Reduced cost, recidivism in redirection for Florida youthful offenders

Called “redirection,” it consists mostly of family therapy and focuses on parents — an emphasis that’s nearly impossible to attain when youth are locked up at residential commitment centers. It does not accept youth who have committed violent or first-degree felonies.

Redirection has saved the state $51 million and youth that go through it are less likely to re-offend than those who go to commitment centers, according to a recent report from the state Legislature’s Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability. Yet the program receives just a fraction of the funding spent on incarceration of youth at commitment centers — and spending on it is unlikely to increase any time soon.

About 95 percent of the work is focused on parents, said Matthew Birt, program director for the White Foundation. And the therapists travel to their home on evenings or weekends so that work hours and transportation are not barriers.

So then why does the state spend $11.5 million on redirection programs but about $242 million overall on secure and non-secure residential corrections?