Ohio leaders are hoping to get some help from a national group to cut down on the number of minors put behind bars.
State lawmakers and youth services officials met with the National Reentry Resource Center to figure out how to effectively use state funding to keep kids from returning to correctional facilities and probation.
Ohio Department of Youth Services Director Harvey Reed says it’s important to make sure these kids are getting educational help and behavioral therapy so they get on the right track.
“These kids are their neighbors; these kids go to the same malls, the same churches, the same parks that we all go to. There’s not a sign on their back that says former DYS kid; these are just kids that are part of this Ohio community and we need to embrace and protect that.”
The state is competing to get help from the resource center, which will use data and research to improve their intervention programs.
