While the state's adult prison population is rising to new heights, the juvenile detention population has been decreasing, especially among girls, because of local treatment and incarceration programs, the state's youth prisons chief says.
A story from the AP says, the average daily population in Department of Youth Services facilities declined from 2,177 in 2001 to 1,596 in April, according to department records. The girls' decline was more dramatic, going from 187 girls in 2001 to 72 as of April. The average stay in a DYS center is 11 months.
Over the same period, the adult prison population in Ohio has grown from 45,259 to 49,973, with an average stay of 2.2 years.
"It is a different dynamic than the adult side," department director Tom Stickrath said.
The reason for the decline is an increase in community-based services such as local detention centers, mental health facilities and family counseling centers that the state partially funds, and an overall drop in juvenile crime, Stickrath said.
Click here to read more of this story from the AP.
