you, your staff and the community have expressed. We would like to continue to have dialogue with you and your staff regarding the current budget and programmatic challenges that we have previously discussed with you. This dialogue will occur prior to any final department decision has been made regarding the continuation of this program.”
The letter sounds like DJJ is/was willing to possibly find a solution through dialogue between DJJ and AMI. There is one thing certain when there is dialogue; it has to be between multiple parties. To date, AMI has not been invited to sit down and have a conversation with DJJ since the October 11 letter. In the meantime DJJ has continued to reduce the number of juveniles sentenced to Baxley Wilderness and other Georgia AMI programs. As of Monday, there were three juveniles at the Baxley facility, a facility designed to house 32. AMI has stated that it would have to have at least 16 juveniles to break even, and that is with a reduction in staff. In essence, DJJ has closed the program without any dialogue. Buckner retired in November after serving less than a year in the role as commissioner, but was DJJ ever sincere in wanting to have a serious discussion with AMI? It appears not.
As some added history of how crazy this decision is, Baxley Wilderness received a new five-year operating plan (contract) from the state in 2011 and the state had also just purchased a brand new $125,000.00 kitchen for the Baxley facility approximately one month before this decision was made. This kitchen was a total waste of taxpayer money by DJJ.
Let’s also add that this decision was supposedly based on the idea of saving money. However, in a recent Associated Press article it was noted that the average cost of a rehabilitation program in the state of Georgia, such as AMIKids, is less than $30,000.00 per year, per juvenile. The cost to incarcerate a juvenile in a facility such as a DJJ-run Regional Youth Detention Center is three times more the cost at $90,000.00 per year. It should also be noted that the success rate in an AMIKids program is high (70+ percent), which means less repeat offenders and less cost to taxpayers in the future.
Once these programs are closed, that will mean more and more troubled youth will be released back into society, and possibly back into public schools, without any treatment or intervention. A slap on the wrist you might say. This should not be comforting for parents around the state that have children in public schools and society in general.
So how’s this for government bureaucracy? DJJ is going to close a program that is highly effective, even more than state-run facilities, and cut a program that costs three times less to operate than state-run facilities. Oh by the way, did I mention that AMIKids is a non-profit organization and the sole purpose of the organization is to transform troubled youth into responsible young adults?
It is the belief of some of the Baxley Wilderness Board of Directors, including me, that DJJ has not been forthcoming with legislators and other elected officials across the state with regard to this issue and the actual cost of operating these programs. I ask and encourage our state representation, Senator Tommie Williams, outgoing Representative Tommy Smith, incoming Representative Greg Morris and incoming Representative Chad Nimmer, to take a long hard look into this situation and make your own determinations.
-Jamie Gardner
The mission of AMIKids: AMIkids provides our communities’ kids an opportunity to transform into responsible young adults. Since 1969, AMIkids has been providing a structured, family environment to guide more than 105,000 youth back on track to becoming productive and contributing members of society. The success of AMIkids’ programs lies in encouraging each of our kids to grow as individuals. We help kids develop confidence and competency in vital life skills and educational areas, leading them to acceptance of personal responsibility and assisting them in making better choices.
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